When I was a kids I had no idea participate trophies existed. Maybe i was not signed up for a ton of activities, maybe I was not a great athlete (best smile in gymnastics age 6). I do recall getting first place in the county science fair and getting my picture in the paper and then a friend asking to have my blue ribbon. I thought she was weird because clearly she did not win it and her parents would know the truth.
Now with my own kids sometimes the have gotten the trophies with everyone else in t-ball or whatever sport. I thought it was cute and put them in their rooms. So is this a new thing or did they exist back in the day and all those rooms with tons of trophy really just a show up part of the team trophy? Another thing I could pick my battle over and not really care. Others think they are horrible and give the kids a false sense of achievement.
Mamazita- Okay that makes sense. My oldest is just now 7. Last year at age 6 they did not play for points, but it was obvious who was skilled. My daughter is 3 and I noticed other teams got the soccer trophy and i think she will be getting one too.
I'm not a fan of participation awards.
I think they are counterproductive. They go against many of the good lessons that could be learned in sports.
This may sound harsh...but KIDDOS are certainly NOT fooled by 'participation' trophies.
Some parents 'may be' for a while.
But, the kiddos, from the 'get go' KNOW who the best players are.
Adults will continue to pay to 'fool' themselves I suppose.
Mom of two high school athletes and a competitive gymnast here.
The real problem is when WE were kids you didn't start competing until you were around 8/9 years old. That's plenty old enough to understand and deal with winning and losing, being part of a team, etc.
But now so many of these programs start as young as 4, and most little kids just don't have the emotional maturity to handle these concepts.
So I think if you're going to have kids under say, 7, playing sports the focus should be on hard work, attitude and effort, and there's no reason to single anyone out with a trophy. Most positive coaching alliances agree with this philosphy. There's nothing wrong with giving everyone on the team a participation certificate or ribbon because they DID accomplish something. Soon enough they either will or will not be motivated to play to win, and that comes from within, it has nothing to do with trophies and awards.
"Kids get a ribbon for crossing the street these days." - Jay Pritchett
They are simply NOT necessary...
Around here, kids get participation trophies until 7 or so, then only the placing teams get trophies. For the younger kids, it makes sense to me. During that time, they are just learning how to play and be part of a team. Participation trophies stop, when score keeping and competition starts.
Personally, I am totally find with younger kids getting trophies. The whole point of little ones on teams is to learn teamwork. They should be rewarded for that. I don't agree with participation trophies after age 7 (when competition starts,) however.
Nope, not a fan and don't support it.
To me? Trophies are for the 1st and 2nd place teams. Maybe 3rd place. But just to participate? No. You don't get a trophy for participating...how does that set you apart from those that really tried? It doesn't.
Those that worked HARD to get into 1st place EARNED it. I'm sure the other kids worked hard too, but obviously not enough. What does this teach the kids? Hey - just show up! You'll get rewarded. Nothing about rewarding HARD WORK....
I don't like the trend.
I think it's silly. If you're going to be in a competitive activity, you have to be willing to accept that sometimes you will lose. There is no shame in it as long as you gave it your best effort. But the prizes go to the winners.
Not only do they get a participation trophy but there is a mind numbing ceremony that goes along with it so every team can be recognized...
When I was a kid there were not participation trophies. If your team played well and ended up in first place, then you got a trophy.
Not every kid has to be a winner, actually 2nd place it the first loser.
I never did like participation trophies...... I felt they were silly and unnecessary.....
and, when the "awards party" came about, we were expected to pay for our child's trophy!
My son is 31 now so he started playing soccer at 5 in Kindergarten in 1987. My husband coached many of the kids' sports team so we usually had a parent meeting at the beginning of the season to discuss. I think we did individual trophies that the parents paid for for K, 1 and 2 and we started with small trophies. ((some teams we played against passed out huge trophies after the last game) After that we did not do trophies for the regular season, but if we played in a tournament, the organizing committee would usually award trophies for the top 1, 2, & 3 place teams. If you have children that play multiple sports too many trophies tend to gather dust and negate the speciality of the trophies. We did have some parents complain in 3 & 4th grades about "No trophies" especially if it was their child's first year to play sports.
Love what Mamazita said. I think participation trophies are very appropriate in the first couple of years. As kids get a little older they can understand the game much more and need to learn about winning and losing.
I think Mamazita nailed it.
My kids both played mini soccer. and they received medals for participating. Mini soccer was about teaching young children soccer skills, good sportsmanship, and that physical activity could be fun. No one kept score, so no one won or lost. Everybody was rewarded for coming out and participating. It helped young kids learn and develop a healthy attitude about the game. It certainly didn't hurt anyone. The kids knew that they didn't get the medal for winning and they knew everyone got one. They were still proud of get them. When the kids are 8 or 9 they start keeping score and awarding based on performance.
I don't remember kids playing organized sports at such young ages when I was a kid. We usually stated playing at age 9 or 10. Any trophies I ever received said on the trophy what it was for, and even my kids soccer medals say "for participation in..."
Well if everyone is special then no one is.
It's a matter of how the kids look at it.
If no one ooooh's and aaaah's and makes a big deal out of anything which amounts to an award for having parents that paid for them to take a class/participate on a team then the kids will not puff up about it.
Once after leaving a triathlon that my older daughter was in, my younger daughter noticed there was still a girl on her bike. She called her a loser. The older one corrected the younger one and said, "No she is not a loser, she beat all those people who are still on their couch and didn't participate".
I got a trophy for every single softball and soccer team I was ever on. Some of them were for placing in the top 3, but I know we didn't finish that high every single time (6 years of softball and 7 years of soccer). I don't have a problem with the trophies, as it shows effort and dedication to the team. You don't have to BE the best to DO your best and I think that warrants recognition.
I can see the argument on both sides, but I really don't think it's a big deal to give kids trophies, even if their team wasn't any good. If it keeps them coming back to play again, then that's just one more reason why I think it's good. After all, we should be encouraging physical activity and teamwork, right?
When I was a kid there was no such thing as participation trophies.
This is a recent thing.
Nowadays, this is how it is.
It is an everyone wins, sort of thing.
Everyone gets a "trophy" regardless.
I don't really agree with it.
But lots of activities/sports do that now.
With kids.
Its supposed to be encouraging for a kid and not let them feel left out or "inadequate."
Cotton ball world.
Padded all around.
So kids don't get their feelings hurt or whatever.
My kids have extracurricular activities they do.
But it is not something they get a trophy for, for everything and anything.
They have to WORK at it, and EARN, it. In order to progress.
In addition to learning, sportsmanship etc.
And that is how I grew up.
And they KNOW darn well, when their friends who do other sports, gets a trophy, it does not really mean as much, because the whole "team" gets one, regardless. Even if they did not "earn" it or work at it.
I was never into sports as a child. My brother played floor hockey, I don't ever remember him having any participation trophies. My oldest is 18, she received participation trophies. Personally, I don't care for the idea, however, I do see both sides of the issue.
If I played on a recreational team we got trophies at the end of the year. If you placed 1st 2nd or 3rd yours was bigger and said what place you got. If I was on an all star team you only got a trophy if you placed top 3. Otherwise you would get a tournament pin. I never had an issue with participation trophies because it did say you accomplished finishing the season. Your neighbor who didn't do anything doesn't get anything so you should have something to show for giving up your time to the team. These were ALWAYS paid with our league fees and the trophies were the "same" for all players in the league.
Mamazita's answer is good.
Generally I think participation awards are ridiculous, especially when they continue throughout elementary school.
