Trophies

[Cromlyn]

It is embarrassing to receive a trophy for a card game. Non bridge players are distinctly unimpressed

while your fellow bridge players think the trophy should have been theirs . . .

 

I once won a trophy that had gone missing - no-one had bothered to make a note of who had won it

the previous year. It was really embarrassing not to be able to produce it the following year!

 

If there has to be a prize lets have something useful. But I would much rather have nothing -

the pleasure of playing bridge is an end in itself.

[Vampyr]

Of course that may be because I played for years in a club where the winners every week got either a free play or their entry fee back in cash. I was sort of offended the first time I won somewhere else and got nothing but a weird look from the club manager after the session when I came up to him with my hand out... found out the hard way that is rare too.

 

Here it is normal for he first few places at a club game to get cash prizes.

[RunemPard]

Anything that can hang on the wall at a club is a good prize. I hope to someday win an event here in Sweden to have my paper on our clubs wall.

[cherdano]

A photograph of being presented with the trophy, just before handing it back, seems ideal.

Agree, if there is someone who has good photoshop skills around you don't even need a trophy!

[cherdano]

I'd prefer something actually useful, like mugs or wine glasses or a nice pen with the name of the tournament and/or event. Sometimes regional tournaments in the US give these out (although they often have less-useful prizes too). Trophies are okay but they eventually end up just taking up space...

I have enough mugs, got enough wine glasses of $1.50 each to throw a big party, and would rather pick nice wine glasses myself, thank you.

[cherdano]

I would vote for the 5th options - selling them would be disrespectful to whoever donated them or whose name is engraved in them. But why anyone would want them, or would spend money to donate one, is beyond me.

[WellSpyder]

Here it is normal for he first few places at a club game to get cash prizes.

It is? I think I have been playing at the wrong clubs for the past 30 years....

[paulg]

But why anyone would spend money to donate one, is beyond me.

Most of the eleven trophies at the Berwick club were bequests. Eleven trophies is a lot for a club that only meets twice a week from September to May and some of the sessions are already overloaded, counting for more than one trophy. I expect the committee is working hard with the club's older members to try and prevent any more donations, but I'm not sure how successful they'll be.

[paulg]

Here it is normal for he first few places at a club game to get cash prizes.

I suspect 'here' is a circle with a very small radius.

[TMorris]

I suspect 'here' is a circle with a very small radius.

 

My club which is loosely in the same part of the world as Vampyr's also has cash prizes for the first few places (maybe this is a small circle) although they haven't risen for the at least the last ten years so don't usually cover the table money most of the time (this has increased). We are in our 76th year and on counting have accumulated 16 trophies of various sorts, mainly cups. One (the individual trophy) is now never played for and one I believe is for our (small) rubber bridge section. People seem to like taking them home from the AGM which I think would have a rather lower attendance if no trophies were given out.

 

With regard to keeping track of them the club secretary keeps a note of who takes them from the AGM but it would be easy enough at a county AGM I would have thought to get a signed receipt at some point after the formal business is over.