Award Engraving Ideas for Custom Trophies and Medals

Are you at a loss for what to engrave on your sports team's trophies? It can be difficult to make them feel personal but not cheesy.

Award engraving isn't a science, but there are a few useful tips that can be found with some searching. We've compiled these tips to minimize the time spent on the computer so you can make sure your awards are a hit among recipients!

Keep reading for more information.

The Basics

Your award should include the recipient's name, the date given, and the organization. If you are giving a general trophy or plaque to each member of the team, you can forgo individual names, although it is a nice touch.

If this is in fact for a sports team, consider placing the season and the year. For example, a sport that is played in the springtime could have Spring, 2019.

Making it Personal

It can be difficult to personalize participation trophies for a larger team, but should you have the time or a smaller team, consider adding messages. These messages can include 'most valuable player,' 'most goals made,' or any number of other combinations.

For a business setting, you will obviously need to adjust these messages. These engravings can include mentions of sales, leadership, service, or teamwork.

When there are record-breaking numbers involved, it is always a great idea to include them as it is often a source of bragging rights for the recipient.

Make the Award Engraving Fun

If your colleague, teammate, or coach as a specific name they prefer, be sure to use it when you engrave the award. Some people may choose to go by their middle name, an abbreviation, or initials, when this is the case, it is proper to engrave that particular name.

Other times, people have a 'real' name and a nickname that they only use when around their team--you can choose either--but it may be more fun to present the award with the nickname.

Know Your Audience

You should note that your team (sports, business, or otherwise) is likely familiar with each member's weaknesses. Unless you are presenting gag awards to everyone, it is not in good taste to give a negative plaque or trophy to only one person.

Examples of these may include 'worst sales pitch,' 'fewest goals met/made,' 'worst attitude,' or 'least improved.' This should go without saying, but unfortunately, some people think it'll be funny until it falls flat and few people laugh.

Use Trophies as a Tool

Even if a trophy or plaque is put on a shelf and forgotten about over several years, the fact is, someone worked for it at some point in time.

This means that trophies, plaques, and awards can be used as a tool to encourage team members and colleagues to push themselves to do better and meet goals.

Award engraving is one of the best ways to make your 'thank you' feel personal and to help your team work as a collective unit.

If you love awards and trophies and would like to learn more about their history, check out this post!