Goodie Bags & Awards

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

Former Member — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:06:40 GMT

That's a good idea ... wonder if the kids will like rubber replicas of rattlesnakes to keep with our desert environment?:afraid: They probably would! The place to get any of that sort of stuff is U.S. Toy. They sell all the carnival supply type stuff. For example, here are four pages of various ducks, some that are about $0.50 apiece: search.ustoy.com/search And if it's snakes you want, they have four pages of them: search.ustoy.com/search

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

cheakamus — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:24:37 GMT

When I showed up for the Northwest "Senior" Games last spring, I got a goody bag that included various items of marginal utility, emblazoned with the logos of various hospitals, retirement homes, investment advisors, drug manufacturers — you get the picture (no funeral plots though!) Maybe you could find similar sponsors whose merchandizing is targeted to your specific age group.

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

cheakamus — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:24:53 GMT

Or for something a little different: http://www.mcphee.com/shop/

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

Patrick W. Brundage — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:28:47 GMT

There is an open water swim here in Florida that gives out little rubber duckies for the awards. If you could get something like that, especially if it could be hung or attached to their swim bags, that might be a hit... That's a good idea ... wonder if the kids will like rubber replicas of rattlesnakes to keep with our desert environment?:afraid:

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

Former Member — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:42:27 GMT

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

chowmi — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:17:31 GMT

To help raise money, everything is for sale. You could ask local businesses to sponsor events and be printed above the event, say $25.00 per and be announced at the start, during, and conclusion of the event. You could have $1.00 SHOUT OUTS! Where kids could fill out a slip and SHOUT OUT to their friends good luck, etc. How old are the kids? When is the meet? Towels, t-shirts, mugs. Even stuffed animals. Maybe it could be wearing a meet t-shirt. I got the coolest stuffed animal at a Goldman Sachs convention. It was a REVERSABLE bear and bull and wore a GS Internet conference T-shirt.

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

swimshark — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 06:44:37 GMT

Thanks for the ideas so far. Yeah, I remember the pins and the patches, but the kids don't get into those. The kids are so virtual and digital ... not sure what would connect between swimming and their electronic world? Free song downloads? A free song download is a good idea. I can tell you the kids I workout with love the bag tags. They love being able to add to their collection. Sort of a "look what I've done". I'm not sure how that would work with the heats but the bag tags are a good goodie bag idea.

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

Patrick W. Brundage — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:30:09 GMT

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

Former Member — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:10:17 GMT

For younger kids, my inner child says anything from oriental trading co that you won't mind seeing in the trash, pool drain, pool deck, parking lot. It sure was easier when I was 15. Each meet had a custom embroidered patch that we sewed on our warmups. Tried that a few years ago and it was a bust

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

swimshark — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:28:16 GMT

At a masters meet they gave out free burger coupons to the heat winners (local NW burger place). The motto of the meat was "it was all about the burger"/ Growing up I loved the pins. I still have all of my meet and stroke pins. One is on my bag even now.

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

bjcarter — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:46:12 GMT

Best award I ever saw at a AAU/USS meet was the high point awards at the Texas Open at UT. They were a set of mounted Longhorn horns. More recently, I won a bottle of wine for placing a Napa Valley open water event (probably not feasible for a youth meet!). Awards that personalize a location are always a hit in my mind...

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

Karl_S — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:35:02 GMT

It sure was easier when I was 15. Each meet had a custom embroidered patch that we sewed on our warmups. Tried that a few years ago and it was a bust That was such a great tradition. We were always in awe of the kids whose warmup jackets were covered with patches. The fastest swimmers always seemed to have an unbelievable number of patches, usually complemented with those "A", "AA", "AAA", and "AAAA" patches for various events.

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

Karl_S — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 05:52:55 GMT

At a small USMS meet a few years ago the "goody bag" was one of those cloth bags where the draw strings, when cinched closed, form backpack straps so the bag can be worn like a backpack. I find myself using it a lot for carrying towels, flip flops, goggles etc. I have found it useful and like it a lot, but my daughter has once from her summer league, one from camp, etc... so maybe most kids already have one or more.

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

jaadams1 — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 05:36:53 GMT

Our USAS meets here in the summer get a bunch of "cheapo" water bottles made up printed with the meet logo/date on them. Enough for 1 per athlete or so entered. There were plenty of extra so I may have got a few extra for the kids at home too :D

RE: Goodie Bags & Awards

no200fly — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:57:12 GMT

What unique awards should we have for ... I still remember, when I was a kid, swimming in a meet at SMU and Bob Lilly (Dallas Cowboys probowl lineman) gave out medals at the awards ceremony (this was a long time ago when they still had awards ceremonies). Maybe you could get donations from other athletes'/teams' publicity departments.