Getting ready to host a meet again this year and we were talking about meet awards, team awards, etc.
The question is - what do people want?
In the past 4 years we have cards (blue, red, and white) premade that we paste stickers on (event with times, name, place ,etc).
Recently for team awards- we gave pizza coupons to the teams with the MOST spirited people.
FYI - we are a small meet 30-70 people most are local swimmers.
We stopped giving t-shirts - cause the price of t-shirts was making the meet too expensive...(lastyear our pre-meet entry was $7.50 - I think).
Obviously cost is an issue.
But in general - do USMS swimmers keep medals and trophies?
Jack
Former Member
Maybe instead of burgers, give gift certs for something healthy -- like Jamba Juice. Maybe you can even get J-Juice to sponsor the meet. (Or give them free advertising at the meet -- and maybe a spot to set up a cash juice bar -- in return for donating the certs.)
Originally posted by born2fly
I have swam in a few meets that gave you a choice of either a medal or a coupon. The coupon was able to be used at another Ohio meet for the meet entry fee. It was a dollar voucher for 1st place not sure of the places.
O*H*I*O Masters uses the coupons. One dollar for 1st place, .50 for 2nd and .25 for 3rd. You can use these as cash for your next entry fee or to purchase all kinds of swim wear sold at the meet.
If you can get some other type awards for a good price, they are always nice. Like a mug, a plastic glass or something unique. I keep my medals but they don't come out of the box much at all. My Nationals medals are on my dresser and will stay there for a while :)
We had a meet where all heat winners got a coupon for a free burger at a local place. The meet became more about getting a burger than it did the actual meet. It made the whole thing a lot more fun. The motto of the meet was "It's all about the burger".
I keep medals and trophies, but they just get put into a box in the basement. Can't bring myself to throw them away, yet all they do is take up space never seeing the light of day.
I think things like food certificates are a great idea :) Other things that I would like are: bags, suits, paddles, etc. But that would be expensive. I'm much more a fan of things that I can use rather than something may or may not sit on a shelf looking shiny.
I have swam in a few meets that gave you a choice of either a medal or a coupon. The coupon was able to be used at another Ohio meet for the meet entry fee. It was a dollar voucher for 1st place not sure of the places.
By the way, where/when is this meet in Columbus?
Originally posted by Guvnah
Maybe instead of burgers, give gift certs for something healthy -- like Jamba Juice. Maybe you can even get J-Juice to sponsor the meet. (Or give them free advertising at the meet -- and maybe a spot to set up a cash juice bar -- in return for donating the certs.)
Funny that you mention Jamba juice. Our team talked about bidding for our big state meet in 2005. A couple of us mentioned getting Jamba Juice coupons for the heat winners. (I know the owners of a local store here). But, we didn't bid on the meet so no free juice coming :(
