A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and usually afterwards serves as proof of merit. They are most often awarded with sporting events. These range from youth sports Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and through professional level athletics. Often, the reward of the trophy is not simply in winning it; rather, those who win it cherish the legacy that also comes with the trophy.

In many sports Medals A Medal is usually a coin-like sculpted object of metal or other material that has been die-struck with an insignia, portrait or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific, academic or some other kind of achievement. Medals may also be created to are often given out either instead of or along with trophies, such as: gold medals A gold medal is typically the highest medal awarded for achievement in a non-military field. The concept comes from the military, initially with a simple recognition of military rank, and later decorations for admission to military orders dating back to medieval times, silver medals A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc, and bronze medals A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, prior to which only first and second places were awarded or commemorative medals.

History

Trophies have marked victories since ancient times. The English word Trophy was derived from the French trophée in 1513, "a spoil or prize of war," from Old French trophee, from Latin trophaeum, monument to victory, variant of tropaeum, from Greek tropaion, from neuter of tropaios, of defeat, from tropē, meaing "to rout" originally from "turning".^[1]

In ancient Greece, trophies were made on the battlefields of victorious battles, from captured arms and standards, and were hung upon a tree or a large stake made to resemble a warrior. Often, these ancient trophies were inscribed with a story of the battle and were dedicated to various gods. Trophies made about naval victories sometimes consisted of entire ships (or what remained of them) laid out on the beach. To destroy a trophy was considered a sacrilege.^[2]

The ancient Romans kept their trophies closer to home. The Romans built magnificent trophies in Rome, including columns and arches atop a foundation. Most of the stone trophies that once adorned huge stone memorials in Rome have been long since stolen.^[2]

During the Middle Ages, chalices were given to winners of sporting events at least as early as the very late 1600s in the New World. For example the Kyp Cup (made by silversmith Jesse Kyp), a small two-handled sterling cup in the Henry Ford Museum The Henry Ford, a National Historic Landmark, , in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, USA, is the nation's "largest indoor-outdoor history museum" complex. Named for its founder, the noted automobile industrialist Henry Ford, and based on his desire to preserve items of historical significance and portray the Industrial, was given to the winner of a horse race between two towns in New England in about 1699. Chalices, particularly, are associated with sporting events, and were traditionally made in silver. Winners of horse races, and later boating and early automobile races, were the typical recipients of these trophies. The Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. The largest annual international team competition in sports, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between the United, Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously (chiefly by sportswriters) as Lord Stanley's Mug. The Stanley Cup is surrounded by numerous legends and traditions, the oldest of which is the celebratory, and numerous World Cups are all now famous cup-shaped trophies given to sports winners.^[2]

Today, trophies are much less expensive, and thus much more pervasive, thanks to mass produced plastic trophies.

Trophy types

Trophies can take the shape of two-handled cups, bowls, or mugs (all usually engraved); statues of people, animals, and architecture while displaying words, numbers or images. While trophies traditionally have been made with metal figures, wood columns, and wood bases, in recent years they have been made with plastic figures and marble bases. This is to retain the weight traditionally associated with a quality award and make them more affordable to use as recognition items. Recently trophies have also been made using a resin and molds.

The Academy Awards The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in the Oscar is a trophy with a stylized human; the Hugo Award The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Hugo Awards have been presented every year since 1955 for science fiction is a space ship A spacecraft is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters space then returns to the Earth. For an orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters a closed orbit around the planetary body. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers. Spacecraft used for robotic; and the Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and the only one still played on grass courts awards for its singles champions are a large loving cup for men and a large silver plate for women.

A loving-cup trophy is a common variety of trophy; it is a cup shape, usually on a pedestal, with two or more handles, and is often made from silver Silver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal. The metal occurs naturally in its pure, free form (native silver), as an alloy with gold (electrum) and other metals, or silver plate.

Hunting trophies are reminders of successes from hunting animals, such as an animal's head mounted to be hung on a wall.

Resin trophies come in a variety of sports or even in generic forms. These resin awards are often used for participation awards and can be custom made to include an event logo. These can be custom molded to create a unique trophy for businesses, youth sports organizations, and non profits alike.

Sporting

Some sporting trophies include:

Association Football

• The FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. It is sponsored by E.ON, and is therefore officially known- awarded to winners of the primary English association football It is a football variant played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field, with a goal in the centre of each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team domestic knockout tournament, officially The Football Association Challenge Cup, often referred to as just the FA Cup. The tournament is the oldest such in club football.
• The Scottish Cup - awarded to the winners of the primary domestic knockout cup tournament of Scotland (the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, or just Scottish Cup) and the oldest national trophy still awarded in the world.
• Premier League Trophy The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member — Awarded to the Premier League The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member Champions of England. Known by several names since its creation, often icluding the sponsor's name or the use of Premiership instead of Premier League prior to the 2007 rebranding. Coloquially referred to as the Premier League Trophy or Premiership Trophy.
• FIFA World Cup Trophy — Awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years from the 1974 FIFA World Cup onwards. Previous winners were awarded the Jules Rimet Trophy (known simply as Victory until 1949), which was awarded in perpetuity to Brazil after their 3rd win in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Both are referred to colloquially as the World Cup
• European Champion Clubs' Cup The European Champion Clubs' Cup, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League. Prior to 1992, the competition in its older format shared its name with the trophy, being also known as the European Cup. The trophy is often, although erroneously, referred to as the - colloquially the European Cup, awarded to the winners of the European Cup (before 1992/3) and the UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League is an annual football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It is the most prestigious club trophy in European football (since 1992/3).
• Football League Championship Trophy' — Awarded to The English Football League The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football. It was the top level football league in England from its foundation in the 19th century until 1992,'s Champion

4 trophies have served as award (out of 5 made) for the winner of the FA Cup. The first (1871-1895) was stolen in Birmingham Birmingham (pronounced /ˈbɝːmɪŋəm/ , BUR-ming-əm, locally /ˈbɝːmɪŋɡəm/ with a 'g') is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the most populous of England's core cities, and is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,010,200 (2005 estimate) and melted down, the second (1896-1910) was presented to Lord Kinnaird and is presently held by David Gold, the chairman of Birmingham City after private auction in 2005. The third (1910-1992) was retired after the 1992 final due to fragility and is held by The Football Association The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. The FA has a historic significance as the first ever national football association; two exact replicas of it were made one of which has been awarded to the winners 1993-present, the other remains as a backup in case of damage to the primary trophy.

The original Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen in Brazil in 1983 and has never been recovered. Replicas were awarded to winning nations up to the retirement of the genuine trophy. However, prior to the 1966 final, The Football Association The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. The FA has a historic significance as the first ever national football association made an (unauthorised) replica in secret in guilded bronze for use in post match celerations due to security concerns - the geniuine trophy was made out of close to 2 kg of pure gold. This has led to several conspiracy theories regarding which trophy was stolen - the FA replica, or the real trophy. FIFA purchased the replica for £254,500 (ten times the reserve price) in 1997, with the inflated price attributed to such rumours ^[3]. This trophy is held on behalf of FIFA by the National Football Museum The National Football Museum is a museum in Preston, Lancashire, England, founded to preserve, conserve and interpret several important collections of Association Football memorabilia. It was built outside Deepdale as the stadium is, as of 2008, the oldest continuously used football league ground in the world. The location of Preston has recently in Preston Preston (pronounced /ˈprɛstən/ ) is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Preston has a population of 131,900, and lies at the centre of the.

Clubs that win the European Champion Clubs' Cup The European Champion Clubs' Cup, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League. Prior to 1992, the competition in its older format shared its name with the trophy, being also known as the European Cup. The trophy is often, although erroneously, referred to as the 3 times in successive seasons, or 5 times in total, are permitted to retain the trophy in perpetuity. The present trophy has been used since 2005/6 after Liverpool FC Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. The club plays in the Premier League, and has won more trophies than any other English club. The club has won a joint-record eighteen league titles, seven FA Cups and seven League Cups. The club has won the European Cup five times which is an English's 5th win in 2005. The original trophy was awarded to Real Madrid CF in 1966 (after their 6th win) - the present trophy is the 6th (identical) edition.

Tennis

• Wimbledon tennis trophies The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and the only one still played on grass courts - although having no formal name, a cup is presented to the Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and the only one still played on grass courts Men's (Gentlemen's) Singles Champion (The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World, as stated on the cup itself). The women's (Ladies) Singles winner is presented with the Venus Rosewater Dish. Other trophies are presented to the winners of the Doubles and Mixed Doubles.

Motorsport

• Borg-Warner Trophy — Awarded to the Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500 or sometimes known simply as The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The event lends its name to the IndyCar class of formula, or open-wheel, race cars that have Champion.

Rugby League

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs across Europe. Originally it was contested only by British teams, but in recent years the entry has been expanded to allow teams from across Europe to take part Formerly Rugby League's most prestigious award, now second to the League winner's trophy. Notable for the wide range of teams which start, some taken from amateur ranks, "developing nations" and university teams.

Rugby Union

• Webb Ellis Cup The Webb Ellis Cup, also referred to as the "Webb Ellis Trophy" or "Bill", is the main prize of the Rugby World Cup. The trophy is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as the inventor of rugby football. The trophy is silver gilded in gold and has been presented to the winner of the world cup since the first — Awarded to Rugby Union Rugby union is a competitive outdoor contact sport, played with a prolate spheroid ball, by two teams of 15 players. It is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league. There is also a seven-a-side variant named rugby sevens which is played under modified laws. Rugby union is often referred to as simply rugby in areas where's World Champion
• Bledisloe Cup Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931 — Awarded annually to the winner between New Zealand The New Zealand national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, is the representative side of New Zealand in rugby union. Rugby union is regarded as the country's national sport. New Zealand have a winning record against every international rugby team they have played, including the British and Irish Lions and Australia The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the "Wallabies" and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the Mandela Challenge Plate with South Africa.
• Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between England and Scotland. It is currently held by Scotland, who claimed the trophy by defeating the holders England 15–9 at Murrayfield in the 2008 Six Nations Championship on 8 March 2008 — Awarded annually to the winner between England The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 25 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam. England also compete for the Calcutta Cup with Scotland as part of the Six Nations. England and Scotland The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked tenth in the IRB World Rankings as at 23 March 2009, and makes up one quarter of the British and Irish Lions rugby team. They annually take in Rugby Union Rugby union is a competitive outdoor contact sport, played with a prolate spheroid ball, by two teams of 15 players. It is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league. There is also a seven-a-side variant named rugby sevens which is played under modified laws. Rugby union is often referred to as simply rugby in areas where

Cricket

• The Ashes Urn — widely considered to be presented as a trophy to the winning team of the biennial cricket test series between England The England cricket team is the cricket team which represents England and Wales. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from 1903 until the end of 1996 and Australia The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the equal oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877. However, the urn itself was never a trophy and remains in the MCC Cricket Museum at Lord's Cricket Ground. Only from 1998–99 were the winners of the Ashes presented with a replica (not to scale) of the urn in Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is a trademark brand of crystal glassware, produced in the past in Waterford, Ireland, though the factory there was shut down after the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood plc in early 2009 . It is still produced in other locations throughout Europe, notably Germany and the Czech Republic, by the company WWRD Holdings Ltd.

Sailing

• America's Cup The America’s Cup is the most prestigious regatta and match race in the sport of sailing, and the oldest active trophy in international sport, predating the Modern Olympics by 45 years. The sport attracts top sailors and yacht designers because of its long history and prestige. Although the most salient aspect of the regatta is its yacht races, — Awarded to Yacht Racing Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting. There is a broad variety of kinds of races and sailboats used for racing. Much racing is done around buoys or similar marks in protected waters, while some longer offshore races cross open water. All kinds of boats are used for racing, including small dinghies, catamarans, boats designed primarily Champion

AFL

• McClelland Trophy — Awarded to the Australian Football League The Australian Football League is the professional Australian national competition in the sport of Australian football's Home & Away season / Minor Premiership champion.

North American Sports

• Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , named after the former college football coach John Heisman, is awarded annually by the Heisman Trophy Trust to the most outstanding player in collegiate football. Although it is not the only award honoring the best player in college football—the Walter Camp Award and Maxwell Award are also awarded to the " — Awaded to the NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Its headquarters are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it is currently under the leadership of's Most Valuable Player in College Football
• BCS Trophy — Awarded to College Football's National Champion
• Vanier Cup — Awarded to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football Champion
• Grey Cup — Awarded to the Canadian Football League's Champion
• Stanley Cup — Awarded to the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Champion
• Commissioner's Trophy — Awarded to Major League Baseball's World Series Champion
• Vince Lombardi Trophy — Awarded to the National Football League's Super Bowl Champion
• Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy — Awarded to the National Basketball Association's World Champion
• MLS Cup — Awarded to the Major League Soccer's Champion
• Old Oaken Bucket — A college football rivalry trophy
• Mann Cup — An Indoor Lacrosse trophy awarded to the senior men's lacrosse champions of Canada.
• Steinfeld Cup — Awarded to the Major League Lacrosse Champion
• Champion's Cup — Awarded to the National Lacrosse League Champion

Many combat sports, such as boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling use championship belts as trophies; however, unlike most of the trophies mentioned above, a new one is not created every time a new champion is crowned; rather, the new champion takes the belt from the old one.^[4]

Military

The United States military also issues a type of trophy which are known as "non-portable decorations". This indicates that the trophy carries the status of a military award, but is not meant to be worn on a uniform but rather is presented for static display. Such military trophies include athletic excellence awards, unit excellence awards, and superior service awards presented annually to the top service member of a command.

Professional Awards

Many Professional Associations award trophies in recognition of outstanding work in their respective fields. Some examples of such awards include:

• Collier Trophy — Awarded by the US National Aeronautics Association for outstanding work in aviation engineering.
• Harmon Trophy — Awarded by the Clifford B. Harmon Trust for outstanding achievement in aviation or ballooning.

Hunting

In hunting, although competition trophies like those mentioned above can be awarded, the word trophy more typically refers to an item made from the body of a killed animal and kept as a keepsake.

Citations and notes

1. ^ [1] Online Etymological Dictionary
2. ^ ^{a b c} [2] Made How on trophies
3. ^ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/87e8256e-cbcc-11da-a7bf-0000779e2340.html
4. ^ I consider this common knowledge. If you want citation, go watch one of these combat sports.

References

• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2005). Silverware: Hockey Hall of Fame. HB Fenn and Company. ISBN 1551682966.

• Osborne, Robert (2003). 75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards. Abbeville Press. ISBN 0789207877.

External links

• The Awards and Recognition Association- Awards Industries Trade Association
• Daytona 500 Trophy History – Website with history of the Daytona 500 Trophy
• Stanley Cup history – Website with official NHL history of the Stanley Cup

See also

• Acrylic trophy
• Championship belt
• Trophy wife
• Headhunting
• PlayStation 3 Trophies

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