There has recently been a growing tension and debate over participation ribbons and whether or not they should be given to athletes. While some people favor giving these awards to new players in order to encourage going out and practicing every day, there can be some setbacks to this approach. These setbacks have been compiled into the following reasons on why participation awards, trophies, or ribbons should not be given to young athletes just starting out in the world of sports, regardless of whether they play in a school team, a private league, or any other type of organized sport.
1. The lesson these awards teach can easily be taught in other ways.
Many people who defend these participation trophies claim that they offer a valid reward by teaching kids that showing up to practices and working hard should be a rewarded behavior. While this is very true, I believe that rewarding a young athlete for attending practice should entail a snow cone or an ice cream on the way back home, not a trophy.
2. These awards motivate young athletes to do less, not more.
Reinforcing a behavior like attending your sport all year, but not winning first through third shows children that, no matter what they do, they will still be rewarded. This solidifies an "entitled" feeling in most young athletes, as all you have to do to win a trophy is just attend.
3. It is much more rewarding to fail several times and finally win.
If a young athlete does fail several times and not win a trophy, all parents need to do is simply explain that it is not the end of the world, and that their child just needs to practice more and stay dedicated. After putting in practice and hard work, their child many finally win and feel the sweet sensation of knowing all their work was rewarded.
4. It is not a good use of funds.
While this may not be the most amazing point you have ever heard on this debate, it is something to be considered. Buying more ribbons that are not necessarily needed, and that most people may not even want their son or daughter winning, means more school funding or team dues put into paying for these awards.
5. The more trophies there are, the less special the top teams or players feel.
Participation awards undermine all the hard work that some young athletes have put countless hours in to by allowing everyone to "be a winner." Winning the Super Bowl is not about getting the hunk of metal that is the Lombardi Trophy, it is about everything that the trophy symbolizes, most distinctly, the recognition of all the hard work it took to be the best team in the National Football League.
