9
Awards
To never acknowledge people for something they did well would make for a sad and gray world. In the intramural setting especially, participants need to be acknowledged and rewarded, both to recognize their efforts and to keep them coming back for more. To give an award is to acknowledge someone’s extra effort, unique contribution, or outstanding performance. The giving of the award is a celebration of that effort, unique contribution, or performance. In short, awards are celebrations of accomplishment.
As such, awards are a key component of an effective intramural program. As intramural directors, it will be your job to plan these awards by determining what and who will be rewarded, how, and when. This chapter is designed to help you do that.
Chapter Objectives
>	Learn how awards can enhance the intramural mission.
>	Explore how different awards contribute to the success of an intramural program.
>	Understand how to develop an awards program and plan a celebration of the intramural season.
Importance of Recognition
All people are motivated by rewards. Some of these rewards are intrinsic and others are extrinsic. An example of an intrinsic reward is personal satisfaction and pride. In the intramural setting, intrinsic rewards would come from the satisfaction of participating in an event or activity. People who are intrinsically motivated would participate just for the fun of it, even if there were no prizes or awards. People who are motivated by extrinsic rewards, those who are extrinsically motivated, participate in intramural activities for the win, the prize, or the pat on the back from friends and spectators.
Ideally, intramural participants will participate for intrinsic rewards. Indeed, the literature suggests that when people participate in an activity for external rewards, their interest in continuing the activity is reduced (Deci and Ryan 1985; Amabile and Hennessey 1992). That said, however, a reward presented as a bonus afterward will not decrease a participant’s interest or intrinsic motivation. In other words, most people do appreciate a bonus after doing something but do not appreciate feeling manipulated or bribed into doing it (Harackiewicz 1979).
The message for intramural directors, then, is that awards should not be large carrots dangled in front of participants’ noses to get them to come out for an activity. Rather, awards should be celebrations of effort, participation, physical activity, and satisfaction. Indeed, this focus fits with the very mission of intramural programming: mass participation in fun and active movement. Thus, it is participants’ contributions to the mission that should be acknowledged, celebrated, and rewarded.
The best reward in intramural involvement is being part of an exciting and fun program. When participants contribute to that excitement and fun, celebrate their contributions. One way to do that is holding an annual banquet at the end of a season or the school year. Another is hosting a small pizza (or other) party at the conclusion of various events. Awards can focus on team or individual contributions and can range from trophies to prizes to certificates. These and other types of recognition constitute the subject of this chapter.
Striking a Balance
Awards should not be viewed as ends in and of themselves. Awards can encourage students to participate and conduct themselves in the desirable way, certainly, but they should not be emphasized so much that they overshadow or undermine the mission. Particularly in competitive programming, awards tied to winning create incentives to win at all costs, which can hurt the intramural program. If the prize or trophy is substantial, teams will get serious about winning, hold regular practices, and push the rules and officials to the edge. In such cases, intramural activities turn into an athletic contest and the mission of intramurals is undermined.
The trick of using awards in intramural programs, then, is to strike a balance. Awards should spur participants’ enthusiasm but should not be so prestigious or important that participants will do anything to win them.
Creating an Awards Program
As is likely obvious from all the mentions of “mission” so far in the discussion, the first step in planning intramural awards is revisiting your mission statement. On the basis of mission, awards should be developed that celebrate participants who contribute toward the successful realization of that mission. For example, the fair play team of the year might be a team that officials most often ranked high in fair play conduct. Such an award should be significant, like a large plaque that hangs in a conspicuous place in the gymnasium plus some tickets to get free pizza for the team at a local eatery.
The next step is considering the awards themselves, including how many will be presented and to whom. Awards should be specific enough that those who receive them feel special, recognized for a unique contribution, but broad enough that many participants can be applauded for their contributions. For example, each team decides, following a game, which player on the other team best exemplified the intramural spirit of fun and encouraging competition. The convener then provides each team with a gift to give that player (a water bottle, a shirt, or a can of juice).
The third step is designing and constructing the awards. What form will they take? Will certificates and prizes be awarded, or will trophies, merchandise, and commemorative plaques be included in the mix? Whatever the type of award, the construction of the awards should support the intramural program mission. That is, the trophy should be fun to look at, something like an old running shoe painted gold that is nailed to a piece of wood, or a metal ball sculpture with a happy face design on the front. It should also be fun to receive. Encourage the photography club to take pictures of the trophy presentations.
Note: Constructing the awards is a great opportunity to utilize the creative talents of staff and other students in school (in particular, those in graphics and art classes, woodworking or metal-working classes, and photography club).
The fourth and final step in designing an awards program is determining what the awards will acknowledge and how they will be distributed. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to this step, providing examples of the types of awards to give and how to present them. First, however, the display of awards is worth mentioning.
Award Display
People display memorabilia they are proud of. It should be no different in intramural recognition. A glass-enclosed display case be a wonderful place to archive awards of the past and present. Encourage participants and alumni to display their awards for all to see. Team pictures, trophies, and other prizes can be included in a display case. Participants will be encouraged to participate in fun, active, and fair intramural programs by looking at their fellow students, wondering who will get which awards this year, and recalling the award-winning game or ceremony. To hold their interest and keep them coming back to the display case, change the display from time to time. For example, to increase interest in intramurals at the beginning of the school year or intramural season, display team photos and trophies from years past. To recognize and reward current participants during the school year or intramural season, display this year’s team photos and prizes.
Ceremonies
It is important to celebrate the highlights of an intramural program. Hosting an annual or seasonal awards ceremony is a great way to do that. These ceremonies can take place at a school assembly, an intramural breakfast, or a scheduled banquet (often combined with athletic team banquets). At Niagara-on-the-Lake High School, for example, an annual breakfast banquet is held in early June, before the first period of the day. Of course, banquets can also be held at noon and in the evening. Whatever the time or type of ceremony, take the time to enjoy the successes of the year or season.
As an intramural director, it will be your job to make the awards ceremony a special affair. The following components of successful ceremonies, along with useful ideas and suggestions, will help you do that.
	>	Theme. Start by choosing a theme. Themes might include Western days, March madness, the ’50s, at the beach, Summer (or Winter) Olympics—anything that would be fun and appropriate. You can also encourage students to dress according to the theme. In fact, you can have some fun with a dress code. Some years it may be fun to have a formal banquet, while other years it might be more interesting to add a twist. Encourage attendees to go all out in their attire and award prizes to those who are best dressed.
	>	Decorations. Simply put, the livelier the decorations, the more festive the ceremony. If the ceremony has a theme, decorate the facility accordingly. In addition, you might want to add a festive atmosphere by using gold-painted running shoes from the lost and found to anchor helium-filled balloons on every table. Since the ceremony is a celebration and is meant to highlight the fun of intramurals, have fun with the decorations. For example, decorate the tables with newsprint and place crayons on the table so that attendees can doodle during the ceremony. Or on each table place small containers that contain deflated balloons, pipe cleaners of various colors, tinfoil pie plates, a roll of colored tissue paper, and so on. Then have the attendees at each table decorate one table mate using these items. (The table with the best-decorated person gets a certificate or prize at the end of the evening.)
	>	Photographs. Be sure to take a lot of pictures throughout the evening, especially of those who dress up for the ceremony theme and those donning the table decorations mentioned in the previous paragraph. Team photos can be taken and given out to attendees or used in promotional materials. These pictures are excellent additions the intramural display case.
	>	Refreshments. Most ceremonies include some sort of refreshments, usually a meal or light snack, largely depending on the available budget. Sometimes a parent or student council may be willing to contribute some money to the event, or it might be possible to charge a small fee for attendance, although such fees may make it difficult for some to attend. Be creative in planning ceremony refreshments. For example, attendees could bring in some of the food (have a bake-off contest), or those interested could go out for pizza (dutch treat) after the ceremony. Likewise, ceremonies can be planned around low-cost refreshments. For example, pancakes at a breakfast banquet are certainly cheaper than steak or chicken at a supper banquet.
	>	Memories. Reminiscing should be big part of any ceremony. Highlights of the year (photographs and video clips from activities and events) can be compiled into an entertaining video or a slide show. Such presentations keep the ceremony moving, particularly during a meal. Encourage participants to share their own memories as well, making short presentations to the group or having an “open mike” for willing participants to come up and tell a story.
	>	Silly awards. You might also consider giving odd or unusual prizes throughout the celebration, supplemented by the story behind the prize or video clips and photographs of the inspiration for the award. For example, a player whose shorts ripped in the middle of a game could get a new pair of shorts.
	>	Pace. It is best to keep the ceremony moving. Particularly during the awards portion, banquets can easily become bogged down. Awards should be described briefly (the criteria of the award and the accomplishments of the recipient only), and award recipients should be encouraged to limit their comments to a few statements, or less.
	>	Fanfare. Award recipients should have their moment in the spotlight. It can be fun to approach the awards portion of the ceremony “Oscar” style. That is, announce the award, describe the criteria of the award, announce the nominees and a brief description of why they are nominated, and then read the winner from a card in an envelope (“And the winner is . . .”). To keep the pace moving, of course, you may want to limit the presentation and winner acceptance speeches to 30 seconds or less.
When all is said and done, ceremonies should be a highlight of the intramural season or school year. They are an important opportunity to reinforce your mission, acknowledge the people who have contributed to your program, and reward participants who deserve special recognition. Seize this opportunity. Take the time to enjoy the successes by celebrating with awards. Above all, the entire ceremony should reflect the primary mission of intramurals: having fun.

An Intramural Extravaganza
Ceremonies can be as simple or involved as you want them to be. The following exerpt illustrates the approach of Prince Edward School, in Prince Edward Island, Canada. They developed an intramural extravaganza night to wrap up their program for the year. They took the top 70 students from the intramural program and invited them to the event. The participants were divided into eight teams balanced by gender, grade level, and athletic ability. Each team was given the name of a country.
“The leadership class made medals with the extravaganza logo on them and painted them gold silver, and bronze. The logos are unique to each year and are created by the leaders. These engraved and painted medals are eagerly sought after. Teams receive points for a number of events and members of each team receive the appropriate medal. Other awards are also given out for individuals who demonstrated the best blooper play, best team play, best team player, and best sportsmanship.
“Originally each team was given a country and a team pinnie matching the country’s flag color. The last few years they went with T-Shirts that students purchase. The T-Shirts are of various team colors but all have the extravaganza logo. Students appreciate these T-Shirts and wear them with pride long after the event—great promotions for next year’s extravaganza.
“The events run from 6:30pm to 9:30pm sometime around mid-June. We run a round-robin style tournament with 20-minute games. The event goes on rain or shine, though it is scheduled to be in the gym if it rains, and activities include variations on softball, football, volleyball, basketball, bladder ball, ultimate Frisbee, Omnikin, and scooter hockey.
“The evening is concluded with an awards assembly. Parents are invited to watch. The top three teams are given medals, and individual award winners receive water bottles or other prizes donated by local businesses. Following a snack and drink, sold at a discounted price, students and parents leave enthused and happy after a great evening of intramural fun and excitement with a bunch of great people.” (Howard, 1996)
Reprinted by permission of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association. From B. Howard, 1996, “Intramural extravaganza,” CIRA Bulletin 22 (1):11.

Annual and Ongoing Awards
The two types of awards discussed in this chapter are annual awards and ongoing awards. Annual awards are awards given in recognition of a unique contribution to the intramural program. These contributions can be a special one-time effort, such as putting a lot of work into an event or organizing and hosting the awards banquet, or a season- or year-long effort, such as refereeing the most games during the year or being the best sports. Annual awards are cumulative. That is, they are tracked throughout the year and presented at its completion.
Ongoing awards, the second type of award, are given throughout the year. Traditional ongoing awards include trophies and prizes for winning a tournament or competition or game, as well as sportsmanship trophies for the team or individual exemplifying the ideas of fair play. Less-traditional ongoing awards can reward such achievements as winning the most games in a league or sport season as well as being on a team that accrued the fewest penalties, that was always dressed the best, and so on.
Ongoing awards provide the opportunity to celebrate regular highlights and achievements throughout the intramural program, including the type of participation you wish to support. For example, St. Thomas High School gives out a “tip-of-the-hat award” every week to a participant who offers a special contribution to the intramural program during a specific week. Criteria change from week-to-week. One week students may receive the award for a unique contribution (helping to organize the basketball tournament), and another week for an outstanding performance (winning a competition or exemplifying the standards of fair play). Many schools designate an intramural star or athlete of the week, who receives a certificate and gets his or her picture and a brief write-up in the school or local newspaper.
Equipped with a clear understanding of the difference between annual and ongoing awards, then, let’s move on to the two components of intramural awards—specifically, program awards and sport- or event-specific awards.
Program Awards
To promote participation in intramurals, it is a good idea to encourage individual and team participants as well as staff, volunteers, officials, and other program leadership. The best way to do that is to offer program awards. Program awards are traditionally presented annually (hence the “of the year” tagged onto most of the award names in this section), but they can also be presented at the end of a season, event, or special activity. The essence of program awards is that they recognize people for contributing to the program.
Before describing the various program awards used in intramural programs across North America, a caution is in order. Program awards, even fun or silly awards, can quickly be seen as a group of intramural staff congratulating themselves and their friends on their entertaining and funny experiences. In other words, when establishing your program award criteria, you must consider all program participants. Determine which awards best celebrate the mission of your program and the contributions of participants.
The following sections describe some specific program awards and provide suggestions for establishing award criteria. These awards are not the only options available, however. If people have done something special for the intramural program or conducted themselves in an exemplary way, create an award to celebrate their contribution.
Fair Play of the Year
This should be a significant award. “Fair play of the Year” is, perhaps, the most important award for an intramural program. It rewards sportsmanlike conduct, of course, but it also reinforces the very mission of the program. Thus, the recipient should be someone who best exemplifies the spirit of your mission and standards of fair play. That is, the recipient of this award should be someone who encourages fun and participation for all, even the marginalized populations at your school. He should be someone who participated in almost every intramural league or activity, from those he excelled at to those in which he was a novice. She should be someone who strove, in every game or event, to make new friends and make the activity enjoyable for all.
Best Ump (or Ref) of the Year
As described in chapter 5, officials get their share of criticism and insults—and then some. An award for best ump (or ref) of the year is an opportunity to publicly acknowledge an official who played a key role in ensuring safety and fun participation for all program participants. Criteria for this award should include officiating at a significant number of games throughout the year or season, exemplifying the characteristics of good officials (see chapter 5), being highly ranked on participant evaluations, and participating in further training to improve skills. Because some officials may only oversee certain sports, it may be a good idea to refine this award by presenting sport-specific “ump of the year” awards. For example, a separate award could be presented for hockey, basketball, and baseball leagues. You could also broaden this award by awarding the “best official of the year,” which could include head and supervisory officials.
Top Team of the Year
At some institutions, an annual award is given for the top intramural team of the year. Selecting the top team is made easier when the house system is used because the same teams participate in all program events and leagues. Teams may gain or lose a few players, depending on the specific activity they are engaged in, but the core of the team and the team name stays the same for the entire year. In cases where the house system is not used, the top team of the year could be given to a team that stuck together for much of the year and most demonstrated and encouraged fun and fair play through their participation.
The basic design of this award is as follows: Teams are awarded points both for winning and for participation. At the end of the year, these points are totaled and the team with the most points receives the award. The underlying idea is that earning points will encourage team members both to play and to show up at games to support their team.
For example, at Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario, each team can sign up a maximum of 15 participants per event. For small-number events such as three-on-three basketball, they can enter several teams (i.e., three teams of five students each). Different players can sign up for different events, but the core of the team stays the same. To encourage more students to come out for intramural events, teams earn extra points when they bring in a person not previously involved in intramural events: 10 points per person to a maximum of 250 points per semester or year. (Even if a team had a maximum of 15 people signed up for a previous league, a couple of those might not be interested in the next league, which creates and opportunity to recruit some new people to add to the team.)They also earn additional points for other events that promote intramurals or school spirit, such as entering a team float in a local parade or helping as a team for a local community project. Teams also lose points. For example, if they do not show up for a game, they lose 25 points for an individual event and 125 points for a team event.
Note: Having houses, or annual teams, makes organization easier and teams become part of intramural promotion as they seek out new players to earn extra points. If points are kept for the entire year, however, some teams may lose heart if they fall too far behind. Figuring they have no chance of winning the overall team event, many players may become discouraged and stop participating. This, of course, hurts the program. A solution is doubling the points in the second semester, which gives the underdogs an opportunity to catch up.
In the Confederation College and similar point systems used, points are recorded on a participation record like the one shown in figure 9.1. The first grid is an attendance record. It provides space for the names of all team members and a check-off grid to record their attendance (participation) on various game dates. Participant names are written in the left column and game or event dates are written at the top of each subsequent column. (There should be a separate column for each game or event.) Whenever a player shows up, he or she gets a checkmark for that game or event date. Each checkmark is worth one point. Thus, if all 10 teammates come out for five games, the team would get 50 points.

Team Participation Record
Name	Date	Total
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
		Total
Participants new to intramurals
1
2
3
4
Participation points
• League team 5 X total attendance
• One-day team/individual event, .4 X total
Place in league	Place for one-	Place for
		day event	individual events
• 1st	72 points	54	36
• 2nd	60 points	45	30
• 3rd	48 points	36	24
• 4th	36 points	27	18
Bonus points for new participants (see left)
	X 15 for a one-day or individual event
	X 20 for a league
Minus defaults
	League first time	–50
	League second time	–100
	One-day or individual first time	–25
	One-day or individual second time	–50
Total points
Figure 9.1  Sample intramural team participation sheet.

Points are tallied and totaled in the lower right table in figure 9.1. In the case of a league, attendance points are multiplied by five. In the case of a one-day event, attendance points are multiplied by 4. Then each team gets points for its final standing. Like total attendance points, the point total depends on whether the event involves league play or individual play (e.g., badminton singles), or is a one-day event. For example, if the team places first in the league, that is worth 72 points. If the team places first in a one-day event, that is worth 54 points. And if it is an individual event, the individual competing earns 36 points for his or her team.
Working down the table, new-participant points are added. If a new person is brought in for a one-day or individual event, the team gets 15 points. If it is a league, the team gets 20 points for each new person. Finally, to discourage no-shows, points are deducted.
Top Participant of the Year
Rather than track participation points by team, some institutions prefer to use a point system for each participant. Every time a person participates in an intramural event the player is given one participant point. At the end of the year, the individual with the most participation points wins the “top participant of the year” award.
When using a point system for individual participation, try to ensure that it is equitable. That means, points should be weighted according to the type and duration of the activity. For example, participating in a one-day event should be worth more than participating in a half-hour event. Likewise, different points can be awarded for different types of participation. For example, award a different number of points for being a competitor, official, and scorekeeper. In addition, keep the criteria and scoring simple, and keep accurate records. To prevent misplacing or losing point totals halfway through a season, it is helpful to keep a master record in the intramural office and transfer individual event records to the master at the end of each event.
Other
The awards described in the previous sections are commonly used to acknowledge and reward intramural participants. In addition, consider the following awards:
>	Fair players: teams nominated by the officials, program staff, and fellow participants for adhering to and encouraging the standards of fair play (more than one fair player award can be presented)
>	Best departmental participation: Academic programs at universities and colleges are often departmentalized according to majors (business, nursing, computer science, English, and so on). The department with the highest number of students participating during the year receives the award
>	Most physically active staff: the staff person who was most involved in physical activity during the year
>	Outstanding official: the official who refereed many intramural games and whose evaluations were positive
>	Team captain of the year: the team captain who contributed the most to the intramural program (this could also be a general team captains award and be presented to all team captains)
In the spirit of promoting fun in an intramural program, you might also want to include some silly awards such as the following:
>	Deflated ball award: given to participants who accidentally broke some equipment
>	Red face award: presented for the most embarrassing situations in an intramural event or activity
>	Eager beaver award: presented to the participant who gives the most conscientious effort
Event Awards
Event awards traditionally included prizes and game trophies awarded at the end of a tournament, season, competition, game, or other event. In the interest of encouraging the mission of intramurals, however, intramural directors would be wise to consider offering other event awards that will celebrate unique and positive contributions made to leagues, teams, activities, games, and events throughout the year. The most common intramural event awards are listed in the following sections. This list is far from comprehensive. Use a little creativity to come up with more awards that will promote fun and active participation at every event.
Game Trophies
It is always helpful to recognize people for achievements. Winning a game or league is an achievement and deserves some praise. But remember that intramural competition is first of all about fun and active movement. At Redeemer University College, a stuffed dog on a wooden platform is given to the winning team. The winning teams keeps the trophy till the next event, at which point the trophy is passed on to the winner of that event. The trophy has some prestige to it, it acknowledges the winner but is also a fun trophy, and is less important that the awards given to the team that displayed the best intramural spirit.
MVP
Players who contribute the most to winning the game (i.e., score the most points) are usually dubbed MVPs (most valuable players). To promote the mission of intramurals, however, a better use of this award is recognizing the player who most contributes to a fun, inclusive atmosphere—sort of a best sport award. Likewise, in professional sports, MVPs are traditionally named at the end of a season.
Just as it is important to recognize sportsmanship in the overall program, it is also important to reward sportsmanship at each and every event. Like the program “sportsmanship of the year” award, event “best sport” awards should be significant. Indeed, they are perhaps the most significant awards presented at games and other events. And like the criteria for the program “sportsmanship of the year” award, the recipient of this event award should be the player who best exemplifies the spirit of play and fun, encouragement, and fair play. Best sport awards can be given after each game, after a tournament, at the conclusion of a league, and so on. The more often good sports are recognized and acknowledged, the stronger the emphasis on sportsmanship during play and in your intramural program.
At Calvin grade school, good sports are recognized with a weekly sportsmanship award. Recipients appear in the weekly newsletter and are announced every Monday morning over the P.A. system. The criteria for the week’s best sport include
>	winning or losing graciously;
>	participating in all activities;
>	cheering on all players, not just teammates;
>	not criticizing anyone;
>	following the rules; and
>	demonstrating respect for the officials.
Participation Awards
Many schools reward every participant’s effort. If they showed up and tried their best, they deserve some recognition. This is especially important for younger students in grade and high school, expecially nonathletes and students who struggle with certain activities. Consider offering T-shirts, balls and other sports equipment, and even miniature trophies to recognize players’ efforts and willingness to participate. The affordability of these rewards, of course, will be determined by your budget, but a little creativity can go a long way.
Certificates
Certificates offer a low-cost alternative to participation awards. For example, to encourage fun in its intramural program, MacDonald High School gives out a “fair play” certificate after each game. Players from each team select someone on the other team who they feel deserves recognition and then presents a certificate to that person at the end of the game. Names of certificate winners are publicized on the school’s daily announcements and recorded by the intramural director. At the end of the year, the students who receive the most certificates are eligible for a special prize. At MacDonald High School, these prizes are T-shirts with the logo “I played fair.” But any recognition will do.
Certificates are inexpensive, and can often be generated on the computer. At John Darling Elementary School, students are given participation certificates after the first game. These certificates are filed in the principal’s office. As students participate in each event, they are given stickers to affix to these certificates. At the end of the year, students receive their sticker-laden certificates to take home and enjoy all summer. An example certificate is shown in figure 9.2.

Figure 9.2  Participation certificate.

Prizes
Unlike trophies, plaques, and other traditional awards, prizes can be fun, creative, silly, and/or unusual. Indeed, prizes should reflect the mission of fun in intramurals. At Redeemer University College, for example, the winner of the competitive division gets the “Golden Muffy” award, a stuffed dog on a wooden base representing the poodle of the president’s wife. The winner of the recreational division gets “Walley’s chicken,” a plastic chicken on a wooden base representing the maintenance person’s pet chickens. In both cases, winning teams keep their award till there is a winner in a subsequent event. Silly prizes like these are not only fun ways to award participants but also a positive way to keep the support of important people on campus.
Of course, you are not limited to sport- or activity-specific criteria in awarding prizes. For example, provide a laughing machine for the student who laughs the most during intramurals or a pair of shoelaces for the person whose laces kept coming undone. You could also give a tie-dyed T-Shirt to the player who wears the craziest clothes to intramural activities or an intramural hat for the player who usually competes while wearing a hat.
Prizes can also be used as incentives. George Brown College, for example, created an incentive program to challenge students in the mileage club. All students are given “Husky Bucks” for participating, which they can redeem at the college store for merchandise. To prevent counterfeiting, these “bucks” are signed by intramural personnel and redesigned every year. Any intramural program can design their own program coupons (see figure 9.3). A similar incentive program can be easily developed. Instead of going to the expense of printing coupons or “bucks,” simply keep track of participation points (see figure 9.1 on page 154) and then offer intramural merchandize or other prizes for accumulated points.

Figure 9.3  Polar Bucks. Program awards redeemable for prizes.

Prizes can vary from inexpensive gadgets and memorabilia to moderately priced and expensive merchandise. Carvings, glassware, pottery, clothing, free passes to a local facility or event, certificates for free food, water bottles, whistles, rackets and other sports equipment—anything participants might want can be used as a prize. Since prize recipients’ tastes might differ from that of the intramural director or staff person selecting the merchandise, it might be simpler to have a prize table that recipients can select their prizes from, although that may give rise to some squabbling among prize-winning participants. The simplest way to distribute prizes is to award the same prizes to everyone. In the collegiate setting, for example, appropriate prizes would include Frisbees, T-shirts, college sweatshirts, book bags, backpacks, and travel bags.
Surrey Middle School gives a “golden running shoe” prize to participants who complete 100 miles (kilometers) running or walking. Golden shoe holders keep the prize until the next person reaches the target (100 miles [kilometers]), and they continue running or walking their next 100 miles (kilometers). Several schools present the “rusty whistle award” (the prize is a rusty whistle) to teams that play a penalty-free game. At the end of the season, the names of all rusty whistle holders are placed in a hat, and the team whose name is drawn gets a certificate for a pizza dinner. Of course, trophies, certificates, plaques, and other merchandise can also be awarded for this type of individual and team achievement, but prizes such as these are a low-cost alternative and in many cases are quite popular with students.
Scoring as an Incentive
The literature suggests that people have a need to evaluate their personal abilities relative to those of others (Festinger 1954). One way this need is satisfied is by people comparing themselves with others in game activities. Scores in games and standings in leagues and tournaments serve as an award or incentive to keep some people coming out. Keeping scores and standings is a prize for some people. Without overemphasizing winning games, after all intramurals is about fun active movement, keeping score and standings provides a positive incentive for some people to keep participating.
Chapter Summary Exercises
Awards are an opportunity to publicly acknowledge participants’ successes and achievement. As described in this chapter, achievement includes more than doing well or winning a game. Achievement in intramurals includes showing up, being a good sport, encouraging others to participate and become active, increasing everyone’s enjoyment by emphasizing the spirit of play and fun, and celebrating the mission of the program. The following four exercises will help you review the material in this chapter and plan your awards program.
	1.	Look at the mission statement you developed in chapter 2. Think of specific awards that will further your mission.
	2.	Review the different awards listed in this chapter, and recall your own intramural experiences. Come up with a list of all the awards you want to include in your program. Be sure to consider ongoing and annual awards.
	3.	For three of the awards listed in number 2, develop the criteria for each award (who will receive it and how many) and the method of presentation. When and how will you present each award?
	4.	Considering your awards from number 2 and your method of presentation from number 3, plan an awards ceremony.
References
Amabile, T., and B. Hennessey. 1992. The motivation for creativity in children. In Achievement and motivation, edited by A. Boggiano and T. Pittman. New York: Cambridge University Press, 54-74.
Deci, E., and R. Ryan. 1985. Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
Harackiewicz, J. 1979. The effects of reward contingency and performance feedback on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37: 1352-63.
Howard, B. 1996. Intramural extravaganza. CIRA Bulletin 22 (1): 11. Used by permission of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association.
Resources
For two sites that note their awards programs look at:
CIRA-Ontario
www.mohawkc.on.ca/external/cira/awards.htm
University of Wisconsin – Stout
www.uwstout.edu/univrec/imaw.htm