How Many Trophies Do You Need for a Sports Presentation?
14/08/2026Organising a sports presentation can be exciting, but there is a lot to organise behind the scenes. One of the most common questions for sporting clubs, schools and event organisers is:
How many trophies do we actually need?
The answer depends on the size of your competition, the number of teams and players, the award categories and whether you’re presenting trophies, medals or a combination of both.
Ordering too few awards can leave you scrambling before presentation night, while ordering too many can unnecessarily increase your budget.
The good news is that with a simple award-planning system, you can work out exactly how many sports trophies and awards you need before placing your order.
Start With Your Award Categories
The easiest way to calculate your trophy requirements is to make a list of every award that will be presented.
A typical sporting presentation might include:
- Premiership or championship trophy
- Runner-up trophy
- Third-place award
- Best & Fairest
- Most Valuable Player
- Best Player
- Most Improved Player
- Best Team Player
- Coaches’ Award
- Club Person of the Year
- Participation awards
- Coach awards
- Volunteer awards
- Special achievement awards
Not every club needs all of these categories.
The important thing is to decide on your award structure before ordering your trophies.
A Simple Sports Trophy Calculation
A simple way to calculate your order is:
Total awards = team awards + individual awards + participation awards + special awards
For example, imagine a junior football club has four teams.
Each team receives:
- 1 Champion trophy
- 1 Runner-up trophy
- 1 Best & Fairest
- 1 Most Improved
- 1 Coaches’ Award
That’s:
5 awards × 4 teams = 20 trophies
If the club also presents 20 participation medals per team:
20 medals × 4 teams = 80 medals
The final order would therefore be:
20 trophies + 80 medals = 100 awards
This approach makes it much easier to create an accurate budget.
Should Every Player Receive a Trophy?
Not necessarily.
Whether every player receives a trophy depends on the type of competition and your club’s approach to recognition.
For larger junior competitions, medals can be a more practical option for participation awards, while trophies can be reserved for specific achievements.
For example:
Championship Awards
1st Place – Trophy
2nd Place – Trophy
3rd Place – Trophy
Individual Awards
Best & Fairest – Trophy
Most Improved – Trophy
Coaches’ Award – Trophy
Participation
Every player – Medal
This approach gives important achievements a prominent trophy while ensuring every participant receives something to remember the season by.
Trophy Centre has a large range of medals for sporting events, including generic and achievement-focused options.
How Many Trophies Does Each Team Need?
There isn’t a universal number of trophies required per team.
A common starting point is between 3 and 6 individual awards per team, depending on the age group and competition structure.
For example:
| Award | Quantity per team |
|---|---|
| Champion | 1 |
| Runner-up | 1 |
| Best & Fairest | 1 |
| Most Improved | 1 |
| Coaches’ Award | 1 |
| Best Team Player | 1 |
| Total | 6 |
For four teams:
6 × 4 = 24 trophies
However, your club may have fewer or more award categories.
The important thing is to build the list around your actual presentation program rather than using a fixed number.
Don’t Forget Coaches and Volunteers
One common mistake when ordering sports awards is remembering the players but forgetting the people who make the season possible.
Depending on your club, you may want to recognise:
- Head coaches
- Assistant coaches
- Team managers
- Committee members
- Volunteers
- Referees
- Club officials
- Long-serving members
- Sponsors
These awards don’t necessarily need to be the same style as player trophies.
For example, a club could use a personalised trophy for a coach and an engraved plaque for a special volunteer recognition award.
Consider Medals Instead of Trophies for Participation
If you have a large number of players, giving everyone a trophy can become expensive and difficult to manage.
Medals offer an alternative.
For example, a club with 200 players could provide:
20 achievement trophies
+
200 participation medals
This allows everyone to receive recognition while keeping the number of larger trophies manageable.
Trophy Centre’s medal range includes hundreds of options suitable for different sporting events and achievement levels.
What About Perpetual Trophies?
For annual club competitions, a perpetual trophy can be an excellent option.
Instead of buying a new championship trophy every year, the same trophy can be awarded to the winner each season.
The winner’s name and year can then be added to an engraved plate.
For example:
CLUB CHAMPION
2024 – J. Smith
2025 – A. Brown
2026 – T. Wilson
This creates a history of the competition and gives the award additional significance.
Trophy Centre offers perpetual trophies in different styles and sizes, including cups and tiered designs.
How Many Engraved Plates Do You Need?
If you’re using perpetual trophies, remember that you may need engraved plates rather than a completely new trophy every season.
You may need:
1 plate per winner per year
For example, if your club has five perpetual awards and wants to record five years of winners:
5 awards × 5 years = 25 engraved plates
It’s also worth keeping spare plates available if your club has a long-running competition.
Trophy Centre provides engraved plates in different finishes and materials, including aluminium options suitable for presentation awards and plaques.
Should You Order Extra Trophies?
It’s worth considering a small buffer when placing your order.
Names can change, award categories can be added and participant numbers can increase before presentation day.
However, you don’t necessarily need to order a large number of extras.
A better approach is to:
- Confirm your final participant numbers.
- Confirm every award category.
- Check spelling of all names.
- Confirm the trophy quantities.
- Keep a small contingency for unexpected changes.
For large events, it’s particularly important to finalise quantities and engraving details early.
Don’t Forget the Engraving
A trophy isn’t complete without the correct engraving.
Before sending your order, prepare a final list containing:
- Recipient name
- Award category
- Team or club
- Competition
- Age group
- Season/year
For example:
2026
BEST & FAIREST
UNDER 16
JACK WILLIAMS
Double-check names before approving the engraving. A simple spelling mistake can become a major problem when awards are being presented in front of players, parents and spectators.
Choosing the Right Sports Trophy
The right trophy depends on the sport, achievement and presentation.
You can choose from different styles for sports such as:
- Australian Rules Football
- Rugby
- Soccer
- Basketball
- Netball
- Cricket
- Tennis
- Golf
- Swimming
- Athletics
- Rowing
- Lacrosse
- School sports
Trophy Centre’s current range includes sporting categories and specialised awards, with its website specifically promoting trophies designed for different sports.
Browse Trophies for Different Sports
Example Sports Presentation Order
Here’s an example of how a club could structure an award order for a four-team competition.
Team Awards
4 × Champion trophies
4 × Runner-up trophies
4 × Best & Fairest trophies
4 × Most Improved trophies
4 × Coaches’ awards
Total: 20 trophies
Participation Awards
25 players × 4 teams
Total: 100 medals
Special Awards
2 × Coach awards
2 × Volunteer awards
1 × Club Person of the Year
Total: 5 awards
Overall Order
20 team trophies + 100 medals + 5 special awards = 125 awards
This is only an example. Your club’s requirements may be significantly different depending on the number of teams and award categories.
Sports Presentation Trophy Checklist
Before placing your order, use this checklist:
- Confirm the number of teams
- Confirm the number of players
- List every award category
- Decide which awards will be trophies
- Decide which awards will be medals
- Identify coaches and volunteers to recognise
- Check whether you need perpetual trophies
- Calculate engraved plates
- Prepare recipient names
- Check spelling
- Confirm logos
- Confirm presentation date
- Allow time for engraving and production
- Arrange delivery or collection
This simple process can help prevent last-minute problems before your presentation.
Planning a Sports Presentation? Start Your Trophy Order Early
The number of trophies you need for a sports presentation ultimately comes down to your competition structure and award categories.
For smaller clubs, a handful of achievement trophies may be enough. For large school or sporting competitions, a combination of trophies and medals can provide recognition for hundreds of participants.
The key is to plan your award categories first, calculate your quantities second, and then select the right trophies, medals and personalised awards.
If you’re looking for sports trophies in Australia, Trophy Centre has a wide selection of trophies, medals, perpetuals, plaques and engraved products for sporting clubs, schools, organisations and businesses. The company operates from its workshop in Fyshwick, ACT and has been supplying awards to Canberra and surrounding regions for more than 30 years.
Trophy Centre
Molonglo Mall Business Area
Newcastle Street
Fyshwick ACT 2609