Marilia’s Powerlifting Blog

Here in Brazil one of the stressful events prior to competitions, for the organizers, is choosing the trophies and medals. Having come into the sport quite recently (like six months ago), I still can’t figure why this should be so significant, since what really matters is the actual mark and if it can or cannot be ascertained (officially, posted on internet sites, etc.). This is, however, the point of view of a web-writter and might not be shared by the majority of practitioners, who, in my country, come from low income, poor information-access social strata. For them, the physical reward tokens (medals and trophies) are the actual proof that they have accomplished something important.
I believe this has been pushed too far, though. I mean, the trophies get bigger and weirder every time. It is a terrible nuisance to figure out, for example, how to bring two absurd 3lb plaster (yes! Plaster! The most BREAKABLE thing ever invented!) trophies from Montevideo to São Paulo along with equipment, shoes, etc., etc. Half the weird golden plaster statue’s arm fell off when I unwrapped if from my bench shirt at home.
Therefore, I propose we consider some insignificant, yet practical changes in competition rewarding: let us make “useful trophies” and offer very small, light medals – say, the size of a large coin.
We could make can-opener-trophies (I just fought for ten minutes to open a tuna fish can because the opener broke), jar trophies (good for making herbal tea and getting rid of toxins), cup trophies (for coffee!) or shaker trophies (for your daily post-workout whey shake).
The medals would be even more practical, since the athlete could carry his/her whole curriculum in his/her pocket or bag, if it is meaningful to him/her. Instead of bulky albums or very heavy bags full of saucer-sized medals, your whole athletic life would fit into a simple coin bag!
Woudn’t it be wonderful, practical and MUCH CHEAPER??
Ok, it was just an idea.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 at 7:09 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.