Trophy

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This article is about competition awards. For other uses, see Trophy (disambiguation).

Image:Powergen Cup.jpg

Some loving-cup trophies seen in the London Irish clubhouse at Sunbury in 2002. The one in the centre is the Powergen Cup.

Image:Bjorkman and Woodbridge winners Wimbledon 2004.jpg

Swede Jonas Björkman and Australian Todd Woodbridge with loving-cup trophies after winning the Men's Doubles event at the 2004 Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

A trophy is a reward for a specific accomplishment, and usually afterwards serves as proof of merit. They are most often awarded with sporting events. These range from youth sports 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.

Medals are often given out either instead of or along with trophies, such as gold medals, silver medals, and bronze medals for accomplishments in sport.

1 Etymology
2 Trophy types
3 Sporting
4 Military
5 Hunting
6 See also

Etymology

French trophée, from Old French trophee, from Latin trophaeum, monument to victory, variant of tropaeum, from Greek tropaion, from neuter of tropaios, of defeat, from tropē, a turning, rout.

Trophy types

A trophy is simply an object (compared to a flat plaque or ribbon) designed to be used as an award, usually mounted or manufactured for display. It can take the shape of loving cups, bowls, or mugs (all usually engraved); statues of people, animals, architecture, or anything else; displays of words or numbers; or anything else left to the imagination of the trophy designer. They are most commonly based on a platform of sturdy cardboard resembling wood, except for the most expensive of trophies. For example, the Academy Awards Oscar is a trophy with a stylized human; the Hugo Award for science fiction is a space ship trophy; and the Wimbledon award is a large loving cup.

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 or silver plate.

Human trophies were sometimes used in ancient warfare. After battles, some armies practised penis removal of defeated warriors to wear these as trophies or in order to count the dead. Usually though only the foreskins were taken.

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

Sporting

Some sporting trophies include:

Wimbledon Cup — Awarded to the Wimbledon Champion
Borg-Warner Trophy — Awarded to the Indianapolis 500 Champion
FIFA World Cup — Awarded to Soccer's World Champion
America's Cup — Awarded to America's Yacht Racing Champion
Heisman Trophy — Awaded to the NCAA's Most Valuable Player in College Football
BCS Trophy — Awarded to College Football's National Champion
Stanley Cup — Awarded to the National Hockey League's World 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
Football League Championship Trophy — Awarded to The English Football League's Champion
Old Oaken Bucket — A college football rivalry trophy
The Ashes — A rivalry trophy in the sport of Test Cricket
TNA X Cup — Awarded to the X Division Champion of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
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

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.

Hunting

Main article: Hunting trophy

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 (see hunting trophy).