Story by Tina Xie

The participation award is an award that almost everyone can win. When you are not the winner, the organizer will usually give you a participation award as encouragement. So, is the participation award a good reward or a sign of success? Primary school students should get sports participation awards.

Participation awards can boost confidence, even for those who don't win (Text 1 lines 9-13). Praising and rewarding only winners can have a damaging effect on those who don't win, especially younger athletes. Giving everyone involved a level of recognition can go a long way in boosting confidence and promoting future success. It teaches athletes that they may not win, but it’s important that they give it their all and always do their best（Text 2 lines 6-10）.Some children are not sure of themselves. They tend to doubt themselves and their abilities, so building confidence through regular praise is crucial, and instilling in them a sense of personal pride is an important part of preparing them for success in the real world. Without regular recognition, these children will never have the courage to take risks or stand up for themselves as adults.

Participation awards can keep people motivated（Text 3 lines 12-15). “A participation trophy reminds children that they are part of something and may help inspire them to return for another season,” said Tom Farry, executive director of the Sports and Society Program at the Aspen Institute and author of "Game on: The National Race to Build Champions for Our Kids."（Text 1 lines 22- 25）Failure is hard, but losing interest is easy, especially when losses start to pile up. It's easy for young athletes to lose interest in a sport if they aren't winning, which is why many leagues don't keep track of scores at the youngest levels. If participation prizes encourage those who don’t get prizes, maybe they won’t feel so defeated.

The participation award can teach positive values. It is not just winning or losing that is important, the process is also important. Even if you lose the game, you have at least experienced the game. In the process of the game, you may gain a lot, and the participation award is a symbol and sign that you have experienced a game（Text3 lines 29-34）. "The idea of ​​just giving trophies to winners doesn't adequately emphasize other important values," said the author of "Pride and Joy: A Guide to Understanding Your Children's Emotions and Solving Family Problems." The writer continued, "We want kids to play sports, learn to improve their skills, help others, work hard and contribute to a team" (Text 3 lines 21-24）. Other reasons to defend trophies for everyone is that when parents complain about the escalating competition in sports, they remind their children that we value their efforts regardless of ability or results. The participation trophy tells them that it is important to attend training, learn the rules of the game and work hard.

Some people say children should get sports participation awards, while others say they shouldn't because they think participation awards fill young people with a sense of complacency and entitlement（Text 2 lines 27-30. When children see recognition and praise earned simply by participating, they may begin to lose motivation to excel. If they feel they will be rewarded regardless of effort or ability, this may prevent them from improving their abilities. This could cause harm because if recognition and praise are not given, it will undermine their self-confidence, and they will be reluctant to try the sport again and lose motivation.

The above points illustrate the importance of young people receiving sports participation awards. 

Story by Kiana Yezarski

What are participation awards? Participation awards are given when a child shows up at an event such as a game. I don’t think that participation awards should be given to children just for showing up. Children should understand the importance of winning or losing, while they are encouraged by coaches and parents. Some people agree that having participation trophies is great, but others say that they aren’t important.

Children should understand the importance of winning and losing. “Understanding the difference between winning and losing is a wildly important life lesson.”  (Text 1, line 16). Getting awards inspires children to keep playing, but when more participation awards are given, this can cause students to lose motivation. “It also teaches us how to bounce back and recover from loss, while also providing athletes or performers with drive and purpose to do better.” (Text 1, line 20). Athletes can learn to  cope with loss, while still being encouraged to win.

Another reason for not giving participation awards to school-age children is that they are regularly encouraged by coaches and parents by giving them motivation. The reassurance from coaches and parents means that any support from a participation trophy is unneeded. ”Today, participation trophies and prizes are almost a given, as children are constantly assured that they are winners.” (Text 4, lines 8-9) This shows that school-age children are receiving outside support so they don’t need participation awards.Winning is not always the purpose for a sport. A coach’s purpose is to prepare athletes. “Those who are outperformed know it and give up, while those who do well feel cheated when they aren’t recognized for their accomplishments.” (Text 4, lines 28-29).This shows that participation awards don’t always encourage elementary-age children. 

There are some reasons why participation awards are good for young children, but not everyone agrees. “Participation trophies tell them that what matters is showing up for practice, learning the rules and rituals of the game and working hard.” (Text 3, line 24). This may be true, but offering these awards doesn’t always inspire children to succeed. There are more cons than pros when giving participation awards to school-age children. “Offering a trophy to a young child can be an empty gesture unless coaches and parents tell children why they are being awarded.” (Text 3, lines 47-48).Participation awards mean nothing to a child who doesn't understand why they got the award.

We shouldn’t give participation awards to elementary-age children. While some people might say that awards should be given, evidence has shown that participation awards can be harmful. School-age children should understand how winning and losing is important, and that they are being assured as winners. We shouldn’t give participation awards to elementary-age children in sports games.