When to order trophies depends on three things: your date, your names and how busy that time of year is. Most clubs and schools leave it later than they meant to, usually because final results take longer than anyone expected. This guide goes through the year by season, so you can see where your own rush falls and work back from it. The short version is to start your list early and allow a couple of weeks before the event if you can. That is advice from us, not a delivery promise.
The year at a glance
| When | Who | What for |
|---|---|---|
| April and May | Darts and pool leagues | Finals and end of season nights |
| May and June | Football clubs | Presentation evenings |
| June and July | Schools | Sports days |
| November and December | Businesses | Corporate awards and staff dinners |
Those are the months the events happen. Your planning needs to begin before them, as the sections below explain.
Work back from your date
Take a calendar and fill in these dates, starting from the event and working backwards:
- The event: write down the date, and the last day you could realistically take the trophies to the venue.
- Your order date: count back a couple of weeks from there. We suggest having your order in by then.
- Your names deadline: count back another week. Every manager, teacher or colleague must have sent their list by this date.
- Your design decision: count back one more week. Choose your trophies and check the stock figures.
That gives you about a month of planning for a typical club night. It is not a rule, and a small order needs far less. A big order with a lot of names can easily need more.
Football presentations in May and June
Most football clubs hold their presentation evening in May or June, once the last fixtures are played. The risk is the end of the season, as postponed games and cup finals can push your results back into May.
- Book the date in January or February, and ask for a room with a spare week behind it.
- Ask managers to confirm squad lists by the end of April, including anyone who joined late.
- Run votes such as Players' Player a few weeks before the night, not on the night itself.
- Choose your design early, because a popular height can run down when every club in the county wants it.
Good starting points are football trophies and team trophies. If you run several age groups, keep them on one order so the whole club reaches a higher discount band.
Darts and pool finals in April and May
League finals tend to fall in April and May, and secretaries often have the hardest timing of anyone. You may not know who won Division 1 until the last week, yet the trophies need to be on the table at the finals night.
- Agree your prize list at the start of the season, so the money is in the budget early.
- Order team sets with the division, title and season on the plate, and leave the team name off if the title is still open.
- Once the winners are known, order any named plates for singles, pairs and highest checkout.
- If the night is a cup final, order for both finalists and keep the wording to what is certain.
Our darts trophies and pool and snooker trophies cover the usual awards, and the darts and pool league guide shows how to build a prize list.
School sports days in June and July
Sports days cluster in June and July, right after exams and alongside end of year events. School budgets and approvals can take time too, so an early start really matters here.
- Pick the date and a reserve in the spring term, then get budget approval before the exam season.
- Decide whether you are presenting on the field or in a later assembly.
- For awards on the day, put the event, place and year group on the plate and leave off the name.
- Add leavers' awards to the same order, so everything counts towards one discount band.
See school trophies for the range and our school sports day guide for numbers. A presentation evening in the autumn term has its own timetable, which our school prize giving guide covers.
Corporate awards in November and December
Corporate awards pile up at the end of the year, around staff dinners and Christmas parties. Choosing an award is rarely the slow part. Sign-off is, along with logos and the final list of winners.
- Agree categories and budget by the end of September if you can.
- Find your logo artwork early. If it has to be redrawn to engrave well, we contact you first, and that conversation needs some room.
- Get HR to confirm names, spellings and job titles in one list.
- Decide on a date for the winners to be final, and keep to it.
Our corporate awards cover glass and acrylic. Glass stock is shown live on each page. Acrylic is made to order here, so stock is not the worry, but your artwork still needs to be ready.
Why ordering early helps
Stock levels on this site are live, so the page always gives you the number of each size available to send. A size that has run out cannot go in the basket, so a late order may mean a second choice. Ordering early also leaves room for the things that always happen: a misspelt surname, a player who joined in the last month, or a sponsor who wants a late award added.
When you do not know every winner
You have two good options. Order everything once results are in, which keeps one order and one discount band. Or order the squad trophies early and the individual awards later, which is safer for stock. The two orders count separately for the discount, though, so weigh that up. Plates with the title and season but no name will also work for a late result.
If you are running late
Ring us on 0121 667 0310 before you order, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and we will tell you honestly what is possible. We cannot promise a date, and we would rather say so than let you down. Free collection from Cradley Heath may suit a local club, and our delivery page explains the options.