Cheer Trophies

Custom awards for cheer competitions, school and all-star squads, and end-of-season banquets

Short answer

Cheer awards fall into two groups. A competition needs placing awards for each division, a grand champion award and specialty awards such as spirit and best stunts, plus something for every athlete on a placing team. A squad banquet needs individual awards with names on them: most improved, captain’s award, spirit award. We design both from your event or squad artwork in acrylic, wood and metal, in your colors, with no minimum order and a proof before production.

Set of layered acrylic hexagonal awards with gold artwork on mirrored black bases, engraved for Lamborghini Club America Monterey Car Week 2025

Your colors, your mascot, your event

Cheer is a sport where presentation is part of the score, and the awards are judged the same way by the people who receive them. A stock figure with a plate does not say much about a squad that spent a season on a routine.

We cut acrylic to shape and print it in full color, so an award can be built around the squad’s mascot, the competition logo or the program’s lettering, in the exact team colors. Layers add depth, and a base carries the division and placing.

These are designed awards, made as custom awards from your artwork. For a competition with many divisions, semi-custom awards put one design on a stock body so every division matches.

What cheer events and squads award

Custom acrylic award icon

Division placings

First, second and third for each division. The team award goes home with the coach and usually lives in the gym.

Fully custom award icon

Grand champion

The highest score of the day across divisions. The largest piece on the table, and often a perpetual that returns each year.

Layered award icon

Specialty awards

Best stunts, best tumbling, best jumps, best choreography. One per session or per level, in the same design at a smaller size.

Pin and commemorative award icon

Spirit award

For the squad or the athlete who lifts everyone else. At a competition it is voted by other teams or chosen by the judges.

Medallion award icon

Athlete medals

One for every athlete on a placing team, cut to the event logo and worn on a neck ribbon, so nobody leaves with only a photo of the team award.

Wall plaque icon

Banquet awards

Most improved, captain’s award, coach’s award, best flyer, best base and senior recognition, each with the athlete’s name.

Planning awards for a competition

The hard part of a cheer competition is the division list. Squads are grouped by age, level and size, and the number of divisions can change until registration closes. Plan the awards from the division list, not the team count.

  1. Decide how deep to place. Top three per division is common. Small divisions sometimes place every team.
  2. Decide what athletes receive. A medal for each athlete on placing teams is standard, and roster sizes vary widely between squads.
  3. Choose the specialty awards. Three or four across the event is enough. More and they lose their weight.
  4. Name the grand champion. Decide whether there is one overall or one per session.

Tell us if divisions may still merge or split when you request the quote. It is better to raise it then than to discover it the week of the event.

Banquet awards for a squad

A banquet is the one night the squad is recognized as individuals. The awards that work best name something specific the athlete did, and no athlete should be surprised by who wins the captain’s award.

Wildcats Varsity Cheer
Spirit Award
Athlete Name
2026 Season

Keep the set to a size where each award still means something, and give every athlete a team piece so nobody goes home empty-handed. Sports award categories and names has a full list to choose from, and participation awards covers how to recognize everyone without flattening the individual awards.

Graduating seniors usually get something of their own. See senior night gift ideas, and for the coach, coach gift ideas.

What goes on a cheer award

Keep it short: the event or squad, the division or award name, the placing and the year. A competition award does not need the squad’s name on it, because it is made before the results are known. A banquet award always carries the athlete’s name, spelled the way she uses it.

Check every name against the roster twice. Names are the most common thing corrected on a proof. More wording examples are in the plaque wording guide.

What to send us

  • The competition or squad name, the logo or mascot, and your team colors.
  • For a competition: the division list, how deep you place and the specialty awards.
  • For a banquet: the award names and the athletes’ names.
  • The date of the event.

We send a design proof and you approve it before anything is produced. Request a quote against your date. More pages for teams and events are in the Recognition Library.

Cheer Trophies FAQs

What trophies does a cheer competition give out?

Placing awards for each division, usually top three, a grand champion award for the highest score, a few specialty awards such as best stunts and spirit, and medals for the athletes on placing teams.

Can the awards be made in our team colors?

Yes. The artwork is printed in full color, so awards can match your colors, mascot and lettering.

What is a spirit award in cheer?

An award for the squad or athlete who shows the most support, energy and sportsmanship. At competitions it is often voted by the other teams.

What should every athlete on the squad receive?

Most squads give each athlete one team piece, such as a medal or a small award with the squad name and season, and then present a limited number of individual awards.

Are these the cheerleader-figure trophies sold in catalogs?

No. Ours are designed awards built from your artwork in acrylic, wood and metal, so the piece carries your squad or event instead of a stock figure.

Can a small squad order a handful of banquet awards?

Yes. There is no minimum order.

Racer in a helmet raising both arms as gold confetti falls under stage lights
ROUTINE READY?

Send your colors and we will design the awards

Send the logo or mascot, the division list or the banquet award names, and your team colors. We send a proof before anything is produced.

Give us the competition or banquet date and we will quote against it.

Request a Quote