Surf contests award more categories than almost any other event of their size. Divisions by age, by board, by gender, sometimes by heat format — and all of it presented on a beach, in salt air, often with the awards sitting in direct sun on a trestle table for six hours before anyone touches them.
That combination is what makes surf awards their own problem. What follows is seven ideas that work for the categories and hold up in the conditions.
1. The wave, in layers
The obvious idea, and it earns its place when it is built properly. A wave rendered as two or three separate acrylic layers — the face in front, the lip and spray behind — produces genuine depth that a printed image of a wave never does. Under the light at a presentation it reads as three dimensional.
Keep the wave shape generic rather than trying to reproduce a specific break. A recognisable barrel works at award size; an attempt at a particular reef does not.
Acrylic plaque awards covers how the layers are built.
2. Board outlines, cut to the division
A surfboard outline is one of the few award shapes that carries information as well as looking right. A shortboard outline for the shortboard divisions, a longboard outline for the longboard ones — the award tells you which category it came from before you read a word of it.
It is a particularly good fit for contests that run both, because the two shapes together on a table make the breadth of the event obvious in the photographs.
3. One design, a division plate on the base
Surf contests run a lot of divisions: under-12, under-16, junior, open, masters, women’s, longboard, bodyboard. Designing each one separately is where an awards budget disappears.
Design one award carrying the contest artwork and the year, then put the division and placing on a separate base plate. The setup happens once, only the plate changes, and the whole prize table reads as one contest.
This is the single highest-leverage decision on the list for an event with more than four divisions.
4. Grom awards that are not just smaller
The under-12 and under-16 divisions are where a contest builds its future entries, and a scaled-down version of the adult trophy is a missed opportunity. Groms keep awards on a shelf for years and show them to everyone.
Make the grom piece brighter, bolder and more obviously fun rather than smaller — bigger colour blocks, a more graphic wave, the division name large. It costs the same to print and it lands completely differently with an eleven-year-old.
5. A club perpetual for the contest itself
If the contest runs every year, a perpetual gives it a history. One substantial award stays with the club with a plate added for each year’s winner, and the winner takes home a smaller keeper piece.
Surf clubs tend to do this well because the events are long-running and the names on the plate mean something locally. After the first year it costs only the plate.
6. Something for everyone who paddled out
Contest fields are big and heats eliminate most people early. A participation piece is the difference between an entrant leaving with nothing and leaving with something they keep.
Medallions on ribbons work at the presentation, and year-dated pins work afterwards — they end up on board bags and jackets, and clubs trade them at other contests. Both reach a full field without competing with the podium budget.
7. Judges, water safety and sponsors
A surf contest runs on volunteers standing in the sun for eight hours and water safety crews who are in the water all day. They are almost never recognised, and it costs very little to change that.
The same applies to sponsors whose contribution does not warrant a podium award. A run of pins or a small plaque carrying the contest artwork gives them something that is actually kept, and it is ordered on the same job as the trophies.
What the beach does to awards
This is the part that separates surf contests from indoor events, and it is worth designing around rather than discovering afterwards.
- Direct sun for hours. Awards sit on a table all day before presentation. Printed acrylic holds colour well; anything with an adhesive label does not.
- Salt air. Untreated metal fittings are the first thing to suffer at a coastal event.
- Sand and wind. A tall narrow trophy on a trestle table blows over. Lower, wider pieces with a solid base survive the day.
- Transport home. Winners carry these in a wet board bag. Shatter-resistant material matters more here than almost anywhere.
Custom surfing trophies covers the material options and pricing, and the award buying guides compare how each one behaves outdoors.
Frequently Asked Questions
What trophy material is best for a beach contest?
Printed acrylic is the usual answer: it is shatter-resistant, holds colour in direct sun, and survives being carried home in a wet board bag. The bigger risks at a coastal event are untreated metal fittings in salt air and tall narrow pieces blowing over on a trestle table.
How do you handle a lot of divisions without the cost running away?
One design carrying the contest artwork and the year, with the division and placing on a separate base plate. The artwork is set up once and only the plate text changes, so a contest with eight divisions costs far less than eight separate designs.
Should grom awards just be smaller versions?
They land better if they are bolder rather than smaller — bigger colour, a more graphic wave, the division name large. It costs the same to produce and those are the awards that stay on a shelf for years.
What should we give surfers who do not make the final?
A medallion on a ribbon at the presentation, or a year-dated pin that ends up on a board bag. Heats eliminate most of the field early, so a participation piece is what stops most entrants leaving with nothing.
Can the award be shaped like a surfboard or a wave?
Yes, and both are among the strongest options. A board outline can also carry information — a shortboard shape for shortboard divisions, a longboard shape for longboard ones — so the award identifies its category before anyone reads it.
Is there a minimum order for a contest?
No. A single perpetual award is a normal order, and so is a full division structure with a participation tier for the whole field.
Ready to design your contest awards?
Send us your divisions and contest dates and we will build a direction for the whole event before anything goes into production.
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