From Bill's Blog: Merits of replacing bronze participation medals

[dtengineering]

I guess how you feel about this is sort of based on the value that you put behind the medallion and what you do with it.

On our team, I take the box of medallions and squirrel them away until our school's end of year awards ceremonies. Then, each student who participated on the team is called up on stage to receive their medallion.

Should we receive a gold or silver medallion, well, I'll happily rethink our plans, but this works great with the bronze medallions. I don't see them as representative of our placing in any one tournament, but rather as representing a YEAR's worth of work... from summer car washes through public presentations to build and finally competition. The kids that are getting a medal have earned it by the time the awards ceremonies roll around.

Yeah, we could do the same thing with a pin, but really... it wouldn't be as impressive or as meaningful. There is some weight and solidity behind a medallion... a symbolisim that just isn't quite matched by a pin.

So count me solidly in the "Medal" camp, even if it means raising an extra $5 per kid relative to a pin, I think they're worth it.

Jason