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Should finisher’s medals be ditched to help the environment?

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  • December 3, 2018 at 4:00 pm #29179
    tommyraleigh

    Just happened across this on facebook…. https://www.facebook.com/iconiccycling/photos/a.1515380715383296/2160670027521025/?type=3&theater

    Basically the company that organises the Bike Oxford Bath and Chester sportives are not giving out medals any more to cut waste and instead offering a free photo. Seems like a pretty good idea to me but appears quite a few of the poential entrants aren’t happy! Are these people being precious or should you expect the medal for the price of some of these sportive type events? Was going to enter Bike Oxford and just wanted some opinions before offering my support to them by entering! I do believe they’re doing it with the right intentions, trust people here to offer a better counter-argument than some of the knuckle-draggers commenting on their fb page if there is one 🙂 

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  • December 6, 2018 at 8:14 am #932375
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    huntswheelers

    I’ve only done one event

    I’ve only done one event which had a medal…. It was only £10 for the sportive too and I didn’t do it for the medal btw….

    I try and avoid paying £40 for the signposted ride with a medal ones, personally I have no interest in the “tin” badges just riding areas away from my locallity and local CC ones suit me 

    But…. you pay your money and take your choice….. my number and strava is good enough for me….

    December 5, 2018 at 9:42 pm #932373
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    Awavey
    Simon E wrote:
    Awavey wrote:
    But if organisers are charging more than £25 quid for a sportive, and it’s a distance I don’t regularly ride, I want a medal for it, else i might just as well copy the route and do it by myself later at no cost.

    Why is a medal necessary? Is the satisfaction of doing it not enough? Why is a mass-produced piece of tin so desirable? Isn’t the route the reason why you signed up to ride it? I’m struggling to see why it matters. And why is £25 your break point?

    no I dont feel the satisfaction is the same, the ones without medals the finish always feels just flat, its like going for a normal bike ride just riding the route left to your own devices, Im more than capable of doing that myself and not paying other people for the privilege

    and £25 is my break point, bearing in mind some of the big sportives are nearing £50 turn up on the day prices now, because I feel thats a reasonably generous price to cover the costs for someone organising/planning an event on public roads and having a few feed stops along the way, if Im paying more than £25 then I expect more value in return and that to me then includes a medal. So Bike Oxford charging £32, at the early bird discount price, its £36 after Jan 1st, plus a booking fee…is that value for money for what you get now ? no imo

     

    December 5, 2018 at 6:58 pm #932371
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    JackBuxton

    Make them optional

    1. Make them optional
    2. Change it to a badge (no ribbon – metal is recyclable)
    3. Make the whole badge out of biodegradable/recyclable material
    4. Make those that wish to get a medal pay a surcharge that goes to paying individuals to clean up after the sportives/donate the money to an environmentally beneficial charity
    5. Save debates like these for helmets and powermeters

     

    Fin

    December 5, 2018 at 5:12 pm #932369
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    LastBoyScout

    How about a compromise – keep

    How about a compromise – keep the medal, ditch the ribbon. The metal bit is, at least, recycleable.

    One race I’ve done a couple of times gave out slate coasters to the finishers, which are quite nice, but probably not sustainable long term.

    I’ve had a couple of half-decently fitting technical t-shirts from another event – 1 went to a charity shop because of the colour, the other still gets worn at home.

    I’d say definitely scrap cheap cotton t-shirts, but I’ve found the couple of them I’ve acquired very comfortable to sleep in when I go camping.

    I still think it’s nice to have some sort of momento – I’ve kept all my event numbers in a drawer, but some of those are pretty stained from mud and rain on the day.

    December 5, 2018 at 4:41 pm #932367
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    acetracker

    Having received numerous

    Having received numerous medals for running and cycling events, I would scrap them.

    I now have more than I know what to do with and have recently put a load into metal recycling.

    When do you look at them afterwards? – almost never

    Can you use them for anything? – No

    Best thing I’ve had after an event is a commerative mug.

    You used it to go and get your Cuppa after the vent and then you take it home.

    I still use one of mine when I’m having a brew and cleaning the bike. I’d use it in favour of using one of the “house” ones. It gets used and wouldn’t really matter if it got broken.

    December 5, 2018 at 1:06 pm #932365
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    CygnusX1

    Having seen a recent (Stacey

    Having seen a recent (Stacey Dooley?) documentary on the environmental impact of the fashion industry – cotton in particular isn’t exactly environmentally friendly as a “all natural” product might lead you to believe – loads of chemicals/energy involved. 

    So replacing a gong with a cr@ppy T-shirt isn’t the answer.

    Sew on patches isn’t so bad- maybe we could sew them onto a leather or denim vest just below the “5%” or under the Hells Angels CC rockers!

    December 5, 2018 at 12:40 pm #932363
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    Deeferdonk

    I don’t do many cycling

    I don’t do many cycling events but i have a couple of sew on patches from things i have done and these get sewn onto my carradice bag. Would rather have one of these or a casual tee shirt of the event that would get worn.

    I do a few running events a year and usually end up with a cr@ppy finishers medal and an ill fitting technical tee. These go in the bin/charity bin else i’d have hundreds by now.

    December 5, 2018 at 11:33 am #932361
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    FluffyKittenofTindalos

    Awavey wrote:

    Awavey wrote:
    I’ve still got my swimming certificates from primary school and a medal from a 5 mile fun run I did when I was barely in my teens

     

    By random chance I have the medal I got for being in the second-placed team in a school football championship many decades ago.  (Number of teams participating in the contest?  Two).

     

    Awavey wrote:
    ,still got my cycling proficiency certificate too :p

    Best hang on to that, it might yet be made compulsory for road cycling.

     

     

    December 5, 2018 at 11:26 am #932359
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    mattsccm

    Good idea. If that is needed

    Good idea. If that is needed to get you on the bike grow up.

    Agreed its a silly little thing but if every event did it it would have a small impact. Each little step is important. To say otherwise is like saying that its ok for one person to contribute to global warming as long as others don’t.

    December 5, 2018 at 9:04 am #932357
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    Simon E

    Mark B wrote:

    Mark B wrote:
    You’d deny the freebies to someone mad enough to ride in from outside your radius?
    Definitely not! Kudos to anyone who rides a decent distance to an event, completes it and rides back.

    Most sportive entrants travelling from more than a few miles away would drive. It’s the same with reliability trials, less so with audax riders.

    Awavey wrote:
    But if organisers are charging more than £25 quid for a sportive, and it’s a distance I don’t regularly ride, I want a medal for it, else i might just as well copy the route and do it by myself later at no cost.
    Why is a medal necessary? Is the satisfaction of doing it not enough? Why is a mass-produced piece of tin so desirable? Isn’t the route the reason why you signed up to ride it? I’m struggling to see why it matters. And why is £25 your break point?

    Do people need a medal for completing anything that take some time and effort, such as a particularly fiddly Airfix kit or a Where’s Wally 1,000 piece jigsaw?

    Perhaps race organisers should provide counselling for everyone who finishes 4th or lower as they won’t get a medal. indecision

    December 4, 2018 at 9:55 pm #932355
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    don simon fbpe

    janusz0 wrote:

    janusz0 wrote:
    Isn’t a paper certificate and your .gpx record enough?

    Tattoo of the route, like the Nürburgring sticker I’ve got on the back of the Jag.

    December 4, 2018 at 9:49 pm #932353
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    janusz0

    Isn’t a paper certificate and
    Isn’t a paper certificate and your .gpx record enough?

    December 4, 2018 at 9:35 pm #932351
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    Organon
    FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:
    StoopidUserName wrote:
    One final thing – there are people in my club who go crazy for a medal – they literally will not go to some events unless they are sure they’ll get one…which I find pathetic but I’m sure other people have this attitude too and it may impact the events organisers…

    I suppose it’s like collecting visa stamps in your passport, or something.  Or like someone I knew who used to collect the ticket stubs of every gig he ever went to.

    Isn’t a rider number a much better momento? Easier to store and doesn’t suggest you have ‘won’ something. I’ve got a file of these, but not kept all the medals.

    December 4, 2018 at 8:28 pm #932349
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    Liam Cahill

    What ever happened to tea

    What ever happened to tea towels? We had them all the way through Primary school with pictures of our faces (that we drew) on. Still got them, still disappointed by my penmanship. 

    December 4, 2018 at 4:48 pm #932347
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    don simon fbpe

    Why not a tattoo? They seem

    Why not a tattoo? They seem pretty popular with IronMan fans and competitors, they’d sort out the (wo)men from the boys/girls in the memento collecting stakes and no wastage. Win/win if you ask me.

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