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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 3, 2018 at 10:18 pm #932315
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    Simon E
    StraelGuy wrote:
    I love the medal but the packets of Wiggle socks and buffs all over the house from finishers packs will end up in landfill if I ever get round to tidying up my house.

    If those items were genuinely useful surely people would be happy to buy them with their own money, in which case no sensible business would want to just give them away!

    Although by paying to enter it could be argued that you’ve effectively bought those items you didn’t want.

    December 3, 2018 at 9:59 pm #932313
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    rjfrussell

    Badges?

    Badges?

     

    and the original 

    December 3, 2018 at 9:17 pm #932311
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    Organon
    StraelGuy wrote:
    Totally agree, I love the medal but the packets of Wiggle socks and buffs all over the house from finishers packs will end up in landfill if I ever get round to tidying up my house.

    Wow, free buffs. I need to go to the sportives your going to. Honestly the medal isn’t even the worst thing, how many free bottles of water are given out? Yes people need hydration, but the bottles are just sponsorship for people who want you to buy more bottled water. It’s the same old argument; have us cut down on the little joys of life whilst systematic issues are ignored. 

    December 3, 2018 at 7:46 pm #932309
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    StraelGuy
    Brown dog wrote:
    Getting rid of all advertising junk in you race pack would be a better way of reducing waste 

     

    Totally agree, I love the medal but the packets of Wiggle socks and buffs all over the house from finishers packs will end up in landfill if I ever get round to tidying up my house.

     

     

    December 3, 2018 at 7:33 pm #932307
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    don simon fbpe

    Having seen some of the

    Having seen some of the professional event photographs, I’m not sure that a) they’re worth £4-6 or b) that I’d call it an adequate memento.

    I’m sure there are other ways to maximise their profits cut their costs be more environmentally friendly.

    December 3, 2018 at 7:31 pm #932305
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    Awavey

    Ive done a mix of both events

    Ive done a mix of both events with and without medals, and I know personally at least I dont get anywhere near the same satisfaction or sense of achievement at the without medal events as I do at the ones where I get a medal. without a medal it  just feels like a long bike ride which I dont have to pay anyone to do in reality.

    Certainly swapping for a photo is not comparable reward as I struggle to appreciate photos of me at the best of times, when Im a worn out mess covered in however many hours of dust,grime,mud or sweat that Ive just been through, it would go straight in the bin.

    the eco angle is just an excuse imo

    December 3, 2018 at 7:22 pm #932303
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    Simon E

    John Smith wrote:

    John Smith wrote:
    TBH all the people driving to the start will probably do more environmental damage than a few medals.
    Probably?!?

    And that’s before the driving done by the organisers, the course setup people, the sponsors, the helpers and goodness knows who else.

    They could give something useful (an inner tube & puncture repair kit?) to people who live within a certain radius and rode to the start. That will cut out 99% of the waste as nearly all of them drive half way across the country, often 1 person per car.

    Does anyone really needs a medal to show that they rode a well-signed cycle route with free food and mechanical backup? Next thing you know they’ll be asking if they can ride to school all on their own, without mummy there.

    December 3, 2018 at 6:56 pm #932301
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    Brown dog

    Sounds like a cost cutting

    Sounds like a cost cutting exercise or bad planning, I you have 1000 entry’s you only need 1000 medals , some may not be claimed for DNF but it’s must be a small percentage going for recycling.

    Getting rid of all advertising junk in you race pack would be a better way of reducing waste 

     

     

    December 3, 2018 at 6:20 pm #932299
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    StraelGuy

    I’ve done at least a dozen

    I’ve done at least a dozen sportives in the last couple of years and I must admit, even at 46, I still really like the medal at the end. I don’t think an ounce or two of pot metal is doing as much damage as me driving a couple of hundred miles to the event .

    December 3, 2018 at 6:09 pm #932297
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    madcarew

    on the topic of well meaning

    on the topic of well meaning actions having unintended consequences….

    It would be a really good idea to establish a causative pathway between scrapping medals and an environmental benefit, as it is quite possible that the lure of a medal is material in getting people to go in the events, which are material in getting people out on bikes, which is material in improving the fitness of people who are then more likely to replace car journeys with bike or walking journeys which leads to greater helath benefits which means less health system infrastructure / ambulances etc, and less roading infrastructure development etc.

    Is it a good idea to scrap medals to reudce waste to improve the environment? only if it is demonstrably shown that that would be the case. Is it a good idea to scrap the medals…. only if an equal ‘reward’ is found so that participation doesn’t suffer.

    And as for the snide “get out more” comments: Remember, many of the people trying this for the first time are chldren, and a medal really means something to them, and we should get as many children involved as possible for their, and our, benefit. Also, for some people, completing a sportive, especially for the first time, can be something of a mini everest and so, yes, they should get out more, and the lure of a mdeal in plenty of cases is precisely what encourages them to do that, and we all benefit.

    December 3, 2018 at 6:00 pm #932295
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    John Smith

    TBH all the people driving to

    TBH all the people driving to the start will probably do more environmental damage than a few medals. Fine, ask people if they want one as many probably go in the bin, but don’t paint it as environmentally driven.

    Or how about giving out pin badges rather than medals.

    December 3, 2018 at 5:59 pm #932293
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    Anonymous

    Ah, the old cost cutting

    Ah, the old cost cutting wrapped up as ‘eco’. 

     

    December 3, 2018 at 5:31 pm #932291
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    peted76

    I think a medal is a lovely

    I think a medal is a lovely idea for someone who is entering their first, second or third sportive.. I remember thinking how nice it was to get a medal for finishing a ‘big ride’, that being a bit of a novelty and something to show MrsD.. but now I’m over it, between myself and my daughter we’ve collected more medals that we know what to do with… quite literally.

    I think a printed map of a ‘big ride’ would be a far nicer thing to own, probably cheaper to produce and compostable. It’d probably be just as cheap to get it printed on a piece of material, you could call it a hankie and blow your nose on it.

    December 3, 2018 at 5:11 pm #932289
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    cougie

    Sounds fine to me. I think

    Sounds fine to me. I think medals for bike rides is a relatively new thing ?  I’d much rather have pics and a bite to eat.  

    December 3, 2018 at 4:30 pm #932287
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    Jetmans Dad

    Depends what/who the photo is

    Depends what/who the photo is of. If it’s me, they can go hang … I have to look at that in the mirror every morning, why the hell would I want a picture of it?

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