Bonspiel Prizes People Actually Keep (Not Another Trophy)

By Chen Deng · Founder, LAMOSE · Calgary, Alberta · Updated 2026

Every bonspiel ends the same way: someone hands the winning team a trophy that has to stay at the club, or a gift card that says nothing about the weekend they just had. By the next bonspiel, nobody remembers who won the last one. A prize that leaves with the team, with the bonspiel name and the year cut into it, is the one still getting used on the ice next season.

Why the usual bonspiel prizes don't last

Search "bonspiel prizes" and you land on forum threads and club Facebook posts asking the same question, because nobody's answered it well: what do you actually hand out? Most clubs default to one of two things. A trophy or plaque, which by tradition and by practicality stays at the club for the next event, so the winner takes home nothing but a photo. Or a gift card, chosen because it's fast to buy and easy to hand out, which is also exactly why it doesn't feel like it belongs to that specific bonspiel. Either way, nothing physical goes home that says which team won, which weekend, which year.

Bonspiel Prize · Robson 21 oz

The sport bottle winning rinks actually carry

Narrow-mouth sport cap built for a curling bag, laser-engraved with the bonspiel name, the year, or the skip's name — not printed on top of the steel.

Shop Robson 21 oz →

Curling clubs that engrave instead aren't buying a fancier trophy. They're buying something the winning team actually keeps using: on the ice, in the car, at the rink bar after the draw. That does more for next year's turnout than a plaque bolted to the clubhouse wall.

What actually makes a prize worth winning

A prize has to survive contact with real life to mean anything past the handshake line. Rank the three usual options on that one test, does the winner still have this in two years, and the order isn't close. A trophy is still at the club, not with the winner. A gift card was spent within the month, on something unrelated to curling. An engraved tumbler or bottle is still in someone's curling bag, still getting used every Thursday-night draw, still carrying the bonspiel's name.

The personalization is what separates it from a bulk-ordered participation gift. A skip's name, the bonspiel's name, the year, or the club crest cut into the steel is what makes a curler set it apart from every other tumbler in their cupboard: the same reason a name tag lasts and a sticker doesn't.

Trophy vs. gift card vs. engraved tumbler

Before you order prizes for your next bonspiel

• Decide the prize tiers first. A-event winners, B-event winners, and a "spirit of curling" or last-place prize each read differently engraved; match the message to the tier.
• Order one sample before the full set. See the engraving on your actual bonspiel name and year before committing to every rink's prizes.
• Pick the bottle for the room. Robson's sport cap travels well in a curling bag; Grouse's wide mouth suits a post-game hot chocolate at the rink bar.
• Order early. Made-to-order engraving needs lead time. Don't leave it to bonspiel week.

The prize worth winning

A bonspiel doesn't need a bigger trophy. It needs a prize the winning rink actually keeps: something with the bonspiel's name on it that gets carried to the next draw, not shelved at the club or spent by the following weekend. That's a name in steel, not a plaque on the wall.

Frequently asked questions

What are good bonspiel prizes?
Prizes that leave with the winning team and stay in use. A trophy or plaque has to stay at the club, and a gift card is spent within weeks. An engraved tumbler or bottle with the bonspiel name, the year, or the skip's name on it is the one still getting used at the rink next season.

What do curling clubs usually give as bonspiel awards?
Most default to trophies (kept by the club) or gift cards. Neither is personalized to the specific event, which is why clubs that switch to engraved bottles and tumblers, cut with the bonspiel's name and year, see the prize actually used instead of shelved or spent.

Is there a minimum order for engraved bonspiel prizes?
No minimum for a single bonspiel. Order one engraved bottle per winning rink through the standard personalization flow. Clubs stocking prizes across a full season of bonspiels can order 25+ pieces at wholesale pricing.

What's the difference between prizes for adult and junior bonspiels?
The prize logic is the same, personalized beats generic at any age, but junior events tend to favor a smaller, lighter bottle (like the Grouse 16 oz) over a full-size sport bottle, since it's easier for younger curlers to carry.

Chen Deng founded LAMOSE in 2017. The workshop laser-engraves and full-wrap prints custom tumblers and bottles in Calgary, Alberta, for individual gifts and corporate or wholesale orders alike.