The academic team practices after school just like the basketball team. They travel on Saturdays, they use a buzzer instead of a ball, and their season ends at a state tournament most of the school never hears about. Then banquet night comes and the gifts are an afterthought: a certificate off the office printer, maybe a pizza. These students, and the coaches who give up their weekends for them, deserve the same kind of keepsake the athletes get.
Here is what works for quiz bowl, academic bowl, science olympiad, mock trial, and speech and debate, and what to collect before you order.
The Academic Season, the keepsake made for scholars
The Academic Season puts a whole competition season on one print. Every competition is listed with the placement and score, the subject or event, and the finish at the end of the year. It was made for quiz bowl, academic bowl, spell bowl, science olympiad, math team, mock trial, and speech and debate. Competition names print as the words you type, so each tournament is listed the way your team says it. From $45.
Each activity keeps score its own way, and the print can follow yours:
- Quiz bowl and academic bowl: the tournament, the team's place, the match record or points, and the round they reached.
- Science olympiad: the invitational or regional, the team's overall place, and the events where your student medaled.
- Mock trial: each competition, the ballots won, and any attorney or witness awards.
- Speech and debate: the tournament, the event (extemp, Lincoln-Douglas, original oratory and so on), and the placement or elimination round reached.
The finish line at the bottom is the part families point to: regional champions, state qualifiers, a top-ten finish at nationals. If it was a building year, write an honest version that still means something, like the most wins the program has had or the first trip to the state tournament in a decade.
The Season, for the robotics and esports students too
Many schools run the academic team, robotics and esports out of the same classroom with the same adviser. The Season covers the teams that compete without a ball: esports, robotics, quiz bowl, academic super bowl, speech and debate, math team and chess club. It lists every match or tournament with the placement and score, and the season's finish. If one child is on the quiz bowl team and a sibling builds robots, the two prints hang well side by side. From $45.
Banquet awards that carry weight
An academic banquet usually has a handful of honors: top scorer, most improved, rookie of the year, a leadership award for the captain. The Banquet Award Certificate sets the award big, then PRESENTED TO and the student's name, a line about why they earned it, and signature lines. You can name your own awards, so Most Buzzes in a Season or Best Cross-Examination are fair game. Where the certificate asks for a number and position, a grade and a role like captain or first chair read naturally. From $24 each.
Thank-you gifts for the coach or adviser
Academic coaches are often teachers who stay late for practice, drive the van to tournaments and write practice questions on Sunday nights. The Thank You, Coach Sign Board prints THANK YOU, COACH and their name, the season's record and finish, every result, and each student's name with a line to sign. Pass it around at the last practice and hand it over at the banquet. From $59.
A good pairing: a copy of The Academic Season for the coach's classroom wall, with the team's signatures on the back of the frame.
Small gifts for every member
For a state qualifier or a senior, the Senior Pennant is an 18 by 21 inch felt pennant that can say SENIOR, STATE BOUND or CAPTAIN, with a number, name, activity and class year, and the school typed as words. It suits a bedroom now and a dorm room next fall. From $34.
For a whole-team gift at the holidays, the Team Ornament is a clear acrylic ornament with a round badge that can carry your own team logo in place of a number, plus the student's name and the school and activity. The listing notes teams get 30% off. From $24.
What to collect before you order
Start early. Academic results tend to be scattered: the tournament host posts some, the coach's inbox has others, and a few live only in a student's memory. About a month before the banquet, ask the coach for:
- The full schedule with dates and each tournament's name as the team calls it.
- Placements and scores or records for each one.
- Individual honors, such as top scorer, medals by event or speaker awards.
- The roster with grades and any captains.
- The season's finish, written the way the team says it.
One parent gathering it all in a shared document saves a lot of back-and-forth, and the coach only has to answer once.
Shop this guide
The Academic SeasonFrom $45
The SeasonFrom $45
Banquet Award CertificateFrom $24
Thank You, Coach Sign BoardFrom $59
Senior PennantFrom $39
Team OrnamentFrom $24
Ordering
Personalize each piece on its product page. Every order is checked by hand, and you'll see a proof to approve before anything prints. Allow about two weeks from order to delivery. Type competition names exactly as you want them to read, and order two to three weeks before the banquet.