Best & Fairest and Other Awards

This page is designed to assist players, team officials and parents on the process for awarding Best & Fairest and other awards at the Wesburn Junior Football Club.

Award presentation nights are held at the Club for all teams at the end of the playing season.

There is no Best & Fairest award for the U10s & U11’s. The aim at this level of football is to encourage all players, regardless of talent, or experience, to participate, learn the game and to have fun. All players receive a participation plaque at the end of season.

It is usual for team officials to award certificates of merit to U10 & U11’s players at the end of the season. These certificates/awards may be for attributes such as “most improved”, “best team player”, “most courageous” etc. It is not necessary for all players to receive a certificate; however some coaches adopt this approach as a means of encouraging all young players at this level.

Awards:

·         Best & Fairest

·         Best & Fairest Runner Up

·         Best & Fairest Third (most consistent)

·         Coaches Award

·         Most Improved

·         Most Determined

Best & Fairest

The Best & Fairest awards are awarded on the basis of the total number of votes a player receives during the season.

Points are allocated on the basis of:

5   points for best and fairest on ground for the match

4   points for the next best and fairest on ground for the match

3   points for the third best and fairest on ground for the match

2   points for the fourth best and fairest on ground for the match

1   point for the fifth best and fairest on ground for the match

The Coach allocates Best & Fairest points each game. Other than the Coach, the Manager should ensure that the task of allocating votes is shared around during the season to ensure fairness in vote allocation.

Each voter should allocate their votes independently and hand them in to the team Manager at theend of each game. Allocation of votes is entirely at the discretion of the person invited to do the voting for that match. It’s OK to vote for your own son, or daughter, if you think they deserve votes for their performance on the day.

Any Wesburn player from Under 12’s to Under 16.25’s who takes to the field is eligible to be awarded points for that game. This applies to players who play up in higher teams. At the end of the season the team Coaches and Manager total all the votes received and award the Best & Fairest awards solely on the basis of the number of votes a player receives.

Coaches Award

It is usual practice for the team Coach to award the Coach’s Award. The Coach may adopt any criteria he, or she, chooses to make this award. It is usually given to a player who has not received another award, such as Best & Fairest, for that season, who the Coach thinks deserves special recognition.

Most Improved

The Most Improved Award is usually award by the team Coach, with input from the team Manager and perhaps other team officials, such as the Trainer. It is awarded to the player who has made the most gains during the season. This will not always be the player who started the season with the least experience, or football skills. The award may go to a player who is already an established footballer, but who makes significant progress in his, or her, football skills during the season.

Most Determined

Different to the Best & Fairest awards the Most Determined award is given on the basis of guts and effort. This award is usually decided by the team Coach, with input from the team Manager and perhaps other team officials, such as the Trainer. The recipient will be a player who is recognized for never giving up, regardless of the circumstances.