NAN Trophy Contest

Each NAN trophy is used for two consecutive years. It is awarded to all National Champions and
Reserve National Champions at NAN.

The NAN trophy design is owned by NAMHSA. Trophies left over after the second of the two
NANs may be used for Merit Award trophies.

The NAN trophy contest is held every other year, with entries due roughly one year before the
winning design will be used.

By tradition, this contest is judged by the previous winner. Typically, a helper receives and
unpacks the contest submissions to reduce any bias that may occur if the judge knew who
submitted which entry.

A winner and second choice are chosen, in case the first choice is deemed impractical by the
casting/reproduction company.

PRIZES AWARDED

1st – $500, 2nd and 3rd – $250 – each will receive two copies of the resin cast trophy.

Medallion Guidelines

SIZE:
The previous “cookie” was approximately 4”-5” square, and was placed upon a wooden backing that was 6” x 8” overall. The new design will be entirely resin, one piece, and will have no wood backing.

The size of the new entry should be LARGER than the previous resin cast “cookie” but SMALLER than the overall size of the previous wooden plaque. Trophy to be large enough to be easily seen on display, and impressive to win, but not so large that it becomes expensive to cast. The below are general guidelines, if you are a fraction of an inch larger or shorter it will not disqualify your design. “Round” designs may be 5 ¼” diameter, for example.

MINIMUM LENGTH: 5 ½ Inches – that is the shortest it should be on the “long” side.
MAXIMUM LENGTH: 6 ½ Inches – that is the longest it should be on the “long” side
MINIMUM HEIGHT: 4 Inches – that is the shortest it should be on the “short” side
MAXIMUM HEIGHT: 5 Inches – that is the longest it should be on the “short” side

SHAPE:
Shape refers to the outline of the trophy, or the “silhouette”. Shape does NOT have to be rectangular. It can be horizontal, or upright, oval, or circular shape or a free-form design. HOWEVER – Please remember that these new trophies will NOT have the wooden backing protecting the “cookie”. This means: NO FRAGILE PARTS ON EDGES OF DESIGN.

Please avoid things like: Thin tendrils of hair, fragile eartips, or other delicate parts sticking out of the edge of the design. Design shouldn’t have any thin part on the edge that can be broken off easily during bulk shipping or show transporting.

DEPTH:
Remember that resin is heavy, and expensive! For this reason, it is asked that the design not be too deep. It should be thick enough not to snap in half or break easily, but not so thick that it becomes expensive to cast, or so heavy that it causes breakage when boxed items shift.

Extremely raised “3-D” elements, like a horse head sticking way out of the design or an ear poking out should be avoided for this reason. It does not have to be “flat” but can be very low relief – also please avoid extreme thickness. Save the more raised elements for places where you want impact but still flat enough to stack many in a box.

Minimum depth or thickness should be about ⅛” to provide a nice stable platform. Maximum depth should probably be no more than about ¾”. Again, these are general guidelines, and your entry will not be disqualified unless it is determined that it is too fragile to cast without breaking, or so heavy and massive that the resin costs and shipping would be prohibitively high.

For guidelines, look at most artist’s medallions – it is advised that you stay within these current boundaries and not make it markedly more thin and delicate, or excessively thick and heavy, compared to most medallions on the market already.

TEXT:
Unlike past “cookies” that had a metal plaque reading “National Champion” under the trophy head, these will have the text cast onto the plaque itself. It is not required that the artist mark their plaque with “NAMHSA National Champion” or “NAN Reserve Champion” for example, in order to enter, although they are absolutely welcome to add text that can be removed from their design if not chosen! Feel free to add text; just note that it’s not required for entry.

However: Artist must leave a space in the design for this to be added later. It can be a blank flat spot in the background, or it can be a ribbon or banner. Artists are welcome to use programs such as Photoshop to indicate where the text would be placed, or to write or draw on top of their entry photograph to demonstrate where the text would go. Remember to incorporate some blank space on the medallion to allow for text. It would be helpful to allow for 20 to 24 characters of text minimum.