Wooden spoon ( English wooden spoon ) - a playful prize awarded to the participant (or team), who finished last in the competition or even lost the final. A similar award can be given both in the academic environment and in sports competitions. The prize is distributed in the countries of the British Commonwealth and even in the USA.
Content
- 1 University of Cambridge
- 1.1 Last reward
- 2 Sports
- 2.1 Rugby
- 2.2 Australia and New Zealand
- 2.3 Tennis
- 2.4 Football
- 3 See also
- 4 notes
- 5 Literature
Cambridge University
The tradition dates back to the XVIII century, and written evidence of such a prize dates from 1803 to 1909 [1] [2] .
It is believed that for the first time they came up with a similar award at the University of Cambridge : it was received by students who showed the lowest score on the mathematical pathos of the Faculty of Mathematics, but nevertheless graduated from the university with a junior optime degree [3] [4 ] [4 ] ] . The laureate of such an award himself received the nickname "wooden spoon" [5] , as a result of which the prize began to be considered a synonym for shame and ridiculed in poems:
And while he lives, he wields the boasted prize
Whose value all can feel, the weak, the wise;
Displays in triumph his distinguish'd boon,
The solid honors of the Wooden Spoon [6]
The spoons were really made of wood, and their length reached 150 cm. By tradition, they were lowered on cords from the gallery in front of the winner in the presence of the vice rector. In 1875, Cambridge University outlawed this tradition [7] [1] . Students who showed the worst results in the degrees of “senior optim” ( English senior optime ) and “debater” ( English wrangler ) sometimes received the titles of “silver spoon” and “golden spoon”, respectively [5] , and the student with the best score on the exam received the degree of "senior debater". Those same students who scored even lower points than the holder of the “wooden spoon” received only a certificate of training ( English Ordinary degree ) and a variety of names depending on their number [6] . So, in the 1860s, out of 400 people, about 300 did not score enough points to obtain one of the degrees and became known as “voters” ( English poll men ) [8] . In 1910, the procedure for announcing the results was changed: from now on, the results were announced in alphabetical order, so it is not possible to find out the name of the loser immediately [1] .
Last reward
The last wooden spoon holder was Cuthbert Lempriere Holthouse, a lone rower at the Lady Margaret Rowers Club, St. Johns College. She was handed in 1909, lowering from the gallery. The handle was sharpened like an oar, and an epigram in Greek was written on it with the following content: “This is the last wooden spoon that was handed over on a mathematical tripos. Those who see her, let them cry. " Currently, it is at the disposal of St. Johns College, the other - in the library of Selvin College. From June 8 to 26, 2009, St. John's College hosted an exhibition of five surviving wooden spoons: St. John's (last, 1909), Selvin (1906) [7] , Emmanuel (1889) and Corpus Christi (1895, 1907) . It has been timed to coincide with the centenary since the last presentation of such an award [9] . Five more wooden spoons are kept in private collections [1] .
Sport
Rugby
It is not known for certain why a wooden spoon was used as a reward in rugby competitions . Many graduates of the University of Cambridge participated in the Rugby Cup of Home Nations , now better known as the Six Nations Cup. It is assumed that they decided to preserve the memory of a wooden spoon in rugby, but much earlier than them, in 1894, the South Wales Daily Post proposed to hand the worst team of the tournament by analogy with a symbolic wooden spoon [10] .
Australia and New Zealand
The title of a “wooden” spoon is awarded in the Australian and New Zealand football, rugby, Australian football and other sports championships to the team that ranks last in the regular season championships. So, such awards are given to the worst teams of the Australian Football League , Australian Football Championship (A-League) , National Rugby League , Super Rugby and Miter 10 Cup . In the Australian Football League, the record holder for the number of “wooden spoons” is the St. Kilda Club, and in the National Rugby League, the Western Saberbs Magpipes. A similar award is also given in cricket: the Sydney Thunder team won it in the Big Bash League tournament (Australian Championship) three times in a row from 2011/2012 to 2013/2014 [11] [12] , before in the 2014 season / 2015 concede this “title” to the Brisbane Hit team, which finished last of 8 teams [13] .
Tennis
In tennis, the synonym for such a prize to the loser is the "helmet". Achievement is a truly dubious and worst case scenario for a tennis player. To become the owner of such a “prize”, a tennis player must lose in the first round, his offender must necessarily lose the next match in the second round, and the winner of the offender in the second round must lose in the third round, and so on until the winner of all the offenders loses in the finale [14] [15] . Goran Ivanishevich ( Australian Open Tennis Championship 1995 ), Marie Pierce ( Australian Open Tennis Championship 2002 ), Marat Safin ( US Open Tennis Championship 2004 ), Carolyn Wozniacki ( French Open Tennis Championship 2007 ) received such an unenviable fate at the time. , Ana Ivanovich ( Wimbledon Tournament 2010 ) and Rafael Nadal ( Australian Open 2016 ) [16] [17] .
Soccer
In the MLS championship, the team that finished last in the regular championship receives the title of “champion of a wooden spoon” [18] , but unlike other sports, it receives a real award. Before the start of the 2016 season, the Independent Sponsors Council decided to create a special prize for the team that finished last in the regular season, similar to the Supporters' Shield Award [19] . The trophy is rolling, and its owners must own throughout the next season. At the end of each regular season, the team must decide what to do with the trophy [19] . In 2015, the Chicago Fire Club received the first wooden spoon, and its fans took on the responsibility of creating the first such spoon.
See also
- Lantern rouge
- Wooden medal
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Jonathan Holmes. Queens 'College Cambridge:' A Queens 'Wooden Spoon' (1998). Date of appeal July 27, 2009. (unavailable link)
- ↑ University of Cambridge Exhibitions: "In honors mathematical, the very last of all: Cambridge Wooden Spoons" (May 27, 2009). Date of treatment July 27, 2009.
- ↑ Grose, Francis. Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue . - 1811.
- ↑ The Wooden Spoon: Rank (dis) order in Cambridge 1753–1909 // The History of Universities XXVI / 1. - 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 A Brace of Cantabs. (pseudonym). Gradus ad Cantabrigiam . - J. Hearne, 1824.
- ↑ 1 2 Socius. The Cambridge Tart . - Smith, 1823. - P. 98.
- ↑ 1 2 Stephen J. Cowley. Cambridge Mathematical Tripos: Wooden Spoons . Date of treatment July 27, 2009.
- ↑ Galton, Francis. Hereditary Genius-An Inquiry into its Laws and Consequences. - 1869. - P. 17.
- ↑ http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/cms_misc/media/library/spoonsbooklet.pdf (link not available)
- ↑ Godwin, Terry. The International Rugby Championship 1883–1893. - Willow Books, 1984. - ISBN 0-00-218060-X .
- ↑ Jacques Kallis targeted to help Sydney Thunder rumble in the Big Bash League , Sydney Morning Herald , 1 April 2014
- ↑ Big Bash League 2012-13: From blunder to Thunder , ESPN Cricinfo , 11 April 2013
- ↑ Dorries, Ben Andrew Flintoff declares Brisbane Heat's underperforming players to blame for wooden spoon campaign . The Courier Mail (21 January 2015). Date of treatment January 29, 2015.
- ↑ mikero.com - The tennis anti-grand slam . www.mikero.com . Date accessed August 23, 2017.
- ↑ Wooden-Spoon Theory . www.geocities.ws . Date accessed August 23, 2017.
- ↑ Fifth time unlucky for Murray as Djokovic continues Australian Open dominance . The Roar (February 1, 2016). Date of treatment February 1, 2016.
- ↑ Bednall, Jai Rafael Nadal wins Australian Open 'wooden spoon' . news.com.au (February 1, 2016). Date of treatment February 1, 2016.
- ↑ Jobs, playoffs, wooden spoons and a Shield: What's at stake in MLS Week 30 (October 1, 2016). Date accessed August 23, 2017.
- ↑ 1 2 ISC Creates Wooden Spoon Award - Independent Supporters Council . independentsupporterscouncil.com . Date accessed August 23, 2017.
Literature
- Japanese Students at Cambridge University in the Meiji Era, 1868-1912: Pioneers for the Modernization of Japan [1] , by Noboru Koyama, translated by Ian Ruxton, (Lulu Press, September 2004, ISBN 1-4116-1256-6 ). This book contains detailed information regarding the Cambridge wooden spoon.