Poll: Majority of 18-24 Year Olds Believe Every Kid Should Get a Trophy

A new national poll has found that a majority (51%) of Americans aged 18-24 feel that everyone who participates in a sport should get a trophy. 

According to a Reason-Rupe poll, among all Americans, “57 percent of Americans think only the winning players should receive” receive trophies while “40 percent say all kids on a sport team should receive a trophy for their participation.” As Americans get older, fewer believe that everyone should be awarded a participation trophy. The poll found that among 25-34 year olds, 43% believe everyone should get a trophy. In addition, 39% of those aged 35-54 and 29% of seniors want trophies for all. 

According to the poll, the desire for “every kid to get a trophy” correlates with political beliefs and fiscal conservatism. For instance, “66 percent of Republicans want only the kids who win to receive trophies, while 31 percent say all kids on the team should receive them. In contrast, Democrats are evenly divided with 48 percent who say all kids, and another 48 percent who say only the winners should receive a trophy.” 

In addition, “among those who only think winners should get a trophy, 64 percent have a favorable view of capitalism” 64% think that “markets better solve problems than government, and 63 percent favor smaller government providing fewer services.” Among those who think that every kid should get a trophy, “a plurality (49%) have an unfavorable view of capitalism,” 50% think “a strong government better solves problems than the free market, and 54 percent favor larger government providing more services..”

The poll, which was conducted August 6-10 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points, also found that 63% of whites feel only winners should get trophies while 56% of blacks and Hispanics believe that everyone should get a trophy.