Wooden spoon

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The Wooden spoon (dt. Wooden spoon ) is a jocular award for an individual or a team that took the lowest place is in a sports competition. The wooden spoon is used in rugby union , rugby league and Australian football in Australia and New Zealand .

origin

The idea of ​​the wooden spoon was born at Cambridge University , where the student who got the lowest score on his exam but still got a degree was jokingly presented with a wooden spoon by his fellow students. Over the years the "trophy" got bigger and bigger and was finally over a meter long. A wooden spoon was awarded for the last time in Cambridge in 1909 .

How this "award" got into the sporting world is not completely clear. The wooden spoon was probably adopted by Cambridge graduates who were active as rugby players for the important Home Nations tournament and from there it made its way to Australia and New Zealand.

Usage today

In almost all major sports leagues in Australia and New Zealand, including the National Rugby League , Australian Football League , A-League , Big Bash League , Super Rugby and the ITM Cup , a wooden spoon is presented to the bottom of the table at the end of the season . Most of the wooden spoons have been collected by the AFL team at St Kilda Saints (27).