When the Irish Windsurfing Association came to us looking for medals for their 2026 championship events, we knew this would be a brilliant project. They weren’t looking for generic medals you could order from a catalogue. They needed something custom that could be personalised for each specific race over the course of several months, with details like the event name, location, and the recipient’s position.
This is exactly the kind of work we love at TechCreate. It combines everything we do well: laser cutting, engraving, and UV printing, all working together to create something that’s both practical and distinctive. The Irish Windsurfing Association medals project has turned into an ongoing relationship, with repeat orders coming in for different events throughout the year.
The Irish Windsurfing Association Medals Design and Build Process
The IWA sent us their design file, which made the starting point fairly straightforward. We took their artwork and incorporated it into our cut file using Lightburn, the software we use for our laser cutting work. The medals themselves needed to be made from 4 millimetre birch plywood, sized at about 80 millimetres by 80 millimetres. That’s a good substantial size for a championship medal without being too heavy or awkward to wear.
The production process brought together several of our capabilities. We laser cut each medal to shape, then engraved the design elements before moving to our UV printer to add coloured ink. That combination of techniques is what gives these medals their finished look. You get the natural wood texture and tone, the depth from the engraving, and the colour detail from the UV printing all in one piece.
Customising Medals for Multiple Championship Events
Here’s what makes this project particularly interesting. The Irish Windsurfing Association runs a number of different races over the course of months, not just one single championship day. Each race needs its own specific medal with the unique details of that event on the back: where it took place, what the event was called, and which position the recipient finished in.
We produced about 150 medals in that initial run, but there’s an ongoing requirement for us to make more medals for each upcoming event. The base design stays the same, but we can customise the existing medal format depending on what the specific event needs. That flexibility is built into how we set up the files and our production process.
Quality Checking and Finishing Every Medal
Once we’ve cut, engraved, and printed each medal, we visually check every single one. With a batch of 150 medals, that’s a fair bit of checking, but it matters. We’re looking for any issues with the cut, making sure the engraving came out clean, and verifying the UV print looks right.
Some of the medals needed a bit of extra sanding to finish them properly. That’s just part of working with birch plywood. It’s a great material for this kind of work, but occasionally you need to smooth an edge or take off a rough spot. We also clip on the lanyard that we supply with each medal, so they arrive ready to hand out at the event.
Meeting Championship Event Deadlines
Timing is always important when you’re dealing with sports events. Championships happen on specific dates, and the medals need to be there. We’re always upfront with our customers about lead time from the start. With the Irish Windsurfing Association, we got the dates upfront for their various events and then arranged our production schedule to make sure we could meet those deadlines.
That’s true whether it’s 150 medals or a smaller batch for an individual race. We book in the production time, make sure we have the materials on hand, and get the work done with enough buffer time for any finishing touches or quality issues that might come up.
Working With Sports Organisations and Clubs
The Irish Windsurfing Association medals project is a good example of the kind of work we do for sports clubs and organisations across Ireland. Whether you’re running a county championship, a national event, or a series of races like the IWA, custom medals add something special to the occasion.
We can work from your design or help you create something if you’re starting from scratch. The combination of laser cutting, engraving, and UV printing gives you a lot of options. You can have your club logo, event details, sponsor names, even full colour graphics if that’s what suits your event.
The birch plywood we used for these medals gives you that natural look that works well for outdoor sports, but we can work with other materials too depending on what you’re after. And because we handle the full production process here in Ballinagh, County Cavan, we can talk through the options and adjust things as needed.
Why Sports Clubs Keep Coming Back
The repeat orders from the Irish Windsurfing Association tell you something important. When you’re running multiple events, you need a supplier who can deliver consistent quality and meet your deadlines every time. That’s what we’ve built our reputation on over 11 years.
We ship medals and other custom work all over Ireland through An Post and DPD, so it doesn’t matter if your event is in Cavan, Cork, or Donegal. We get your medals to you on time and in good condition.
If you’re organising a sporting event or championship and need custom medals, we can help. We’ve done the Irish Windsurfing Association medals, we’ve made wooden medals for schools and clubs, and we’ve worked with all sorts of organisations that need something more interesting than generic awards. Get in touch with us at TechCreate, and we’ll talk through what you need for your next event.