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In Australian sports, a club championship is an award presented to the club with the best aggregate performance across all grades of a competition. A club championship is useful because it allows a comparison of the entire club's strength against another, rather than merely looking at, for example, the first grade results. Because it allows a comparison of the entire club's strength, club championships are sometimes used where there is a promotion/relegation system in place.
This means that a club which is strong throughout all grades will be in a better position than one which has only one or two strong teams. In a club championship system, it is common for each grade's results to weighted, giving more points to wins in the higher grades than the lower grades. This has the effect of preventing clubs from flooding their lower grades with top players at the end of a season and to shore up their club championship results (in cases where no other rules exist to prevent this).
Examples
- McClelland Trophy (Australian Football League)
- Stanley H. Lewis Trophy (South Australian National Football League)
- As of 2024, the aggregate performance in the senior men's, senior women's, reserves, under-18s and under-16s.
- Rodriguez Shield (West Australian Football League)
- As of 2024, awarded to the best overall club in senior, reserves, colts, women's and Roger's Cup competitions combined.
