The competition has been contested continuously since its inception in 1910 and, in that time, fourteen different schools have secured at least a shared win of the shield. Teams entering the Medallion Shield are composed of boys who are under 15 years of age at the start of the school year. Entry in 2012-13 stood at 38 schools.
Campbell College, Belfast, has won 5 outright, most recently being the 2022 season.
The 2023 competition resulted in a final between Ballymena Academy and Royal Belfast Academical Institution with RBAI winning 10–7.RBAI have now won the competition 35 times outright and shared it 3 times.
Initially without a trophy, a medal was presented to the winning captain at the conclusion of the second final in 1911.[5] The original Medallion Shield was presented by the Governors of Methodist College with the medal mounted on the shield. When the original shield was filled with the names of winners, the Governors also provided a replacement shield. The original shield is on exhibit and can be viewed at the Methodist College Heritage Centre.[6]
Venue of finals
All finals since 1973 had been played at Ravenhill. In 2014 the final was staged at the Queen's University Arena because of the ongoing development work at Ravenhill. Prior to 1973, the most commonly used venues were the North of Ireland grounds on the Ormeau Road in Belfast and the former Royal Belfast Academical Institution grounds at Orangefield, Belfast.
Future international players
Over the years a selection of players who went on to win international caps appeared in the Medallion Shield final. One future international appeared in the first ever final in 1910 with James B O'Neill a member of the victorious Methodist College team.[2] He would win one cap for Ireland in 1920.[7]
Further examples of future international players include:
Until 2004 the Medallion Shield was competed for through an open draw, and since then a seeding system has been employed to determine the point at which a school enters the competition.[10]
A Medallion Plate competition for first round losers was introduced in 1986.[citation needed]
The competition took on a new format in 2005 with further minor changes made since.[10] Each team is assigned to a seeding group which determines the stage at which that team joins the competition. Each stage is run on a single tie knock-out basis, with replays for drawn games when necessary.
The structure since the 2009–10 season is as follows:
Stage 1. Weakest twelve teams enter for round 1. If necessary, a preliminary round will be played to establish these twelve teams. The six winners progress to round 2. The losers enter the Medallion Trophy together with the losers of the round 2 fixtures. The matches are determined by an open draw.
Stage 2. A further ten teams enter together with the six winners from round 1. The matches in round 2 are determined by an open draw. The eight winners progress to round 3. The eight losers join the six losers from round 1 and any preliminary round losers and compete for the Medallion Trophy.
Stage 3. A further eight teams enter together with the eight winners from round 2. The matches in round 3 are determined by an open draw. The eight winners progress to round 4. The eight losers contest for the Medallion Bowl.
Stage 4. The top eight seeded teams join the remaining eight winners from round 3. The matches in round 4 are determined by an open draw. The winners proceed to the quarter-finals, semi finals and final. The eight losers in round 4 play for the Medallion Plate.
