1st place
Best Delegate
The committee’s strongest all-round delegate — outstanding research, persuasive speaking, principled diplomacy, and real leadership in moving the committee toward solutions.
HTSMUN’s awards celebrate diplomacy, growth, and substance — not just winning. With a one-day, novice-friendly format and a dedicated award for first-time delegates, a beginner can genuinely win here.
In each committee, the dais recognizes delegates whose preparation, speaking, and diplomacy stood out across the day. These are the standard honours you can earn.
1st place
The committee’s strongest all-round delegate — outstanding research, persuasive speaking, principled diplomacy, and real leadership in moving the committee toward solutions.
2nd place
A delegate whose performance was consistently excellent throughout committee — just shy of Best Delegate, and a clear standout in debate and negotiation.
3rd place
Recognizes a delegate who contributed meaningfully and impressively throughout the day — a notable, well-prepared voice in the room.
Recognition
A spoken acknowledgement from the dais for a delegate who made a standout contribution — a sharp speech, a smart compromise, or genuine good-faith effort.
HTSMUN is a novice-friendly conference, and this award proves it: a dedicated honour set aside for delegates attending their very first Model UN.
At many conferences, the awards quietly go to the most experienced delegates in the room. We do it differently. Best Novice Delegate recognizes the standout first-time delegate in a committee — judged against other newcomers, not seasoned veterans.
You don’t need prior experience, a circuit record, or a polished speaking style. You need to come prepared, engage in good faith, and grow over the course of the day. That is exactly what this award is here to celebrate.
Great preparation deserves recognition of its own. Where it’s offered, this award honours the most thorough, original, and well-argued paper submitted to a committee.
A Best Position Paper award may be given in individual committees at the dais’s discretion, rewarding the delegate whose paper best demonstrated research, command of their country’s policy, and persuasive, original writing. New to position papers? Read our full guide on how to write and submit yours.
Awards aren’t only for individuals. Delegation awards celebrate the schools whose delegates performed strongest as a team — and they’re scored proportionally, so size never decides the outcome.
Team award
For the strongest large school delegation — recognizing depth and consistency across many delegates and committees, where a high standard is sustained right across the team.
Team award
For the strongest small school delegation — so that a handful of excellent delegates from a smaller school can compete for top honours on equal footing.
Scored proportionally to delegation size so smaller schools compete fairly.
We publish what we look for so you can prepare with confidence. Across the day, dais teams weigh five things — not a single big speech, but your overall contribution.
How confidently you operate within parliamentary procedure — motions, points, and the flow of formal and moderated debate. Mistakes are expected from newcomers; steady improvement is rewarded.
How well you understand the issues on your agenda and represent your assigned country’s real positions, history, and interests — rather than your own personal opinions.
How clearly and convincingly you speak — in formal speeches and moderated caucus. Substance, structure, and the ability to move the room matter more than polish or volume.
How you work with others — building blocs, negotiating in good faith, finding common ground, and bringing other delegates along. Diplomacy, not domination, is the goal.
How much you shape the committee’s written outcomes — drafting, sponsoring, and improving the resolutions or directives that carry your ideas into the final vote.
The bar is intentionally low — one simple step puts you in the running, and it’s the same step that makes you a stronger delegate.
To be eligible for an award at HTSMUN, a delegate must submit a position paper for their committee assignment. It’s the one requirement — and it doubles as the best preparation you can do before the day begins.
A position paper is not required to attend. You’re welcome to take part, speak, and learn whether or not you submit one. The paper only comes into play for award consideration — which keeps the barrier to entry low for first-time delegates while still rewarding those who put in the preparation.
If you’re new to position papers, don’t worry: our guide walks you through exactly what to include, how to format it, and how to send it in.
All awards are decided by the dais, based on the full arc of your day in committee. There is no formula that crowns the loudest delegate — preparation, diplomacy, and genuine good-faith engagement carry the most weight, and a delegate who grows over the day is exactly the delegate we’re looking for. Questions about awards? Reach us at info@htsmun.com.