Earning a merit badge is the feat. Giving one is the art.
Done right, a badge tells another player: I saw that. I know how much it mattered.
You don't need to be a coach. You don't need permission. You just need to care about the people around you closely enough to notice a thing they'd never claim for themselves.
Merit badges are not participation ribbons. (Except for the Participation Ribbon badge, which is.) They mark a breakthrough that actually happened, witnessed by someone who understood what they were seeing.
Some are straightforward.
The Erne badge is straightforward — it goes to your partner the first time they nail one without stepping in the kitchen.
Cloudmaker goes to your pal who is finally almost kind of really actually mastering resets.
Reset Banger goes to the banger in your life who's learning control.
Fan Club goes to the person who brought you in before you knew how to ask. (My wife stole a Fan Club badge off the counter and gave it to the endlessly encouraging woman who's been teaching them mahjong this year — it made everyone around the table cry.)
Write the reason. Give a speech. Have your camera ready. Make it a whole thing—or quietly slide it across the table. The ceremony can be as large or small as the moment requires.
There is only one rule: mean it.
Take a photo. Send us the story. The badge is an artefact. The gift is sharing it. Game recognizes game.
Les Deux, ATP, Returned a Lob (No Big Deal), and The Relentless Pursuit of Perfect Attendance drop in August.