There are a lot of nuances to the various Hash chapters around the world and not all of them are the same. It is up to each individual Hashing group to make up their own rules. There are no global parameters and if you violate the "rules" (of which there technically are none) no one really cares. This is why if you are visiting somewhere else they have a briefing before the runs begin.
Generally speaking the traditions have carried on around the world and some basics exist just about anywhere that you go. The award of the "Wings" is one of the things that have existed at every Hash I have ever been to and as far as I know they are global.
So what are the "Wings"
To be honest with you I don't have any idea how this all got started or why they are called the Wings, but they are some form of silly headdress that is awarded to two people at the end of a Hash run. The criteria for winning the Wings is determined by whoever set the trail or as we call them, the Hares. They can choose anyone that they want to be the recipient of this award and it is completely up to them how they do this. There can be no argument about who it is that receives them, or for what reason. It an be for having done something great such as improving your run time immensely compared to other weeks, or something completely stupid like getting lost on an easy trail. It can be fore literally any reason at all.
What this means for the recipients is that they are not exempt from being put on the ice or splashed for the rest of the day.
Personally, I don't mind being put on the ice in Thailand because as you might be aware, this is a very hot country and as long as you aren't left on the ice for too long, it is actually quite refreshing. There have been instances where the person doing the talking was extremely long-winded and we have to get on his or her case in order to get them to wrap it up because the people on the ice can no longer feel their backsides.
Getting put on the ice is a bit of an honor for many people because it means that you have been noticed by either doing something stupid, or something smart. Certain loudmouths get put on the ice frequently just to keep them quiet such as one Hasher named "Shut the Chuck up!" who runs his mouth constantly unless on the ice.
When you have the Wings you can not be put on the ice by anyone for any reason. But you can elect to be put on the ice but only if you pass the Wings to someone else. This is frowned upon (for some reason) and if you do this you can count on spending quite a lot of time on the ice from that point forward.
You win nothing other than glory with the Wings and I have only been the recipient of them 2 times in the past year. One of them was for having a strategy on the half-marathon Ballbreaker run - which was seen as bad because we are not supposed to have strategies.
Basically the Wings are a silly award that doesn't have any rhyme or reason to it, but then again, most of what the Hash House Harriers do doesn't have any real reason behind it anyway.
Come join us in Chiang Mai! We have meetups 3 times a week and full details are available on our official website