The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and benefactor.
After each match, the three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game) confer and award a 3, 2 and 1 point vote to the players they regard as the best, second best, and third best in the match respectively.
In the past, ties were decided on a countback system, but after a three-way tie in the 1984 count, the WAFC decided to scrap countback system and award multiple medals to joint winners.
Players that had missed out on a medal due to the countback system were awarded them retrospectively in 1997.
[1] § Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortened 10 game season was played The following players have won the Sandover Medal multiple times.