Dear Organizer - Awards

[Slamdunkpro]

We had the tips for organizers, tips for cook teams and tips for judges threads a while ago, this one deals specifically with awards.

Have awards on time
This should go without saying but it often doesn't work out that way. Talk to your sanctioning body rep and get a good estimate of how long it will take after the last turn in, announce it and stick to it.

Have enough staff to make awards go smooth
Have the trophies / awards on the stage 10 minutes prior to awards start. Have all the checks cut and placed in order as well. Have someone off stage to handle any paperwork for the winners as they come off stage.

Awards should be the priority
Give the awards schedule to any performers and have them understand that awards go off as scheduled, even if it means cutting someone short. It doesn't matter if the drunk girls over on the side are getting into the band's 17 minute version of Freebird. If awards are at 4 and it's 4:01 turn the band off.

On this theme: the stage changeover can wait until after the people who paid lots of money to compete are recognized. Stagehands tearing down / setting up drum risers and staging are distracting. Turn off the background music and the band monitors so the crowd can hear. If the bass player is practicing his speed rips through his amplifier turned up to 11 tell him to shut the hell up.

Get an MC that knows how to use a microphone.
or get them some lessons. When your MC holds the mic down around their navel and constantly points it at the speaker giving the crown ear splitting feedback it takes some of the fun out of things.

Consider what's going on
If you're the person announcing awards have some consideration that almost everyone listening to you is tired, hot/cold & facing a long drive. It's also probably blazing hot or raining or (worse) just about to rain. This isn't the time to try out your new comedy routine, tell us your life story or a bunch of other non relevant crap.

Keep things moving
If you're doing honorable mentions or announcing deep you don't need to wait for 25th place to come to the stage, get their certificate and go all the way back to their seat before announcing 24th, especially if people have a long way to go to get to the stage. You can call the next place while the last place is still moving.

Understand why awards are structured the way they are
This seems simple but I've seen it screwed up more and more: As soon as you award the Grand Champion everyone is going to leave! Don't try to give any awards after the grand.

Don't get cute
You might think it's "suspenseful" to hold all the 1st place winners or bring the top 5 up as a group then announce them off like it's a beauty contest but for the competitors it sux. Just play it straight - please?


Any more?

[dmprantz]

Be careful about being early. Why many teams appreciate being able leave that much sooner, if you're early and some one is in the middle of packing up, off site, or maybe worst of all, sleeping, it's not acceptable to start awards early and hope that every one gets the word some how. If competitors turn in a box early, it sits until the window starts. If reps finish entering scores early, wait until every one is there. Keep the schedule unless all teams are present and accounted for.

dmp

[The Cosmic Pig]

I'll add one: Don't scheule something else in the venue near the same time as awards! The last contest I attended was at a Harley-Davidson dealership. Some a-hole affiliated with the dealership came around and told us if we weren't out by 4PM, we might not get out because they had 600 bikes coming in at that time. But then awards were put off until, you guessed it, 4pm. I heard my name called (for 1st place pork) sitting in my truck with the trailer attached, in the parking lot, because there was no place to park. To put it blatantly, that just totally sucked, and robbed me of one of the greatest joys of competition BBQ.

[Diva]

Don't be the "announcer" (while having the Rep read each team name to you as well), "photographer" and hand the awards out all by yourself.....DELEGATE

[Pelkster]

This one is a more of a personal pet peeve...Nothing drive me more nuts than the "calls" and the "walks". If you are going to recognize the Top 10, give them a ribbon at least. While cash might only go to the Top 5, do more than just announce the 10-6 spots. Ribbons are cheap in cost, and gives those teams that at least get a Top 10 finish something to celebrate other than having their name called. I find it acceptable to "call" 10-3 for the overall, with only the RGC and the GC getting the walk.

[kenthanson]

Can I go a little OT here, my biggest pet peeve is having the cooks meeting in the middle of the site while a band is playing and you have stand next to the head judge or organizer or you won't hear them. Please find a quiet place where you can heard by everyone and teams can ask questions and have them be heard.

[walrus79]

Ok, my two pennies. The three second personal story before naming the awardee is annoying. For instance, "third place pork...Oh, I gotta tell you this team (insert annoying story nobody cares about but you two)...XYZ bbq.

Ok, other annoyance...it's DA-GWAY-YO, is it that much trouble to ask somebody or even Kit beforehand how to pronounce it...did nobody in the Mid Atlantic region take Spanish I or II in school and learn that "ll" is pronounced like a "y"? I know it's become somewhat of a joke, but Kit kicks ass and I've seen him get well more than a dozen calls in my one year of competing and not one person has come close to pronouncing it correctly.

Ok, I'm done.

[VA BBQ PIRATES]

Ok, my two pennies. The three second personal story before naming the awardee is annoying. For instance, "third place pork...Oh, I gotta tell you this team (insert annoying story nobody cares about but you two)...XYZ bbq.

Ok, other annoyance...it's DA-GWAY-YO, is it that much trouble to ask somebody or even Kit beforehand how to pronounce it...did nobody in the Mid Atlantic region take Spanish I or II in school and learn that "ll" is pronounced like a "y"? I know it's become somewhat of a joke, but Kit kicks ass and I've seen him get well more than a dozen calls in my one year of competing and not one person has come close to pronouncing it correctly.

Ok, I'm done.

The worst part is when the story give away the identity of the team. MCs need to keep in mind they are anouncing the awards - not the teams.

May favorite mispronunciation was Do-You-Jello! And Kit does kick some ass!

[Smokin' Gnome BBQ]

Make sure you have all your paper work in hand, like a current proclimation, Royal paperwork etc.

oh, and I dont know about anyone else but I like the trophies and ribbons, make sure they are decent , not some kind of unmarked piece of elementary school participation award.

[Brew-B-Q]

This past weekend at Kenosha they called the top 10 for each category in random order. Had us stand on stage while they counted down 10 to 1. He also reach each teams score to the one hundred thousandth degree. This was after starting 40 minutes late. I'm not a big fan of it. I like hearing the top 10 as normal. I've seen it done this way for overall and I'm okay with it. Not for every category though.

[Tarheel]

Don't get cute
You might think it's "suspenseful" to hold all the 1st place winners or bring the top 5 up as a group then announce them off like it's a beauty contest but for the competitors it sux. Just play it straight - please?


Any more?

What? You mean to tell me that you didn't like calling the top 5 up at Hogfest? I thought it was fun! :-D Especially when you get down to 1 and 5 left, one gets a piece of wood the other gets a piece of cloth. Got to shake it up some. You know me I like to stir things up!! :crazy:

[Slamdunkpro]

A couple more:

If you have a stage use it
Don't gather the cooks into a an isolated corner like it's some secret meeting to hand out awards when there is a big stage nearby with some hack band playing to 10 people.

Use a PA
No matter how much you or your friends tell you you have a booming voice, if you're trying to project to over 200 people the ones in the back won't be able to hear you.

In the don't get cute category
Don't foreshadow awards with (to you) cute remarks such as "gee you might as well just stay up here" "I'll pronounce it right in a minute or next time"

[Slamdunkpro]

What? You mean to tell me that you didn't like calling the top 5 up at Hogfest? I thought it was fun! :-D Especially when you get down to 1 and 5 left, one gets a piece of wood the other gets a piece of cloth. Got to shake it up some. You know me I like to stir things up!! :crazy:
Yeah it's great fun to humiliate the 5th place guy.

[DawgPhan]

got it good in Georgia. Thank you to all the reps and organizers in GA for running awesome contests where all I have to complain about is my cooking.

[TheJackal]

If you are giving out checks then have them at awards. Take the extra 2 minutes to go get them before starting awards if that what it takes. Don't make the teams hunt you down to collect their money.

If you are giving a check then also give a trophy. I found it quite odd that at Sam's contests 4th and 5th got checks but no trophies.

[bignburlyman]

We had the tips for organizers, tips for cook teams and tips for judges threads a while ago, this one deals specifically with awards.

Have awards on time
This should go without saying but it often doesn't work out that way. Talk to your sanctioning body rep and get a good estimate of how long it will take after the last turn in, announce it and stick to it.



I have heard of instances where a computer problem occurred and took considerable time to get everything correct. No one wants to have errors when presenting the awards, then get called afterwards and told oops, that was not your GC, give it back.

[Rick Hamilton]

I don't think I saw this one listed yet..

Keep the calls coming
Sure, a little time between team names for each team to be recognized is great but do we really need to hear the announcer say something like "team x...<waiting> is team x here? <waiting> team x...oh here they come" as the team comes strolling in from 30 or more yards away.

[timzcardz]

OT: Opposite view of Topic.

As much as everyone wants the awards to "move along" it is also important that sponsors, that play a big part in making all of this happen, be recognized, and that teams understand and respect that.

[ThomEmery]

Post pictures on the web of all who walked

[Rich Parker]

I like it when organizers mix it up a little instead of just reading 1st through 10th in every category like a robot. With that I also like it when they keep it going and get them done quickly.

[AZScott]

Post pictures on the web of all who walked

Amen. How many contests have you been to where they took pictures of all those that walked or won? A lot. Have you ever seen those photos? Nope. And when you ask, no one knows where they are. It's silly. I don't need my photo taken unless you are planning on making it available to me.

[ParkAvenue_2]

Announce where the teams you are calling are from
During registration, just note the hometown for each team, then read that off when you make the announcements. Sometimes teams travel long distances to attend an event, and it is a way of expressing appreciation to them, and it is normally of interest to everyone else. Sometimes a hometown team takes the GC, and it's nice to celebrate that fact as well.

Make the Teams Comfortable
Provide complimentary snacks and beverages to all in attendance at the awards ceremony, and have it in an air-conditioned room when it's 100F+ outside.

This second one is tongue-in-cheek, but we do one contest each year that actually DOES this, and you'd better believe it makes a difference about our decision to come back the following year when we put our schedule together in the winter. :thumb:

[Gowan]

The three second personal story before naming the awardee is annoying.

I appreciate it when the calls are more personal than just reading the team name off a sheet. However, the time for the background tidbits is *after* the call, to fill the 15 seconds while the team makes their way to the stage.

It's how I do it, and I think it keeps things moving, avoids the awkward pauses and gives teams that little extra bit of recognition all at once.

[Smokesman]

I think any competition with 25 or more teams should always call top 10 in every category and overall...perhaps a KCBS rule!?! Ribbons are nice for 10 - 6 but I believe being recognized for a high placing means more to the team.

[Slamdunkpro]

I have heard of instances where a computer problem occurred and took considerable time to get everything correct. No one wants to have errors when presenting the awards, then get called afterwards and told oops, that was not your GC, give it back.
On this note:

Don't lie to the teams
If awards are scheduled for 4 and there is a problem, Tell us! Be honest and realistic with the reschedule. Don't come around at 3:45 and tell us awards will be 20 minutes late when you know damn well that it's going to be at least an hour because they are still just imputing chicken scores because the system crashed, or the person with the checks has a flat tire, or whatever. If it won't be until 5, tell us 5 so we can finish loading out.

[Gowan]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't like it when the schedule says awards will be at 5pm and they actually start at 4:15. We pace our breakdown based on the published time for awards, and the disruption of having to run to the stage leaving everything half-packed is nearly as bad as having every ready to go and sitting out in the sun for 45 minutes waiting.

Best to set awards giving yourself a reasonable time to prep the scores and then stick to it, IMO.

[Podge]

The worst part is when the story give away the identity of the team. MCs need to keep in mind they are anouncing the awards - not the teams.

May favorite mispronunciation was Do-You-Jello! And Kit does kick some ass!

At The jack, 2008, for 10th place sauce, they had anounced it as "Last year's grand champion winner...........................".. So my brother and I stood up, excited and got the ribbon. The anouncer had the wrong team in his mind that won the jack the year before. It sucked. I felt bad for my brother who made the sauce for us, and felt bad for the team that actually deserved that walk. That was 4 years ago, and still got a sore spot from it.

[Fat Freddy]

Since I am reading this to be for ALL contest organizers, not just KCBS I will add something that just happened to me.

If you are doing awards earlier than scheduled time *make sure all teams know, not just the teams winning awards*

[paydabill]

My biggest one - make sure the person giving out the awards reads the sheet beforehand. Maybe talk to the rep to see the order.

Was at an event about 3 years ago when the announcer thought he was doing chicken - instead was reading the overall list because it was first in the package.

Talk about a muck up!

[Slamdunkpro]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't like it when the schedule says awards will be at 5pm and they actually start at 4:15. We pace our breakdown based on the published time for awards, and the disruption of having to run to the stage leaving everything half-packed is nearly as bad as having every ready to go and sitting out in the sun for 45 minutes waiting.

Best to set awards giving yourself a reasonable time to prep the scores and then stick to it, IMO.
I'm with ya. They tried to bow to pressure at Gettysburg this year and ended up moving awards up into the middle of the headliner's set. Now they had all the teams there but no stage, no PA and the singer going full blast.

[Disconnect]

Gettysburg was a mess all around. I found the awards to be in keeping with everything else. (I think they hit every point from the original post.. band, timing, no pa, etc.) They tried, but almost every organizer tries..

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[Sauced!]

My biggest one - make sure the person giving out the awards reads the sheet beforehand. Maybe talk to the rep to see the order.

Was at an event about 3 years ago when the announcer thought he was doing chicken - instead was reading the overall list because it was first in the package.

Talk about a muck up!

Down in Amelia Island FL last weekend the announcer, some local TV guy I think, was clueless. Never said what division, backyard or pro, or category or place when he started calling teams. He announced them as the ' first winner' instead of 5th place Chicken. Did it all the way to the end before finally calling rgc and gc correctly. Worst announcing I've ever seen.

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[Pack-A-Smokes]

Down in Amelia Island FL last weekend the announcer, some local TV guy I think, was clueless. Never said what division, backyard or pro, or category or place when he started calling teams. He announced them as the ' first winner' instead of 5th place Chicken. Did it all the way to the end before finally calling rgc and gc correctly. Worst announcing I've ever seen.


That was bad! Hard to believe he is a local news guy and that clueless on how to be an announcer.

[TheJackal]

My biggest one - make sure the person giving out the awards reads the sheet beforehand. Maybe talk to the rep to see the order.

Was at an event about 3 years ago when the announcer thought he was doing chicken - instead was reading the overall list because it was first in the package.

Talk about a muck up!

Last year at one contest we were called up and handed a trophy and check and went back to our seats. And then got an "Oh, wait. I think I made a mistake. Can you come back up and give us the trophy and check back?" That sure was fun.

[Pack-A-Smokes]

Last year at one contest we were called up and handed a trophy and check and went back to our seats. And then got an "Oh, wait. I think I made a mistake. Can you come back up and give us the trophy and check back?" That sure was fun.

Dang! There is no excuse for that. A couple of years ago in Tryon, NC there were two teams. One was Uncle Chet's and the other was Uncle Jed's Uncle Jed's had to give back two trophies and two checks!

[KC_Bobby]

When you call a team up for 1st place chicken and then announce they scored a 180, make sure you call the right team.

["Bone to Bark" BBQ]

I would like to echo the point, START AWARDS ON TIME!

[Podge]

Checks made out to me... not Moonswiners.. a lot easier to cash.

[CBQ]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't like it when the schedule says awards will be at 5pm and they actually start at 4:15.

Ya, I have been in the middle of the trailer strapping stuff to the wall and been told "awards in 2 minutes". Great. If you are going to move them up, please, please give us more than 120 seconds notice. I would make sure I wasn't in the middle of something if I had some notice.

[CBQ]

If you are doing an add-on contest that uses KCBS scores (such as the 2011 Kingsford Points Chase) don't announce that first. Everyone around me thought I got the GC in one contest last year after hitting 1st in chicken, 3rd in pork, 3rd in brisket, but I knew ahead of time I did not win because they had already announced I was second in Kingsford points.

[dmprantz]

Ya, I have been in the middle of the trailer strapping stuff to the wall and been told "awards in 2 minutes". Great. If you are going to move them up, please, please give us more than 120 seconds notice. I would make sure I wasn't in the middle of something if I had some notice.

You're lucky. Last competition I did, my teamate yelled at me from 25 feet away "Hey, awards started!" and ran in without waiting for me....

dmp

[Brauma]

I like the previous comments about having a short bio about the team to read to fill the time while the team walks to the stage. You can pause for applause, then read where the team is from and maybe how long they've been competing. Just 5 - 10 seconds worth of info.

[Disconnect]

How about setting the layout in stone ahead of time so you aren't scrambling to find places to put people.

In other news, come say hi if you are at smokin on the bay. We're one of the teams in the unmarked spaces in the roadway...

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[tnjimbob]

On this note:

Don't lie to the teams
If awards are scheduled for 4 and there is a problem, Tell us! Be honest and realistic with the reschedule. Don't come around at 3:45 and tell us awards will be 20 minutes late when you know damn well that it's going to be at least an hour because they are still just imputing chicken scores because the system crashed, or the person with the checks has a flat tire, or whatever. If it won't be until 5, tell us 5 so we can finish loading out.

You are exactly right about this one. At a recent comp, they published that awards were @ 4. We showed up at 4, five people were in the auditorium, no officials were around, so we went back to finish loading up. Somebody (also not an official) came around and said awards were @ 5. After working up another good sweat loading up, a policeman came around and announced that they were calling backyard awards right now - around 4:25 pm. If awards are going to be late, send an official around maybe with a bullhorn or something to notify teams about when awards will start.

What really sucked was I got my first backyard call... ever, and I won first place chicken. Didn't get to hear my name called, one of the best things about awards in the first place. Further, They gave the first place check to the third place chicken team. Fortunately, the third place winner was honest and came over to me and swapped envelopes.

Frustrating to say the least.

[2guystryin]

Dont call gc and rgc and then switch them after the fact. read the f-n sheet. or get your glasses on. just my 2 cents.

[Podge]

How about setting the layout in stone ahead of time so you aren't scrambling to find places to put people.

In other news, come say hi if you are at smokin on the bay. We're one of the teams in the unmarked spaces in the roadway...

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A solid layout is a great idea. But assigned spaces are not. It's hard to parrallel park a 30' trailer between 2 teams.

[Disconnect]

A solid layout is a great idea. But assigned spaces are not. It's hard to parrallel park a 30' trailer between 2 teams.

Agreed. but letting the venue yank 10 spaces the morning of the event is not ok.

Btw turns out the improvised roadway spots are breezy and pleasant during the day but catch the full force of 65mph winds in the overnight storms.. that was exciting..

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