[BBQchef33]

There are a couple important reasons organizers are looking at later turn-in times(or knock down/exit times). I agree with wanting to get home and go to sleep, but i was enlightened this weekend as to why thats not always going to happen. I believe, not 100% sure, but think its not the later turn in that they are doing, but adjusting the end time of the contest. Would it be the same saying turnins are at 12-2, but awards dont start until 6-8PM?

1 - Safety.
Usually, awards run around 4-5 O'Clock.. which at the busier events, is prime time for crowds.. and/or earlier crowds like to hang around to see the awards.

When teams start breaking down and driving rigs out of fairgrounds or parking lots with hundreds if not thousands of people wandering around it causes and obvious safety hazard for those walking around. Event officials may lay down the law and not allow cars into or to leave the fair grounds when it is open to the public. Some towns and venues will NOT allow events to permit cars/trucks onto the grounds when it is still open to the public. Thats one reason organizers will not allow cars to stay at the sites, or allow them to return to the sites to hitch up and drive away.

2 - Crowd/spectator shows.
Most contests are not in place to line any individuals pocket with $$, but usually have some form of charity or benefactor.. ie rotary, KoC, etc. They are there to make money, and lets face it.. WE(the teams) are not the main source of revenue for the event. The sponsors are, and the crowds are. If a festival, car show, bazaar, whatever has a BBQ contest as one part of the draw, people expect to see us there. On the same token, if a band is playing at 6-8, people start arriving around 4-6.. which is smack dab during the awards. Now, 2 things happen. 1 - again, the safety hazard is there with huge rigs trying to make it thru the crowd..

and 2 - If we are all gone by 6, the crowd, which again is the primary source of income comes to an empty lot and piles of ash. If thats the case, they will not return the next year, and without the crowds, the sponsors don't get exposure. Without the sponsors, there are no events..

Organizers and promoters would prefer to give the crowds something to see and also keep the sponsors happy.. and we, the competitors, are part of the show.

Consider how all these are intertwined, the base event(carnival, car show, bands playing, etc).. , the sponsors, the crowds, and us.. There are so many things to look out for, and consider when putting together events.. its is not for the meek.. What I learned this weekend at KCBS is that what we see as competitors are a very very VERY small part of the big picture.

These are NOT the sole reasons.. dont take it as gospel.. its what I learned at KCBS this weekend from talking to many people, and having a few meetings and may be just my interpertations. Hopefully some tof the experts will chime in too. But I believe these are just a couple reasons we may see later turn-in times at some events.