Atlanta BBQ Fest?

We had a couple of brethren attend last year, as best I recall. That I know if it's never been sanctioned before; this will be the first year for KCBS...

I met the Atlanta BBQ Festival organizer at the "National Barbecue Festival" in Waycross GA last November.
All I can say is that I hope he is a better organizer than he was a judge!!!
Would have been thrown out of the judge's area if it had been KCBS or MBN sanctioned!

GOOD LUCK!

bbq.tom...I just sent you a PM.

This event is a bit of an oddball - not your typical KCBS contest.

It is the flagship event of the Atlanta BBQ Club, essentially a dining group that meets at a different BBQ restaurant each month. The Atlanta BBQ Festival brings out large crowds of people who come to eat BBQ, similar to the Rib Burn-offs held in other states. As such, this event has attracted primarily vendors and restaurants in the past and relatively few pure competition teams.

It remains to be seen whether KCBS sanctioning will be successful in transforming this Festival into a contest that will garner teams in Georgia's ever increasing contest schedule. As one the most expensive contests in the state to cook with a mere $5400 payout, pro teams certainly won't be going there for the money.

My own team is going to give it a try, mostly because of the public exposure it promises for our sponsors. We'll see if the experience justifies a return next year. I hope so, because it's close to us.

Yikes.

I think we penciled this in on our calendar based on the new KCBS sanctioning and prior to them posting the 2012 entry fee and payouts.

I liked the idea of being close to home but...$300 regular entry plus $50 for a 20 amp circuit and apparently no water at individual sites...all for a pro payout of only $5400?

I also see in the published rules the following...

11. The BBQ committee reserves the right to make additional rules and regulations as the situation warrants.  Decisions of BBQ Committee and judges are final.  In the event of disqualification, no refunds will be provided.

Maybe I've overlooked similar disclosures at other KCBS events but I can't help but to be worried by this.

I may have to re-think this event.

  

Same as the post above me, we were going to enter it for our very first competition last year, but for a backyard team, they only wanted to give us a 10X10 space (but said they would increase it to 10X15 to fit my smoker), and entry fee was around $250-275 for backyard. We skipped it and did the Pignic instead, and found out later they only had 20-25 Pro teams.

Hopefully making it into a KCBS contest will help boost it, but I agree that the entry fees are just too high for the payout.

I was at a non-sanctioned sponsor type event where the Atlanta BBQ Club was helping run the judging. I won't go near anything they run ever again. I doubt that there is more than one guy on the comittee if you know what I mean.