Lake Dogs
Quintessential Chatty Farker
The purpose of a BBQ Contest/Competition
I'm not certain that many BBQ competitors have thought about
this or think about it often, and I think understanding this
really helps put a lot of it in perspective.
The BBQ competition itself is no more than a means to an end,
another end having little or nothing to do with BBQ or the
contest. Most if not all are events that exist to raise
money for a charity, bring people together in a town to raise
awareness of town facilities, etc. The organizer then looks
around and thinks to themselves: How can I get people to come
to this area to accomplish my objective? Enter the BBQ cookoff.
We, as contestants, dont really like to think of it this way,
as we're all in to the competition and improving our Q, etc.
However, we're merely the vehicle to accomplish the goal. Our
goal may be to win the competition, however THE goal of the
event is usually not BBQ associated whatsoever.
Losing sight of this is where we lose many an enjoyable
competition. I know of many of my favorite chili and/or BBQ
competitions are no longer held/hosted because it either became
to much of a pain in the tail to organize for the small amount
of $$$ returned to the cause, or the competition got so big
that it became more important than the original cause (the tail
began to wag the dog).
To sanction, or not
I've had the wonderful opportunity over the past 5 or so years
to work very closely with event planners/sponsors who are
considering having a cookoff of one type or another. Once
they decide to do it (have the cookoff) the next question is
to have a sanctioned cookoff or not. Remember the goal above.
They all ask one very simple question: What does sanctioning
do for me (the event)?
BTW: The day any sanctioning body loses sight of this is the
day that they've sealed their doom.
The sanctioning body brings organization (hopefully), but also
requires additional tasks be brought to bear on behalf of the
organizer/planner. There are costs involved beyond the specific
amounts paid to the sanctioning body. The sanctioning body
brings "clout" and "advertising", but frankly unless you're in
an area where the event attendee (yes, the ATTENDEE) knows
about the sanctioning body and attends the event because it's
sanctioned by that particular sanctioning body*, sanctioning
brings one and only one thing: T E A M S.
*Note: My experience so far is that most event attendees have
no clue as to what a sanctioning body is and have never heard
of KCBS, MIM, MBN, FBA, GBA, IBCA, etc. As a result, around
here, sanctioning offers teams; nothing more.
I know of a few cookoffs around this area, chili and bbq cookoffs,
that are not an probably never will be sanctioned. Why? Because
they max out teams every year. Their event is already as big
as they can handle. They, quite literally, have no need for
sanctioning. They meet their goals easily without any sanctioning
body; no extra costs whatsoever.
As competitors, what does this mean?
I'm assuming we all enjoy cooking BBQ and enjoy the aspects of
competing. It's what we do.
Every year, sometimes weekly, others monthly, some quarterly,
and those of us with a yearly budget once a year, we sit with
our team mates and decide whether to enter a competition or not.
The determining factors of why or why not attend a particular
competition are as varied as the teams themselves. Along the
way we look at whether it's sanctioned or not and what that
means to us as a team. Some teams participate only in sanctioned
comps, some only sanctioned by one particular sanctioning body,
and other teams dont care either way.
I cannot speak for all. Our team will never be in a points
chase for a national trophy; we simply dont have the time or
the money to devote to a hobby like this. Sanctioning, for us,
offers one thing; consistency. Consistency in judging. This
way we know the mark to hit. They've provided trained and
certified judges who enforce rules evenly without regard to
team name, etc. Otherwise, to our team, who cares? The
sanctioning body offers nothing if not consistency.
When we go to a competition, I take a few minutes to remind
my teammates the purpose of the event and to make sure that
we have a good time, but not to cross purposes. We're there
to have fun, compete, help the organizer(s) fulfill their
goals, and with any luck enjoy a walk or two to the podium
at the end of the day.
I'm not certain that many BBQ competitors have thought about
this or think about it often, and I think understanding this
really helps put a lot of it in perspective.
The BBQ competition itself is no more than a means to an end,
another end having little or nothing to do with BBQ or the
contest. Most if not all are events that exist to raise
money for a charity, bring people together in a town to raise
awareness of town facilities, etc. The organizer then looks
around and thinks to themselves: How can I get people to come
to this area to accomplish my objective? Enter the BBQ cookoff.
We, as contestants, dont really like to think of it this way,
as we're all in to the competition and improving our Q, etc.
However, we're merely the vehicle to accomplish the goal. Our
goal may be to win the competition, however THE goal of the
event is usually not BBQ associated whatsoever.
Losing sight of this is where we lose many an enjoyable
competition. I know of many of my favorite chili and/or BBQ
competitions are no longer held/hosted because it either became
to much of a pain in the tail to organize for the small amount
of $$$ returned to the cause, or the competition got so big
that it became more important than the original cause (the tail
began to wag the dog).
To sanction, or not
I've had the wonderful opportunity over the past 5 or so years
to work very closely with event planners/sponsors who are
considering having a cookoff of one type or another. Once
they decide to do it (have the cookoff) the next question is
to have a sanctioned cookoff or not. Remember the goal above.
They all ask one very simple question: What does sanctioning
do for me (the event)?
BTW: The day any sanctioning body loses sight of this is the
day that they've sealed their doom.
The sanctioning body brings organization (hopefully), but also
requires additional tasks be brought to bear on behalf of the
organizer/planner. There are costs involved beyond the specific
amounts paid to the sanctioning body. The sanctioning body
brings "clout" and "advertising", but frankly unless you're in
an area where the event attendee (yes, the ATTENDEE) knows
about the sanctioning body and attends the event because it's
sanctioned by that particular sanctioning body*, sanctioning
brings one and only one thing: T E A M S.
*Note: My experience so far is that most event attendees have
no clue as to what a sanctioning body is and have never heard
of KCBS, MIM, MBN, FBA, GBA, IBCA, etc. As a result, around
here, sanctioning offers teams; nothing more.
I know of a few cookoffs around this area, chili and bbq cookoffs,
that are not an probably never will be sanctioned. Why? Because
they max out teams every year. Their event is already as big
as they can handle. They, quite literally, have no need for
sanctioning. They meet their goals easily without any sanctioning
body; no extra costs whatsoever.
As competitors, what does this mean?
I'm assuming we all enjoy cooking BBQ and enjoy the aspects of
competing. It's what we do.
Every year, sometimes weekly, others monthly, some quarterly,
and those of us with a yearly budget once a year, we sit with
our team mates and decide whether to enter a competition or not.
The determining factors of why or why not attend a particular
competition are as varied as the teams themselves. Along the
way we look at whether it's sanctioned or not and what that
means to us as a team. Some teams participate only in sanctioned
comps, some only sanctioned by one particular sanctioning body,
and other teams dont care either way.
I cannot speak for all. Our team will never be in a points
chase for a national trophy; we simply dont have the time or
the money to devote to a hobby like this. Sanctioning, for us,
offers one thing; consistency. Consistency in judging. This
way we know the mark to hit. They've provided trained and
certified judges who enforce rules evenly without regard to
team name, etc. Otherwise, to our team, who cares? The
sanctioning body offers nothing if not consistency.
When we go to a competition, I take a few minutes to remind
my teammates the purpose of the event and to make sure that
we have a good time, but not to cross purposes. We're there
to have fun, compete, help the organizer(s) fulfill their
goals, and with any luck enjoy a walk or two to the podium
at the end of the day.