KCBS "lower level" ToY contest

I think having two sep ToY categories would be good. Im not sure on the 5 contest only part of the proposal. I would suggest setting up two ranges....maybe 1-10 and 10+ contests.

5 does seem kind of low....

SeaDogBBQ said:

I think having two sep ToY categories would be good. Im not sure on the 5 contest only part of the proposal. I would suggest setting up two ranges....maybe 1-10 and 10+ contests.

Click to expand...

Part of me likes the idea because I know I'll never do more than 10 a year but at the same time it would never feel right winning a "lower" TOY.

Speaking for myself , I think the TOY program shouldnt be set up much different for a national deal. I just think if you want to be considered a "National Champion" 10 contests at a minimum shouldnt be out of line.

I like it. I do mostly SCBA comps, but did 3 KCBS last year and might be inclined to travel to 2 more KCBS events if there was a 5 comp TOY. 10 is a reasonable # but unobtainable for me as I would have to travel more than 8 hours on at least 4 comps to do 10.

I agree with Coz. 5 contests isn't what TOY is about. KCBS should be encouraging teams to cook more contests, not less.

I don't know how you could be considered a "Team of the Year" by only cooking a couple of months of it. Bad idea KCBS.:hand:

Time, money, jobs, and other things keep teams from going after the TOY as it stands today. I applaud and personally envy every team that can do it but for the vast majority of teams a run will never happen. Perhaps two categories such as 12 or less comps with the top 5 or 6 contests counting and > 12 comps for the TOY as we know it today. As it stands, the KCBS standings mean very little to most teams since the type of schedule to take a run for it is a pipe dream for most. I fully believe a second tier TOY with diminished money and stature would do much more to increase the amount of competitions a typical team does each year since they will actually have a better chance of placing in the top 25.

I think the idea is that there are some really great cooks that don't have the pockets or the time to cook 30 contests a year. This is a way to recognize teams that are some of the best, without taking anything away from the Big T.O.Y. winners.

But lets face it. Winning the Team of the Year does not necessarily mean that you were the best team that year, it just means that you were the best team to cook 30+ events. Now don't get me wrong on this, these guys who win T.O.Y. like Quau, Pellet Envy, Munchin Hogs, and others most likely are the best of the best, but there are teams out there that could make runs at it, but will most likely never be able to due to whatever.

I do agree that 5 seems low. 10-20 would make more sense to me.

The goals of KCBS would be much better served if they put forth an effort to work with local/regional groups to promote the establishment of local/regional championships much the way the Empire State BBQ Championship Series ( http://empirestatebbqchampionship.com/ ) is done in NY.

It doesn't diminish or detract from the TOY in any way and yet promotes participation in competitions for thsoe that can't or won't travel all over the country.

if there is a cash prize, I am in....

you should also have to declare before the season starts or some cutoff date which series you are competing in and not be able to change during the season.

Not a lot of details here, so it will be interesting to hear what the proposal is. There must be a cap on total contests cooked. I can't see the declaration being very efficient or effective. If someone gets on a run, they shoot themselves in the foot for the big TOY because they already declared for Baby TOY at the beginning of the season.

I only cooked 12 TOY contests last year and finished 50th overall and 20th in chicken. At one point, I was 6th in ribs August with only 8-9 contests. Could someone win chicken in Baby TOY and get Top 20 in TOY at the same time?

Plowboy said:

Not a lot of details here, so it will be interesting to hear what the proposal is. There must be a cap on total contests cooked. I can't see the declaration being very efficient or effective. If someone gets on a run, they shoot themselves in the foot for the big TOY because they already declared for Baby TOY at the beginning of the season.

I only cooked 12 TOY contests last year and finished 50th overall and 20th in chicken. At one point, I was 6th in ribs August with only 8-9 contests. Could someone win chicken in Baby TOY and get Top 20 in TOY at the same time?

Click to expand...

Why would declaring which series you wanted your points to go towards not be efficient? Or effective?

You say I want to go for Baby TOY and you earn points for that series. Your points dont also go for the TOY.

Also if you finish in the top 10 for baby TOY you shouldnt be able to sign up for baby TOY any more.

If you sign up for baby and get hot, guess you will sign up for the regular TOY next year.

I think it is a great idea. If you want to draw more teams to KCBS, this is a way to do it. I'd say that 70% of teams in this sport do not cook more than 5 contests a year...This opens up a TOY to EVERYONE, not just the guys with the ability and money to do 20+ contests a year.

Perhaps call it Junior TOY, or Auxiliary TOY... If you enter under 5 KCBS contests a year, you are eligible for Auxiliary or Junior Team of the Year. You use the same calculations as the regular TOY http://www.kcbs.us/pdf/TeamOfTheYearCalculation.pdf and wham...Every team in the US has something they can achieve...

Let the little guys have this one guys...It will be great for the sport!

TooSaucedToPork said:

I think it is a great idea. If you want to draw more teams to KCBS, this is a way to do it. I'd say that 70% of teams in this sport do not cook more than 5 contests a year...This opens up a TOY to EVERYONE, not just the guys with the ability and money to do 20+ contests a year.

Perhaps call it Junior TOY, or Auxiliary TOY... If you enter under 5 KCBS contests a year, you are eligible for Auxiliary or Junior Team of the Year. You use the same calculations as the regular TOY http://www.kcbs.us/pdf/TeamOfTheYearCalculation.pdf and wham...Every team in the US has something they can achieve...

Let the little guys have this one guys...It will be great for the sport!

Click to expand...

you know that isnt the current calculation, right?

DawgPhan said:

Why would declaring which series you wanted your points to go towards not be efficient? Or effective?

You say I want to go for Baby TOY and you earn points for that series. Your points dont also go for the TOY.

Also if you finish in the top 10 for baby TOY you shouldnt be able to sign up for baby TOY any more.

If you sign up for baby and get hot, guess you will sign up for the regular TOY next year.

Click to expand...

Let's say a deadline is set for delcaring. You miss it. What happens? Are you instantly put in one of the races or out completely?

You make "this year" and "next year" sound so easy. There's a ton of luck that goes into this in addition to the skill. Teams don't finish in the same position year to year. Many who thought they would never chase TOY points find themselves in a top 10 position and start to find a way to cook more. Many teams will tell you it is hard to repeat the same success for many reasons. I'm sure TrueBud had no idea they'd earn so many 1st place rib finishes. In October, they were top 10, but not 1st in Rib TOY. They cooked everywhere the last 3 months trying to get to Rib TOY... and did. It ain't easy, folks. Teams will jump on planes or drive halfway across the country in October-December if they are having a good run, just to finish top 10 in a category.

If I declare Baby TOY, am I limited to the number of contests I can cook, or just the number that count? Can I declare Baby TOY and cook 35 contests? Is that what the guy who cooked 7 was really expecting? I'm betting I could pull 5 GC's and RGC's in 35 contests. Most cooks could when you cook that much.

If I declare TOY and something happens with my job, my family, or myself, but I cooked 6-8 solid contests, am I not able to be considered part of Baby TOY? I'm assuming your answer is no.

There's a lot of manual effort that goes into keep that TOY list today. Keeping two and having to track declarations could be challenging.

OH!!!! Can I have two teams? A TOY team and a Baby TOY team? Afterall, TOY is not tracked by head cook, but by team! Forget all of my points above. I just found the loophole! :thumb:

I think a 5 contest points chase for cookers in each of the the proposed five KCBS regions would be very useful. Each region then would have their list of top top cookers. this would spread the wealth to more cookers. If desired, you could invite the top 10 or so in the regions to a national championship contest. Right now the KCBS TOY process is for a few members who can afford to travel all over the country.