Judging & Drinking

I've never heard of or experienced anything like this before but I agree that there should be some action. I don't know what Reps typically do but I'm in support of the Rep who kicked them out of the contest, anyway. FACT: You've got to have all your faculties tuned up and in fine working order to do a good job of judging and a "few beers" doesn't cut it before judging. To not be in good shape is not respecting the cooks' hard work and expectations. After the juding is over -- we'll, bottoms up!

KCBS Judges Code of Conduct:
Rule #2 = I will not consume alcohol or other mind-altering substances prior to or during judging.

I understand that strict adherence to the Code of Conduct is necessary to maintain my certification and to qualify me for judging in KCBS Sanctioned contests.
Then they had to sign and date to be CBJ's.
There is no excuse for that as a judge or table captain.
There should be repercussions. IMHO I don't think they should be kicked out permanently from KCBS on the first offence of the rules but should definitely be restricted from near future events and permanently kicked out if subsequent offences occur.

We have turned down judges who were obviously drinking before the judging began. We have also had teams tell me they saw judges drinking before the judging process. We won't use them. It's in the rules and CBJ judges and Master judges know it.

Rich and Bunny Tuttle

Dave I agree! That is disappointing to hear. They are there to judge not drink!

First let me say, that I agree 100% with action being taken against the judges. It is in the KCBS rules very clearly, that they should not have alcohol before judging.

Having said that, at IBCA events, they bring around beer and pretzels too the judges while they are judging... So is it a huge deal? maybe not?

For KCBS, the rules are there, so they need to be followed. And I understand they were master judges. I don't think you should be able to be a master judge and make those mistakes. You have judged enough to know better. I'd pull master status, and give them a few contests to earn it back.

I thought the whole reason they had the darn turn in times so early in the morning was so the judges might have a chance to stay sober. :-D It'd be way too convenient to be able to throw on the ribs at 9AM for a 3PM turn-in time. But noooo, they want our butts out there at 5AM :-D

That's why I don't like 8AM golf tee-times (something just kinda weird about drinking beer so early, and heaven knows if I'm playing golf I'm drinking beer ).

Please try to understand the humor.

A sad, avoidable situation that was handled correctly by the reps.

Further reaching penalties are up to KCBS. It needs to be placed in the context of how the organization deals with behavior issues for the teams.

As an organizer, the offending judges would not be back for any future contest.

As a judge, I saw an ancillary category entry that included beer in bottles. Judges scored the entry without the beer, but enjoyed them after judging was done.

Having a brew after judging is all done usually seems like an excellent idea to me as long as I am not driving.

I read on facebook that some bbq "bitch" ratted them out

Carnivorous Endeavors BBQ said:

KCBS Judges Code of Conduct:
Rule #2 = I will not consume alcohol or other mind-altering substances prior to or during judging.

I understand that strict adherence to the Code of Conduct is necessary to maintain my certification and to qualify me for judging in KCBS Sanctioned contests.

Click to expand...

I was going to say, as long as they are not getting tore down in that hour is it really a factor...But...

I was not aware of the above rule. I do not drink, so it is a moot point for me. But after seeing the above rule, Reps did exactly what they should have...I think I better mosey over to the KCBS site and read the judges rules again, been too many years I guess.

My fiancee and I were fortunate enough to make a trip and take our CBJ class last year in Sugar Creek, Mo where Bunny and Rich were involved in teaching the class along with some other great KCBS folks. I came away from the class with a great sense of responsibility to both the cooks and the judging process.

Just in case anyone who is not a CBJ or Table Captain and would like to know the code of conduct for CBJ's....here it is.

KCBS Judges Code of Conduct

1. I will treat table captains, other judges, contest officials, contestants, KCBS officials and the general public with respect, and will by my Conduct, bring honor to the KCBS and the office of Certified Judge.

2. I will not consume alcohol or other mind altering substances prior to or during judging.

3. I will judge each entry on its own merits in keeping with KCBS stanards.

4. I will remain silent and maintain a neutral body language while I and others at my table are judging. Only after all judging ballots are completed and given to the table captain will I discuss the entries just judged if I or others choose to do so.

5. I will be true to my own taste and will not attempt to impose my personal taste preferences on other judges.

6. I have read and understands KCBS's Policy on Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassement, and I promise to fully comply with the Policy, as well as any other rules and regulations promulgated by KCBS.

They took the oath and swore to not drink or consume alcoholic beverages prior to or during the judging.

Some days i am hoping for a loaded judge to get my food.......

Sledneck....
"Some days i am hoping for a loaded judge to get my food......."

Now that is funny!!!

Sledneck said:

I read on facebook that some bbq "bitch" ratted them out

Click to expand...

She rocks.


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Even IF it weren't in the rules, and taken as an oath, it's really really REALLY pathetic. We've seen a lot of judge-bashing lately here, and I've generally stood up for us/them. However, there's just no excuse for this. A few beers afterwards, fine. But before hand? Really? Ugh.

Sledneck said:

Some days i am hoping for a loaded judge to get my food.......

Click to expand...

I am hoping for a stoner that has the munchies....

That's about a dumb-arse thing to do and I'm glad the Rep had the stones to do the right thing. I hope all the other judges didn't have to shuffle too badly to keep things together...

We competed in an event a couple of years ago and one of the judges was walking around the cook sites until 4am and was trashed. We saw him show up for judging (not sure how he made it) but as a new team we did not know enough to report it.

I will going forward.

Personally, IMHO, I wish other sanctioning bodies of BBQ contests would adopt the no Alcohol prior to or during judging. It just seems wrong to allow people who don't take judging seriously enough to not drink prior to or during judging to participate when you consider how much time, effort and money cooks put into a contest. If you want to allow chain smoking and drunk judges you should at least let the cooks know how hammered they are so we can adjust our salt content to the point that they might taste something! Ha ha