What the difference between a Backyard Competitor and a professional Competitior?

Capt ron

Capt ron

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I had this asked to me by a friend: What the difference between a Backyard Competitor and a Professional Competitor?
Can someone explain it to me? I though it was as soon as you won money you became a professional... Please set me straight if I am not correct...
Thanks and have a great week
Capt
 
It's up to the contest. There's no rules on backyard vs. pro. Unless there's a rule against winners being in backyard then even Pitmasters could enter backyard. I think Mobile is about the only one I know that has divisions with rules on winning and moving up.
 
Thanks

Thanks guys... I can't understand why would you even go back down to the back yard comp unless there was cold beer and someone needed help/mentoring...

Thanks again...
 
Capt ron said:
Thanks guys... I can't understand why would you even go back down to the back yard comp unless there was cold beer and someone needed help/mentoring...

Thanks again...
Click to expand...


I've known some folks that wanted to get their feet wet in a comp, but weren't sure they could pull off a 4 meat cook. They went with their strongest meat which was ribs and did the backyard just to get a feel for it. Usually around these parts backyarders just cook ribs or chicken or both. Entry fee is a lot less usually too.
 
Good timing on this post. Our Sertoma club will be adding a backyard category for our August KCBS sanctioned event and they asked me about what to do. My response was, no money awards and just ribbons and/or trophys. Categories will be a little more liberal as to what to cook but real close to KCBS. Any additional thoughts would be really appreciated.
 
I'd say the main difference is the amount of money you have tied up in it.
 
Meat Burner said:
Good timing on this post. Our Sertoma club will be adding a backyard category for our August KCBS sanctioned event and they asked me about what to do. My response was, no money awards and just ribbons and/or trophys. Categories will be a little more liberal as to what to cook but real close to KCBS. Any additional thoughts would be really appreciated.
Click to expand...

One of the contest organizers in our neck of the woods uses Burgers, Chili, Kabobs and Chicken as the entries for the Backyard Division. I believe it is also open garnish.
 
Backyard is where you want to hear your name called. Pro is when you want to hear Vince's named called before yours! But don't hold your breath!!

NUTZ
 
We've competed in both Backyard (BY) and Pro comps on the same day 3 seperate times. In all honesty, it is a ton of work doing 8 turn-ins and has the potential to take your focus off of the pro comp. Personally, I think it actually puts a team at a disadvantage to do both competitions on the same day.

Now, all that being said, sometimes the prizes for the BY division are pretty sweet. We've won a nice digital camera, a small amount of cash and missed out twice on the GC BY prize, a smaller Traeger cooker.
 
The other big difference is sanctioning/representation by one of the bodies around the country. Most of the backyard events I've seen are open to anyone assuming there is not a pro comp at the same event. Madison, IN Ribberfest is the largest backyard event in the OKI Region that I know of (40 teams last year) and is the day before their KCBS event. The entry form for the backyard does request no professional teams but there isn't a purse anyway so I'm not sure why a pro team would go to the expense. The nice thing about the Madison backyard is it is closely modeled after the pro event the next day - all 4 meats, box rules, etc. - 20 minute turn-in times though which keeps you on your toes! Fantastic event to get a feel for the real deal w/o the expense. Then if you stick around on Saturday you can check out the pro's and sample some great 'que.
 
I try to do one backyard in the beginning of the season to get the rust off.
 
Meat Burner said:
Good timing on this post. Our Sertoma club will be adding a backyard category for our August KCBS sanctioned event and they asked me about what to do. My response was, no money awards and just ribbons and/or trophys. Categories will be a little more liberal as to what to cook but real close to KCBS. Any additional thoughts would be really appreciated.
Click to expand...

if you wan't to build this contest i would rethink the money, even a little bit would help draw more the next time.
 
If you are talking the competitor, the way I've always understood the difference between a backyard competitor and a professional competitor is right in line with the money spent and the amount of competitions said person/team does in a season. If you do 1-4 (in my book) you are a backyard competitor - when you start shelling $1k+ on showing up to a competition and or you do 8-15 of those suckers a season, your a professional in my book. To me though, it's not about winning either to be a professional. Look at some NASCAR teams. Some are pros who never win. Consistency is the measure of your skill in this field.

*Disclaimer* This is just my understanding with a little of my $0.02 thrown in.
 
I tend to agree with most of the posts so far, in that the level of commitment for a "Pro" is much more than a "Backyard" competitor. That being said, I have seen several occasions where a team will enter a KCBS sanctioned event, and only compete in one or two catagories. Are they considered "Pro" or "Backyard"? One team even got a call, so does that make them a "Pro", since they recieved $$ and a trophy?

If your primary income doesn't come from BBQ, I tend to believe its an obsession. The "Pro" label indicates to me that the Pitmaster or Team's primary source of income is thru comps and sales related to their products/services. I know this is a constrast to many other opinions on the boards, but I compare it this way. "Pro" athletes receive income for their perfomance, and its their primary source of income, endorsements aside.

I don't consider myself a "Pro" at all, I have a regular job, and I try to pick something up at every comp I go to.
 
I'd say money spent, money won, and sellin' out to corporate sponsorships...I mean accepting money or product from sponsors...:tongue:...that and I like my ribs fallin' off the bone...no tug! :cool:
 
I hate the term pro. There are only a handful of teams on the circuit, that in my mind are 'pros'. Otherwise, the rest of us are competitors doing a hobby. Granted, some do it more than others. But some of us are not trying to supplement our income. We do not rely on winning comps to put bread on the table...
 
Last year I competed in a backyard at Pickin in the Panhandle. It was Chicken and Ribs and followed KCBS rules. It was basically the first 1/2 of a normal KCBS event. It was a great way to get my feet wet and see if this was something we wanted to get in to. We had such a great time we started doing KCBS this year. If anyone is contemplating hosting a backyard event, I would look at the Pickin in the Panhandle contest as a great example. They had a small entry fee ($50 I think), but decent payouts and trophies and ribbons. Here is a link if you want to check it out.

http://www.panhandlepickin.com/

One word of caution to anyone competing in a backyard event: The judges are not CBJ's, and success in a backyard event can give you an unrealistic view of your own abilities to move up to KCBS. Last year, I got a second overall out of 25 teams and was feeling pretty good. I got my clock cleaned in my first KCBS event. It was a good welcome/wake up call to the big leagues, and I have been working hard to improve.

Brian
 
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