"Qualifiers" for the Royal Invitational and Jack

I believe that kcbs is now changing state champ to "qualifier" . Mr Minion can most assuradely go into more detail on this.

qualifers have to be 25 teams or more but not necessarily be a state championship. State championships are by default qualifers and a state can have many championships.

I think in the case of multiple state championships, the Grand champion with the highest score goes to the Jack... I havent heard of cases where 2 grand champions made it to the jack.

Jim can better confirm this..

Jim can better confirm this..

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That's what I said.

If you have a proclamation from the govenor and have at least 25 teams or at least 50 teams without a proclamation that makes it a qualifier for the Jack. If there is more than one state championship that meets the requirement or a with cook with 50 team or more then all the winners are put into a draw for that state. As an example Oregon had 3 qualifiers last year, MO had maybe 14, WA had 3. They pick one team from each state during the draw the other winners would not get the invite.

The Royal is set up differently it invites most of the teams that would have won a championship in a state.
There is a new cook, the Greay American Cookout at the Kansas Speedway that you only need 10 teams to make it a qualifier, that number will more than likely go up in the next few years.

jminion said:

makes it a qualifier for the Jack. .

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Ok guys, I'm trying to figure out the competition thing - that's why the OL and I are going to a few this year, to see how they are run and BS with the contestants. Please inform this relative newbie what the "Jack" is?

The Jack Daniel's Invitational in Lynchburg, TN.

DFLittle said:

The Jack Daniel's Invitational in Lynchburg, TN.

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I woke up this morning, and it hit me.............Duh! But thanks anyway. Is it a KCBS sanctioned event?

Nope! Jack Daniel's Invitational ONLY! It's a stand alone event - kind of like the Memphis in May - they have their own qualifying events.

Jack use state championships but they can be KCBS, MIM, and other bodies out there that hold competitions.

Thank you Jim. I just meant that the Jack doesn't run their own series and that they are invitational only - no open division.

Ok - but so I can get a handle on all these separate events, what does "invitational" mean? I understand the term, but do you have to win or place in some other event to "qualify" or be invited to compete? I'm truly hoping one day to give it a shot - I'm just curious HOW you get to that point. You've got to start somewhere, right? Correct me if I'm wrong - but the Royal is KCBS's championship compitition, right? I mean, not just anybody can enter can they? And say you're in the top three at the Jack or Memphis - that doesn't count towards anything at another sanctioned event?

Hope I'm not asking too many questions, guys - I just want to understand.

Invitational means just what you think - you've got to be invited - either by winning a qualifying event or being drawn in a pool of "other qualified" teams.

The AR is the KCBS big event. There are actually two events going - the invitational and the Open - the Open is you and about 400 other teams!

Memphis in May is another big event and is very invitational (you gotta win a qualifier or get lucky in the pool drawing), same with the Jack - win a qualifier, etc. and you get into the pool for an invitation. The MiM is very pork centric - no brisket - and has a whole hog division, too.

And then there are state championships, the national cookoff in DC (nice prizes), a couple of "best of" cookoffs with merged rules and invites to the top teams of many of the "associations", etc.

It's easy to get confused. If you are going to start competing it's probably best to pick one organization for your first few sorties. As ticked off at FBA as Tim and I are it has still been a good learning experience and we were able to compete close to home.

KCBS is fine, too, if it's convenient for you. Rules are similar except for garnish in the boxes and turn-in schedule.

Go to a couple of events (like Okeechobee or Wauchula) and ask questions - just don't try and get answers after about 10 a.m. As you start getting closer to the turn-in times some teams get anal!! Even Tim gets "testy" as we get close to turn-in!! :twisted:

Look at the rigs and ask plenty of questions - I would advise not trying to get all the answers from one team! You'll see Lang 84s, occassionally a Klose (I'm talking about FL events), many of Smokey's smokers (look a LOT like Spicewines rigs), WSMs, homemades, etc.

I'm thinking about judging at Okeechobee and Wauchula. If you make it to one of them look the Brethren hat.

kapndsl said:

Even Tim gets "testy" as we get close to turn-in!!

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YUP :twisted: --

I call it "focused" but "testy" works :lol:

Do your "exploring" outside of the turn-in windows for sure--go have a beer or do something safer :lol:

TIM

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Turn in is at 10 am? Why so early? The FBA in Okee is on Fri. and Sat., which is the better day to go, and how early should I get there (in order to bend some ears)? Sat. is much better for us, but we're very early risers.

Turn in starts at 11:00 so a lot of teams are starting to focus shortly after 10:00.

Friday is setup, cooks meeting, etc. Some events have "anything but", or other contests (beer can chicken, etc.).

Saturday is when most of the activity happens.

The best time to show up is probably 8:00 or 9:00 am. Everyone is starting to move around - the coffee is on at a lot of sites, all the meats are on so there is a bit of time to gab. 10:00 a.m. until about 2:05 p.m. is a great time to be around the cook off but do not expect a lot of chit-chat - at least fromt he competitors!!

After 2:00 is ok but most teams are whupped!!

Good information, thanks guys! From a spectators viewpoint, are there things to do between 10 and 2? Sorry, but I've never even been to one of these events - so I don't know what to expect. Are there Beer Tents set up or do we need to bring the cooler? How about concession's? Remember, I'm bringing the Wife - she likes 'Q, but she's not as fanatic as I am, so I want to keep her busy as well. I know Okeechobee very well, so if not - I can keep busy.