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DoctorCueNC

Knows what a fatty is.
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This weekend I competed in my first competition. Overall it was a decent experience and I did ok for an amateur I think. However the event was kind of a cluster from the beginning with no one being told site locations to local police misdirecting traffic. The biggest problem was that it being a KCBS sanctioned event and having both pro and amateur divisions they did not let us amateur teams know we were to only cook ribs and chicken per KCBS rules. They knew for over a month and didn't change any of the paperwork or give notice that instead of four meats like the the application indicated we should only do the two. So when we get ther the KCBS rep says the organizers are just putting the amateur teams in the pro comp with no extra fee. To me this was unfair to both divisions of cookers and seems really poorly done. Anyone else have an experience like this? Are all contests really disorganized?

Ps I am grateful to have been able to compete in all 4 meats and see how I compared to more experienced and wonderful cooks.
 
Yes, I have heard of organizers doing that when they only have a small number of Backyard teams.

How did you finish?
 
No, all contests are not really disorganized.
 
I came in 21st overall out of 34 teams that cooked and there were 3 teams that left the first day due to the disorganization. Of the 8 amateur teams I was 3rd highest but the other two have competed in local amateur events for over a year and this was my first. I was 24 chicken, 28 ribs, 17 pork, and 15 brisket. I was 4th in dessert. I was happy because I was never dead last and there were big teams there like DivaQ.
 
Will you be at the Peak City Pig Fest in Apex? Its June 19-20. No amateur division but it is a very well run comp.
 
I won't be competing there but had planned to go by and check out some of the festival there.
 
I'll be in one of the smaller spots, Dancing Moose BBQ. Come by and say hi if you want.

George
 
No one would disagree that the contest organizer had her hands full. When a team gets all up in arms about issues they become a part of the problem not part of the solution. Sometimes we fail to think about what kind of day they were having before we react. As a team and a member of the extended family of BBQ we should show the organizer and their staff the same respect and understanding we expect from them and our fellow BBQ teams.

Example of being part of the problem at the contest:
Teams who needed more than basic 20amp power were ask by the organizer to email or call the power provider to let them know their needs. The power provider received 7 responses from the teams. 8 teams who needed 30 or 50 amp service did not respond. The power provider had to send his personal out Friday afternoon to locate extra adapters for the non-responding teams. The power provider not only served the teams but an equal number of vendors, many of them needed 30/50 amp service. They laid down over a mile of service cable.

Just a little background.
The organizer is a member of the town staff and more or less a one person show. She has just a few volunteers to help. Sure the police, fire/rescue, public works all help out when it comes to their specific departments, but little assistance beyond that. She is further limited or slammed because the venue area is around the town square. The area is not closed down until around noon or so on Friday; so teams (about 26 this year) have to go to a staging area at the local community college. Last year the teams were parked on the streets around the square; this year they were on the side streets and in an extended stay lot several blocks from downtown. Also they lost the judging venue and had to find a new location. The associated festival is a motorcycle rally. Not everyone in the town are supportive of the rally.
 
DoctorCueNC.

We will be at Apex competing. Drop by and see us. We will be located in the RV parking area. Holy Smoke BBQ.

I'm sure we met at the Lincolnton contest. My son and I walked around on Friday night wishing all of the teams good luck.
 
It is always a good idea to ask around to see what other cook's experiences are like before you sign up for a contest. If it is a first year event, expect there to be problems unless it is being run by an experienced organizer.

Or... you could just come cook with us next year in Euharlee, Georgia. ;)
 
I was just curious. I had fun and enjoyed the experience for the most part. It was mainly just the arrival and check in that seemed disorganized. Was basically wondering why they didn't provide spaces and a map beforehand. It was also that in the paperwork that there would be someone at check in to provide that info which there wasn't. To me it seems like having a booth to check into where they give you your number, a map, and then let the meat inspectors and KCBS reps know you've arrived would have been a perfect fix at the college campus. After 15 years I just figured it would run smoother.
 
DoctorCueNC said:
It was mainly just the arrival and check in that seemed disorganized. Was basically wondering why they didn't provide spaces and a map beforehand.
Click to expand...

Many contests don't preassign spaces because of issues with teams being able to get to their spot, get the trailer backed in, etc. In some cases, it is just easier to stack teams in as they arrive.
 
MikeJ65 said:
Many contests don't preassign spaces because of issues with teams being able to get to their spot, get the trailer backed in, etc. In some cases, it is just easier to stack teams in as they arrive.
Click to expand...

That would have been fine however we had assigned spaces, they were typed out for event staff so they were known beforehand and all the spaces were marked off beforehand as well. It was that no one shared that information with any of the teams really.
 
Gowan said:
It is always a good idea to ask around to see what other cook's experiences are like before you sign up for a contest. If it is a first year event, expect there to be problems unless it is being run by an experienced organizer.

Or... you could just come cook with us next year in Euharlee, Georgia. ;)
Click to expand...

Not to call out the contest itself, but he did mention a few weeks ago that he was going, and I (as gently as I could) let him know that this contest hasn't been the best experience for us in the past. We did this contest in 2013 and 2014, and as you know Gowan, we wen't to Euharlee instead of heading back up there due to the disorganization, lack of communication, and the patrons of the festival that surrounds the BBQ competition. Sometimes people needs to experience it for themselves to really understand if they're going to like a particular set up or not. :mrgreen:

BTW, We LOVED Euharlee!!! One of our favorites in three years, and we WILL be back next year!
 
Being your first contest,you unfortunately went to the worst contest you could have went too.We live about 15 miles from this contest and I would drive 200 miles then go to it.They are many excellent contests in NC that you can go to Maggie Valley,Franklin,Rocky Mount,Salisbury,Tryon,Winston Salem,Lexington,Shelby,Kannapolis and others too.They do not have the understanding of how to run a contest,the above contests are very well ran.You need to try one of them.
 
J&B I took your post to heart which is why I didn't stress so much when emails went unanswered leading up to the event. It's my hometown and that was really the only reason other than the amateur division that ended up non-existent this year. I doubt I'll go back next year and will look to some of the other contests in NC. Right now still being in a masters program restricts how much I can do and spend. I appreciate the advice J&B because it kept my expectations low enough to not go completely crazy when everything went down.
 
J&B'sBBQ said:
BTW, We LOVED Euharlee!!! One of our favorites in three years, and we WILL be back next year!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the kind words Beth - glad you folks had fun. Just be sure to get that trailer's electrical system squared away before your next comp!
 
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