Judge distribution by KCBS reps

[Chenernator]

At the majority of the comps I've judged (mostly West Coast), the reps have distributed judges to each table according to experience. Typical practice is to line us up by contests judged and number us off. At the last two (Sam's Regional and USA BBQ), however, we came in, sat with our friends expecting to be moved, but it never happened. Frankly, it surprised me, given the stature of the contests.

It would seem that that could lead to possible disparities in scores if a bunch of rookies sat together. My question is this: Is there a standard operating procedure in this area for the reps?

[trekmstr]

i have judged several contests and the only seating thing done is to separate the spouses and spread out the new judges w/o experience. no more than 1 to a table.

[ThomEmery]

It is common in the West to separate by number of contests judged
Really mixes the tables

[Chenernator]

Originally Posted by ThomEmery

It is common in the West to separate by number of contests judged
Really mixes the tables

Which I think is best. They don't care in the Midwest or South? Or is this rep specific?

[sitnfat]

Not sure of your experience her in the south but our reps go over the lists of judges and will place them accordingly. What I don't like is MBN judges coming and judging kcbs

[ThomEmery]

I like Kelly's "Southwest Air boarding" system
hold up your fingers for how many contest you judged
no crazy all 4s and 5s tables

[Rookie'48]

It seems to be up to the Rep here in the KCBS midwest area. Some Reps will go so far as to get an even male/female mix along with Master CBJ, over X comps, newbie CBJ, non-CBJ. Others will just let you sit where you want.

[Chenernator]

Originally Posted by ThomEmery

I like Kelly's "Southwest Air boarding" system
hold up your fingers for how many contest you judged
no crazy all 4s and 5s tables

Agreed. The McIntoshes and Whitebrooks run a tight ship.

[gmholler]

Originally Posted by Chenernator

Which I think is best. They don't care in the Midwest or South? Or is this rep specific?

How they separate judges depends mostly upon the reps, but also on the organizer (some are more concerned about it than others), as well as other practical factors like time, judging area, etc. All the reps I've had will make sure there isn't more than one rookie judge at a table (sometimes 2 if a contest is large enough, but of late, several contests in this area have required all judges to have judged at least one other contest), no spouses, siblings or significant others sitting together, a mixture of genders at each table, and master or near master judges spread around. Most of the judges already know just how to arrange themselves and often have themselves seated "properly" before the rep has to do anything. Sometimes, tho, judges are assigned seats by the organizer - I've come to many contests to find that I'm to sit at a certain table, sometimes in a certain chair.

Lynn H.

[musicmanryann]

Originally Posted by Rookie'48

Others will just let you sit where you want.

BOO! Honestly, if a rep doesn't want to spend the time and hassle to distribute reps, all they have to do is give each judge a random number (done in 5 seconds in excel) that corresponds to a numbered chair. Then at least the distribution is random.

[redneck cooker]

After cooking Texas Comp Q for yrs now and cooking KCBS for a while now, and being a head judge, that I really believe 100% in the CBJ system and the theory behind it.

You can tell people what to look for, but everybod's taste is still going to be to the individual..

[carlyle]

The reps for our contest make sure that the new CBJ's are equally distributed and the experienced judges are just as equally distributed. Besides the usual spouse and friend
separation.
This is common in the upper midwest.
And is another step we can take to try and make the process as fair as possible to the cooks.

[Bentley]

Originally Posted by Chenernator

At the last two (Sam's Regional and USA BBQ), however, we came in, sat with our friends expecting to be moved, but it never happened.

No, SOP for KCBS Reps, that is just not right.