Moving from "Pro" to "Backyard"??

The_Kapn

The_Kapn

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Let's say a team has competed in about 20 contests in the last 3 years in the "Pro" division.
Never set the circuit on fire, but has walked one or more times in each meat catagory.
Then they decide to compete in the "BackYard" division.
Not just a KCBS question--all sanctioning bodies.

Is this a good thing for the sport ?

TIM

ps. NO, this is not us. :p
 
I say bad. Once you decide to cook pro you're pro, especially if you've walked. We walked at our first pro contest, then one of the guys on our team wanted to go back down. I told him nope. Once you go up, you've gone up.
 
It's not unusual for some one baseball to bounce back and forth between majors and minors if he's just not quite good enough, or if he needs to improve on something on the farm....I think the same rule can be applied here.

I also hate the term "pro" to describe these competitions. I'm not a professional. I do tend to cook in "sanctioned" competitions though. Contrasting sanctioned with unsanctioned, I think there are a myriad of reasons to move back and forth between sanctioned and unsanctioned competition, and I don't think it's a bad thing. Now if the person is able to consistently wipe the floor with the unsanctioned division, maybe it's not fair....

The most important thing to factor to me is what the contest organizer allows. Some events say the unsanctioned portion is open to "any one with a grill or smoker" and others say that no member "may have cooked on a pro team." Find out the rules and follow them. If you don't like the rules, complain to the organizers, not the cooks. That's my $0.02.

dmp
 
in that instance, i'd think fine, although 20 comps worth of experience would be quite an advantage alone vs. "backyard" division competitors.

any more success than stated above i would think kinda unfair to the other teams.
 
Describe “backyard”.
If you are talking about a cheaper entry fee, less categories type of backyard division. Then sure, I often wished it was only a rib contest … or just brisket.
If someone is moving “down” to have less competition or to go after a valuable prize. Then of course not.
 
20 comps in 3 years is quite a bit.Iif it were just a handful I'd say ok but that's an awful lot of experience to be back down in backyard. I'd say if they drop down and win a contest or two they need to go back up to the pros.
 
If they promise to donate any winnings to a charity then I'm all for it.

Another scenario. Let's say a team has cooked kcbs events only for the last 6 or 7 years.has won a contest or two and many category calls. They decide to do a contest with let's say FBA sanctioning. Would it be ok for them to compete in the backyard division ?
 
Sledneck said:
If they promise to donate any winnings to a charity then I'm all for it.

Another scenario. Let's say a team has cooked kcbs events only for the last 6 or 7 years.has won a contest or two and many category calls. They decide to do a contest with let's say FBA sanctioning. Would it be ok for them to compete in the backyard division ?
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I can't see how that would be fun. Maybe if they suddenly couldn't afford to compete in pro and it was a local contest? I just can't see why somebody would want to.
 
Bourbon Barrel BBQ said:
I can't see how that would be fun. Maybe if they suddenly couldn't afford to compete in pro and it was a local contest? I just can't see why somebody would want to.
Click to expand...

In 2010 there was a first year local MBN competition. They had a "backyard" division which was open to any one with pit. There was also a relatively sizeable entry fee difference. I don't cook MBN, but I do love a local competition. I entered in the backyard, and I'll tell you, I was not even close to the only sanctioned KCBS competitor there. I have absolutely no shame in what I did.

I did pretty well in awards though, and decided not to return to the backyard comp in 2011. For 2012, if they have it again, I think I'll try my hand at MBN. I think that was all okay.

dmp
 
dmprantz said:
In 2010 there was a first year local MBN competition. They had a "backyard" division which was open to any one with pit. There was also a relatively sizeable entry fee difference. I don't cook MBN, but I do love a local competition. I entered in the backyard, and I'll tell you, I was not even close to the only sanctioned KCBS competitor there. I have absolutely no shame in what I did.

I did pretty well in awards though, and decided not to return to the backyard comp in 2011. For 2012, if they have it again, I think I'll try my hand at MBN. I think that was all okay.

dmp
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I guess that makes sense. MBN is a different animal.
 
dmprantz said:
In 2010 there was a first year local MBN competition. They had a "backyard" division which was open to any one with pit. There was also a relatively sizeable entry fee difference. I don't cook MBN, but I do love a local competition. I entered in the backyard, and I'll tell you, I was not even close to the only sanctioned KCBS competitor there. I have absolutely no shame in what I did.

I did pretty well in awards though, and decided not to return to the backyard comp in 2011. For 2012, if they have it again, I think I'll try my hand at MBN. I think that was all okay.

dmp
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Oh NOOOOOO!!!!! Welcome to the dark side (MBN)!!!!

After doing it a time or two (competing in MBN), I find that it's all I want to compete in. It's just SO darned tough; that's the fun of it to me. And no, I didnt and wont compete in their Backyard division, refer to below:


To the question: To me being as 99% of us, whether we actually make a profit at this or not, don't do this as our profession (ergo. we ain't a real Pro). To me, if a competitor wants to rule the Backyard section, I'm thinking let him have it. Then again, to me, if you ain't competing with the big boyz, you ain't competing.
 
Anyone have thoughts on "why" some events have a "BackYard" division?
I think the reason for their existance might lead to some sort of policy on who qualifies to cook them.

Also, I wonder how I would feel if I entered my first (or 5th) local BackYard event and all the marbles were taken by a team with an established "Pro" history.
Not sure I would have any interest in doing it again either as a BackYard team or a "Pro" team.

Just some thoughts and questions.

And, the MBN example is good.
MBN is so into their own thing that prior experience in other bodies is not a huge advantage. Some for sure, but not to the extent of moving within KCBS, FBA, and others.

TIM
 
For many years many organizers have felt pressure to have basically an ancillary "division" for guys who are too intimidated to compete against the big kahuna's. I personally never understood it, but they have and have had the backyard portions for a long time. I'm not sure why either KCBS, MBN or other sanctioning bodies now have backyard divisions, but it's probably to try to bring the new/smaller teams into the fold and not have them alienated. It's probably this very thing that brings KCBS to the question of should they allow gas as a fuel source or not... It's that "lets be inclusive" and embrace the rookie thing.

But, yeah, if you're a rookie and you get trounced by a pretty well healed team in a backyard division, I can imagine that it pretty much defeats the whole purpose.
 
To the best of my knowledge, KCBS does not have any rules covering this. Going a step further, I don't know that KCBS should adopt any. I think this issue currently rests with event organizers, and it should probably remain that way.
 
Jorge said:
To the best of my knowledge, KCBS does not have any rules covering this. Going a step further, I don't know that KCBS should adopt any. I think this issue currently rests with event organizers, and it should probably remain that way.
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My thoughts exactly, but....(IN GENERAL)
When the organizer has a BackYard event, the sanctioning body normally Rep's and scores it.
Most of the time, the judges are CBJs assuming enough are available. If not, the reps hold a quicky course so the judges at least know how to fill out a score card.

The BackYard teams go to the same cook's meeting as the Pros and normally have to follow the same rules as the Pros. The Reps hand out the boxes and accept them for scoring which is done with the sanctioning bodies software.
Results are announced at the same awards ceremony and the BackYard teams get the same printouts.
The only normal difference is that the BackYard teams may cook less catagories, but not always.

With all this in mind, the sanctioning body is in the middle of this.
The teams do not understand that the organizer sets the guidlines and will blame the sanctioning body when things go wrong.

Maybe the sanctioning bodies need to divorce themselves totally and let the organizer handle all the logistics, judging, scoring, rules, etc.

Right now, there is mixed credit and liablilty which may not be a good thing.

Just some thoughts.

TIM
 
Here's my thoughts. If the contest has both a Backyard and a "PRO" division, and you have been cooking in the "PRO" division then NO you should not cook in the Backyard division. Now if there is a contest that is non Sanctioned and you want to enter and the rules say nothing about Pro's being excluded, have at it. I find most non sanctioned contest are held as a fund raisers with little or no prize money.

I agree with getting rid of the term PRO, and go with Sanctioned and Non Sanctioned.
 
The_Kapn said:
My thoughts exactly, but....(IN GENERAL)

Right now, there is mixed credit and liablilty which may not be a good thing.
Click to expand...

This is so rare in the world of BBQ. (Sarcasm)

It seems that some just like a big smokescreen and we have plenty of them.
 
Here's another viewpoint.

1. Haven't flown my own colors or paid an entry fee at any contest.
2. Been a supporting (non-cooking) help... lending a hand to a team for a number of times.
3. Have compiled a comp ready set-up, including trailer and cooker.
4. Have cooked for the masses (charity/church/troops).

Would I consider entering a Backyard division?

Nope... won't go there.
 
For me, it's about a 1-day contest and cost of entry. With 3 kids and a boat, I don't have the time or money to jump head first into 2-day comps. I'd need more cooking surface, sleeping equipment, etc., etc., etc.

If there were local comps that were one day events where I could show up early, do some cooking, have fun, and go home, I'd be interested. I just can't find any. Anyway, point is I wouldn't really care who else competes since it's about those other things for me.
 
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