Sam's Club National BBQ Tour - 2013

[que_dawg]

Originally Posted by CBQ

Really? I did 3 last year, and they were all well run. The organizer (Troy Black) is also a competitor, he knows how teams think. The only thing that would be nice is running water, but they can't pull that off at all the stores.

The 10 grand we won didn't hurt either.

I think your glasses are fogged by the $$$ in front of them. Mine probably would be too, if I won 10 grand! Congrats on that.

I just feel like of all of the contests that I have cooked, it's the Sam's contests that lacks. I feel like the best run contests are contests that are run by local organizers that actually have ties to the communities their contest is benefitting. The Sam's organizers are just in another city and are only worried about getting to the next stop. Lot's of details get overlooked when that is the case. It's only my opinion...

[DawgPhan]

Originally Posted by nukenight

I hope they balance the contests out better in terms of location. Regionals need to be near the center of the geographic area they represent, not near one edge, where some winners have to travel long distance. The whole country also needs to be covered. Sam's also needs to provide water for cook teams. Paying $250 for a contest with no water is a bit extreme. By the way, why does Sam's and KCBS need to keep a team's registration money for several months before a given event? They need to figure out a way for cooks to keep their money longer. I really don't want to give KCBS a loan for 3-6 months. Finally, I think they should better distribute the prize money for the regionals and pay down more places in the categories. Top loading the prizes means a very few teams make money when they compete. Paying down more places means more cooks who travel a long way get some money. In this era of a poor economy, cooks need all the help they can get.

They pay the top so the top can afford to travel. I get that and it makes sense to me. I would like to see deeper payouts, but this contest has a valid reason to pay all the money to the top 6.

[Pigs on Fire]

Originally Posted by CBQ

The only thing that would be nice is running water, but they can't pull that off at all the stores.

Why couldn't they? Are you telling me the World's Largest Retailer can't afford to pay the local water authority a small fee for a 2" or 3" water meter hooked to a fire hydrant close by and run some temporary piping to the teams? They could even have this to where it was able to be broken down and put on their traveling circus trucks.

It wouldn't be THAT expensive to do. In fact, it's done all the time at other types of events, all across the country.

3" meter feeding a few manifolds with 1" pex going to a smaller manifold that fed 4 teams each? That's 8 runs of 1" pex (7 for the Marietta GA contest...they've not had more than 28 teams yet)...

Yes, it would take a couple of hours to set up and dismantle.

[dmprantz]

Your point is well taken, but personally, as a firefighter, I would be just slightly unhappy if a decision was made to essentially disable the hydrant closest to 30+ wood/charcoal fires and who knows how many propane tanks and appliances.

dmp

[EMTTLC]

A hydrant wrench and 45 seconds puts the hydrant back in service. Not too big a deal. Water is absolutely the biggest negative to the Sam's Club events.

[RangerJ]

Water.. seriously?

a limited amount of teams with a decent sized prize pot at every event and the fact that water is nearby vs at your personal site or closer than 100 yards and this is folks biggest complaint?

To quote ESPN.. C'mon Man.

[RangerJ]

Originally Posted by nukenight

I hope they balance the contests out better in terms of location. Regionals need to be near the center of the geographic area they represent, not near one edge, where some winners have to travel long distance. The whole country also needs to be covered. Sam's also needs to provide water for cook teams. Paying $250 for a contest with no water is a bit extreme. By the way, why does Sam's and KCBS need to keep a team's registration money for several months before a given event? They need to figure out a way for cooks to keep their money longer. I really don't want to give KCBS a loan for 3-6 months. Finally, I think they should better distribute the prize money for the regionals and pay down more places in the categories. Top loading the prizes means a very few teams make money when they compete. Paying down more places means more cooks who travel a long way get some money. In this era of a poor economy, cooks need all the help they can get.

No one is going to be happy about the amount of distance they have to drive, its a big country we live in and what is close for some across a multi state region will always be further for others. I was not happy to drive from Houston to St. Louis this year, but last year the Regional was in Dallas much closer to me, problem was I did not make the cut.

So, you've never paid in advance to enter a contest? Regardless of the price $250 or $100, in your terms your loaning out that money.

[DawgPhan]

Originally Posted by RangerJ

Water.. seriously?

a limited amount of teams with a decent sized prize pot at every event and the fact that water is nearby vs at your personal site or closer than 100 yards and this is folks biggest complaint?

To quote ESPN.. C'mon Man.

no one said it wasnt nit picking, but in GA water and power at your site are standard fare. Sams is the only KCBS in GA where water and power aren't right there....that I know of. I am sure someone will correct me.

I think that there are some mild sanitation issues with not having running water, but nothing major.

[RangerJ]

Originally Posted by DawgPhan

no one said it wasnt nit picking, but in GA water and power at your site are standard fare. Sams is the only KCBS in GA where water and power aren't right there....that I know of. I am sure someone will correct me.

I think that there are some mild sanitation issues with not having running water, but nothing major.

When I was living out west, this was the standard as well. Now that I'm back in Texas, many of them are no water or power...

So, to have a spigot within shopping cart distance, I'm in heaven! Its all perspective I suppose.

[HawgNationBBQ]

Originally Posted by CBQ

The organizer (Troy Black) is also a competitor, he knows how teams think.

To me, they were the best run events I have ever attended.

[Pigs on Fire]

Originally Posted by dmprantz

Your point is well taken, but personally, as a firefighter, I would be just slightly unhappy if a decision was made to essentially disable the hydrant closest to 30+ wood/charcoal fires and who knows how many propane tanks and appliances.

dmp

There's usually 2 or 3 hose outlet nozzles on a hydrant, least the ones I see are. I have never seen all three nozzles with a hose hooked to each during a fire. I'm not positive, but I suspect there's more than 3 hydrants close by the perimeter of any Sam's parking lot at any given location in the US.

We won't include the FDC that is at the building.

As someone stated earlier, if the hydrant being used for the potable water supply to the contestants were needed, the firefighter could spin the operating nut around to close the valve before taking off the other nozzle caps, then turn the hydrant back on.

If you want to talk about safety, it *might* be somewhat productive to have some running water that is located convenient to the teams should an uncontrolled fire occur.

Yeah, we've kinda got use to that runnin' water thing down here in the South. Makes washing out the outhouses quicker than hauling a bucket from the well.

[Pigs on Fire]

Originally Posted by HawgNationBBQ

To me, they were the best run events I have ever attended.

I guess we are spoiled down here...not that we didn't know it.

[dmprantz]

Originally Posted by Pigs on Fire

There's usually 2 or 3 hose outlet nozzles on a hydrant, least the ones I see are. I have never seen all three nozzles with a hose hooked to each during a fire....As someone stated earlier, if the hydrant being used for the potable water supply to the contestants were needed, the firefighter could spin the operating nut around to close the valve before taking off the other nozzle caps, then turn the hydrant back on.

In order to use one of the other nozzles, you either have to install a manifold on it before you turn the hydrant on, or you have to turn the hydrant all the way off, unscrew the other cap, and then turn it back on. It's not the hardest thing in the world, but you have to turn a hydrant wrench a lot more than a quarter turn to turn it off and back on (I think it's 17 turns each way). It might add two minutes to how long it takes. Personally, if you're going to do this, I'd want a manifold with a gate valve on the LD nozzle. Maybe these are just the details to work through, but it's a little bit more than just calling up the PWU. There's also usually 500+ gallons in the pumper, but why put yourself at risk so teams don't have to use shopping carts?

Originally Posted by Pigs on Fire

We won't include the FDC that is at the building.

My understanding of FDC is that they are empty pipes that allow us to pump water into the building. Without a hydrant, it's useless, so it's a good thing that we won't include it.

I'm not an the most experienced fire-fighter, and I know I'm not the only one on the forum, but personally, when we're talking about many acutal live fires and propane tanks in a concentrated area, I think anything that can potentially add minutes to how soon I can get water on one of those fires would be a bad thing. If I were a store Manager or Sam's Corporate, it would be a cold day before I let some one do something that could put my store at risk, and at home, and if some one uses a hydrant like that near my house without a safety setup, I'd be calling the police. There's no telling what ISO would say to that and what, if anything, it would do to your insurance were there an actual fire. If you're more confortable with it than I am, good for you, but that's my opinion.

dmp

[djqualls]

The two I attended were top notch in organization and power was as presented, 20 amps and bring 100' of cord. As for water the water location was a garden hose hydrant on the side of the building and shopping carts were readily available to haul whatever you needed.. The grease and ash was a little distant but that's OK as well because we are in a working parking lot.

My main suggestion would to be to somewhat screen the judges and not take the first to signup. I think that's where it was most lacking was in the strength of numbers of judges.

I didn't make it out of regionals but I know why and it was rookie mistakes that did it.

I didn't like having my local in March and my regional in September and then an 8 hour drive to regionals but I think Sam's makes that call and its their money and their contest!
I think I will be better benefitted if my local if farther and my regional is closer to home. (hint hint. Contest Organizers) but I plan to enter and hope that I can get signed up for a local in my region before it fills up otherwise I'm miles away for the whole run.

[jbrink01]

No water? No power? No problem, I'm still there.