Arlin_MacRae
somebody shut me the fark up.
Suddenly, I find myself lucky enough to be part of a small group of guys that is going to start a new competition from the ground up!
One guy has comp experience
One guy represents the City and eats BBQ
One guy represents the City, is a KCBS member, and is one of the Brethren (guess who)
The idea is to start small and easy and work up towards full-blown event status in the second or third year, based on successful growth each year. We’ve got a great venue with a large, permanent, metal-over-asphalt pavilion, surrounded by lots of grass and trees. We think the setting may attract as many as the shot at a prize will. Starting small, we’re looking at gathering OKC metro Q’ers who wouldn’t mind dragging their pits across town for some fun. We certainly won’t exclude anyone who knows what they’re doing, though!
I’m the one who will provide the framework so I have a couple of (thousand) questions. Can you hepp a bruddah out? If there’s a place where I can go to find a “competition start-up kit” that would be great. Otherwise, I’d sure appreciate some wisdom from my brothers & sisters.
Judging
- We thought about using a People’s Choice format until we realized the competitors would be cooking for hundreds or thousands of people! Not good.
- We plan to pull judges from the city, and I don’t think we’ll have trouble finding six, but would a panel of four or five be enough in a pinch?
- I see no reason to differ from KCBS rules for judging/scoring.
Meats/Recipes
- We had talked about keeping this simple, but why? If we’re ‘in training’ to be a KCBS event, why not train our competitors too? The standard four meats and a dessert, I think. Maybe a sauce competition?
Rules
- Can we use KCBS rules, modified to fit our non-sanctioned event? I mean, why change them – they work!
Schedule
- The plan, as it stands, is to allow teams to arrive Friday evening, before quiet hours, have a cook’s meeting in the morning, Saturday, while we’re inspecting cooking areas and meat, then have turn-ins that afternoon, followed by awards, music, etc. Teams could roll out before noon on Sunday.
- I am thinking we can spread the turn-in times apart a little bit to go easy on the teams. We can tighten them up the next year.
Prizes
- We’re going to challenge local Q joints to sponsor our event to make it worthwhile for people to enter. The City can probably put up some funds as an investment (returns probable after successful succeeding years).
- I have NO idea how much to offer – or how many places to award! Cash and a trophy for the first three in each category? Should we award a GC? Does the GC get the most money/biggest trophy?
Food Safety
- My City partner will contact the Health Department, but he thinks we won’t need to have separate washing, rinsing, and sanitizing stations at each cooking location because we’re not selling food. I’m not so sure…
- Should we inspect the meat for proper temperatures before cook start and sometime during the day for safety?
Taking Care of the Competitor
- How much to charge each team to enter?
- Power and water supplied by City as part of fee
- Is security usually provided at competitions?
- Keep the public out of cook areas!!!!
- Enforce KCBS rules on quiet time, etc.
Handling the Public
- Should/does the public get charged to enter a comp to ‘sniff around’ and watch?
- I think we should issue tickets, regardless of the existence of a fee, to keep track of how many people show up.
- I thought we could print up a sheet of rules to be given with the entry ticket that explains the do’s and don’ts on one side and a venue map on the back. Thoughts?
I’m sure I’ve forgotten entire issues, but that’s why I need some help. Thanks for the time!
Arlin
One guy has comp experience
One guy represents the City and eats BBQ
One guy represents the City, is a KCBS member, and is one of the Brethren (guess who)
The idea is to start small and easy and work up towards full-blown event status in the second or third year, based on successful growth each year. We’ve got a great venue with a large, permanent, metal-over-asphalt pavilion, surrounded by lots of grass and trees. We think the setting may attract as many as the shot at a prize will. Starting small, we’re looking at gathering OKC metro Q’ers who wouldn’t mind dragging their pits across town for some fun. We certainly won’t exclude anyone who knows what they’re doing, though!
I’m the one who will provide the framework so I have a couple of (thousand) questions. Can you hepp a bruddah out? If there’s a place where I can go to find a “competition start-up kit” that would be great. Otherwise, I’d sure appreciate some wisdom from my brothers & sisters.
Judging
- We thought about using a People’s Choice format until we realized the competitors would be cooking for hundreds or thousands of people! Not good.
- We plan to pull judges from the city, and I don’t think we’ll have trouble finding six, but would a panel of four or five be enough in a pinch?
- I see no reason to differ from KCBS rules for judging/scoring.
Meats/Recipes
- We had talked about keeping this simple, but why? If we’re ‘in training’ to be a KCBS event, why not train our competitors too? The standard four meats and a dessert, I think. Maybe a sauce competition?
Rules
- Can we use KCBS rules, modified to fit our non-sanctioned event? I mean, why change them – they work!
Schedule
- The plan, as it stands, is to allow teams to arrive Friday evening, before quiet hours, have a cook’s meeting in the morning, Saturday, while we’re inspecting cooking areas and meat, then have turn-ins that afternoon, followed by awards, music, etc. Teams could roll out before noon on Sunday.
- I am thinking we can spread the turn-in times apart a little bit to go easy on the teams. We can tighten them up the next year.
Prizes
- We’re going to challenge local Q joints to sponsor our event to make it worthwhile for people to enter. The City can probably put up some funds as an investment (returns probable after successful succeeding years).
- I have NO idea how much to offer – or how many places to award! Cash and a trophy for the first three in each category? Should we award a GC? Does the GC get the most money/biggest trophy?
Food Safety
- My City partner will contact the Health Department, but he thinks we won’t need to have separate washing, rinsing, and sanitizing stations at each cooking location because we’re not selling food. I’m not so sure…
- Should we inspect the meat for proper temperatures before cook start and sometime during the day for safety?
Taking Care of the Competitor
- How much to charge each team to enter?
- Power and water supplied by City as part of fee
- Is security usually provided at competitions?
- Keep the public out of cook areas!!!!
- Enforce KCBS rules on quiet time, etc.
Handling the Public
- Should/does the public get charged to enter a comp to ‘sniff around’ and watch?
- I think we should issue tickets, regardless of the existence of a fee, to keep track of how many people show up.
- I thought we could print up a sheet of rules to be given with the entry ticket that explains the do’s and don’ts on one side and a venue map on the back. Thoughts?
I’m sure I’ve forgotten entire issues, but that’s why I need some help. Thanks for the time!
Arlin
