Cost of competing?

Smoothsmoke

Smoothsmoke

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Let's just say the competition is close to your home so their wont be any traveling or lodging expenses. I'd love to get out there in a year or so just for fun, to learn, to greet and hope I dont come in dead last. How much does it cost to compete?
 
$500-$600 would be my estimate. That would depend on how much you cook and where you source it from. It also depends on the entry fee. I always figure $700 within 2 hours from home and $1000+ for anything further away.
 
There's the supplies, cooker of course, tables, chairs, knives, cutting boards, sinks, tents, etc.

Average sanctioned competition entry fee for a smaller competition, say KCBS, would be around $250, not including any entry fees for peoples choice or ancillaries. Meat, spices/rubs, injections, foils, etc. For very short trips, say under 2 hours each way, we'll spend $700 to $800 total. That's KCBS, FBA, etc. MBN, so far I haven't spent less than $1,200, but I hope to do this very thing this year at a close one where I have no travel costs (well, $10 in RV gas) and entering only ribs and pork shoulder, no ancillaries, and hopefully we'll cut it to about $900+-.
 
Ignoring the equipment since that is used multiple times we average about $150 for meat, rubs, sauces, etc, $250 entry fee, and up to $200 in fuel (for longer drives).

Its depressing when you break it down... :(
 
500.00 is a starting budget for us including entry fee. Some are a little less some are more.
 
Louisville 2011....meat, sauce, rubs and consumables...300...400 entry 200 gas, 100 food/beer and 100 misc...1100..not a cheap hobby, but it sure is fun!!!!
 
I figure a thousand dollar bill when I pull my trailer out of the driveway at home. Some will be less and some will be more, but the average is $1,000.00. :doh:
 
I think I cook on a pretty frugal budget and figuring I have the cooker already and doing the local contest with no driving I can go for $350. That is only stuff to cook the contest. I can't count things that I consume while I'm there because I'd do that no matter where I was.
 
For me, it usually goes something like this:

$250 for entry fee
$100 for an extra 10' on the cook site
$200 for competition meats
$50 for charcoal
$100 for gas (or more depending on how far)
$150 for beer and food for the boys (plus booze from the cabinet)

$850 total
 
$700 but I plan on upping that! Cause I'm gonna bring more shrimp from now on !!!!:clap2:
 
We spend $300.00 - $400.00 on average here for local comps...:tsk: We recoup some of our expenses by selling our leftover comp meats to family, friends, and co-workers...:p
 
Smoothsmoke said:
Fark! That's a lot of cash! You guys have just witnessed the shortest career of a BBQ competitor ever!! :shocked:
Click to expand...

Don't get discouraged. If you have the equipment already you can do it for a lot less than $750 to $1000 for a local contest. The bulk of the cost is tied up in entry fees and meat. I have seen teams go with 1 Brisket, 1 Butt, 3 racks of Ribs and 12 pieces of Chicken. I figure that if you are frugal with a $200 entry fee you could get away spending $350, maybe a little less, if you already had the equipment.
 
I got a couple of buddies together and we split the cost. Half of the team knows very little about bbq except for the 2 most important parts....they love to eat and to drink beer.

We also run a 'bbq lottery'. Everyone who contributes $ gets an equal share of any winnings....even if they can't be at the comp. You wouldn't believe how many people fall for that sucker bet! :shock: Most comps everyone pays about $100-200 and our 2nd place Chicken score in Salisbury paid for the whole event!
 
500.00-600.00 (meat, entry fees, hotel room) We keep our contests around 4 hours away at the most part so that saves on gas...My mom is our gas sponsor so that saves us cash. As long as you have your cookers already, you can have fun and not spend a TON of cash competing. If you're lucky enough to get some decent calls, you can always use that money to pay for the next comp!! :thumb:
 
Here's the minimum if you already have an EZUP, tables, coolers, etc.

Meat - 2 briskets, 2 butts, 3 spares, 1 SAMS pack of chicken - $150-180 depending on prices.

Entry $150 to $250. If it's more you might not want to go unless it's real close.

Consumable cooking supplies (Parkay, rub, sauce, fuel) $50-75.

Food and drink for you is extra but as already said you would do that at home.

If you can leave Friday moprning early and get home Saturday night then there is no motel cost even if it's a couple of hours away as You'll stay onsite on a cot or anti-gravity chair.

And for all that you get a mini vacation from your life and get to let your passion for cooking BBQ run wild. At the first contest I went to it was like a 10 year old walking into FAO Schwartz.
 
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