Kcbs guarantee just bs?

[Sledneck]

Is the guarantee that organizers give to kcbs just a bs piece of paper with no real consequences of not fulfilling it?

I had heard that a contest in st Louis was short 5k and they told the teams and hour before turn in

Heres a video of the deal

st. louis blues.mov - YouTube

[Bigmista]

Dang. This is jacked up.

[The Pickled Pig]

The first thing I thought when watching the video is was that an Ole Hickory that McGee was cooking on or was he in someone else's space for the interview?

The second thing is why announce it when they did? Why not wait until after turn-ins. The damage was done and I can't see anyone actually pulling out of the event at that point. I would've been upset at the distraction.

That contest is toast. I wouldn't return and from the interviews it seems like that was a consensus. I was competing at another contest where the organizer made a mistake and advertised a quadrupled prize pool by mistake but they honored the stated prizes so it ended up being just fine.

This organizer said everyone would get paid and I think they even said they would be paid in 10 days so I hope he's true to his word. If so, it's not that big of a deal. Several bigger contests wait weeks before mailing checks.

[5-0 BBQ]

Thats crazy

[Cokyjara]

Supposedly he finally paid out 18,400 of the 28,000. Some teams keep asking to stop the discussion because "health" of "someone"??. It's on the 30 DAY OUT thread and the "I've been waiting all day, St Louis River Rub" thread. Doesn't seem as though who know, really want to share info? Must be pretty serious.

[rookiedad]

hope it all works out alright!

[Jeff_in_KC]

Cokyjara, there are a lot of things going on with this person. Anyone who makes the threats he did needs some help and it doesn't do any good to harp on this. Yes, I understand people didn't get paid and they need to get their money but you seem to be basically pressing for information that you probably don't need. This person shouldn't have taken on a BBQ contest. Plain and simple. Leave it to KCBS and his organization to iron out and stop trying to stir everyone up with this. It's unfortunate. It's not positive for St. Louis BBQ. People aren't happy. But it will do no good for the future of competition barbecue in your city to keep wanting it discussed. If I were in St. Louis and cared about competition BBQ, I'd just want this to go away as quickly as possible.

[Sawdustguy]

What the hell good is sanctioning then? I understand you get the Reps and such but I thought the KCBS garanteed the prize fund in a sanctioned event?

[FatBoyz]

I am shuts that people want this to go away but had driven 8 hours to compete and was told all this I would not be happy. What I want to know is what the kc's is going to do to instill confidence in them and there organization. I think it was 7told tears ago in Madison wi that the organizer ran off with the money that started this garanty thing. I hope the board will not deal with this behind closed doors. And I do not think anyone is blaming st Louis bbq people.I don't think this is going to go away this is very serious and dies need to be addressed. We had an organize try to pull a fast one 2 years ago In the dells and I think the kins did a good job with that one.

[Ashmont]

This is really sad for me to watch....Over 10 years ago we had no bbq contests what so ever in STL. I put one on for several years before Pacific, Herman, Wildwood and others started popping up. This does give our area a black eye! I was going to cook that contest but was asked to cook for the church. With all things lets keep calm..... and hope everything works out. I know there is alot of tension but lets keep a level head.

[nthole]

Billy, in this case no one was trying to pull a fast one, so the situation is a bit different.

Jeff, well said. I do want to hear how KCBS is going to address a situation like this to ensure it doesn't happen again, so I think the question by Sled and brought up by Rod on the video is valid. But posting on a board won't do anything about it. I sent an email to KCBS yesterday asking why they don't have the cash on deposit with them prior to an event starting, which to me would have seemed like a no brainer. I got a prompt reply back this morning and felt comfortable with how they are looking into it.

Cokyjara, you are pretty new to the board, so I don't know if this contest brought you here, whether you were a cook at the contest or how you are tied to BBQ. I can tell you I was a cook, and I did lose money, and I'm not the only Brethren that did. In the end, the money I lost isn't worth seeing someone who had a good heart lay in personal, professional and financial ruin. Maybe your values run a little different than mine. I do believe a man should back up his words, but I also believe that mistakes happen.

[DocStl]

Originally Posted by Sawdustguy

What the hell good is sanctioning then? I understand you get the Reps and such but I thought the KCBS garanteed the prize fund in a sanctioned event?

KCBS gets a letter of guaranty from the organizer before the actual contest date. Just a form signed by the organizer saying He will pay as promised.
KCBS and the reps are there to see that the contest follows the guidelines set forth by the sanctioning body. I was at this contest and in no way shape or form hold KCBS or the Reps present for what transpired. When they found out the money situation, they called the KCBS board of directors at 10 am Saturday morning, they then followed the instructions they were given to call the meeting. KCBS did not know the money situation until 10am, The reps were told by the organizer from Fri on that all money was there and accounted for.
The organizer was expecting beer tent sales to make up the 10k shortage by awards time. But it didnt happen.... There was no crowd, I feel bad for the vendors that lost their shirt with little to no sales.

There were a lot of mistakes made in organizing this contest, and I believe that the organizer had good intentions. BUT, IF He had emailed all the teams a week ahead of time and said, We have 18k instead of 28k you can cook or get a refund of your entry fees... I still would have cooked it.. 18k is still a big purse! I tip my hat to anyone who can go out and raise 18k from sponsors in todays economy. I do think that the board made a bad decision when they re structured the payouts, in my opinion they should have reduced the awards to an amount where all the cooks who placed could have taken a little home. The reps did what they were told to do.

All in all in my opinion , the contest accomplished what I see these contests to be about, We spent quality time with good friends, family, and people we enjoy being around. The BBQ community is a tight knit group of people we all consider to be extended family. I had a great time hanging with old friends and making new ones.

[Jeff_in_KC]

Originally Posted by FatBoyz

I am shuts that people want this to go away but had driven 8 hours to compete and was told all this I would not be happy. What I want to know is what the kc's is going to do to instill confidence in them and there organization. I think it was 7told tears ago in Madison wi that the organizer ran off with the money that started this garanty thing. I hope the board will not deal with this behind closed doors. And I do not think anyone is blaming st Louis bbq people.I don't think this is going to go away this is very serious and dies need to be addressed. We had an organize try to pull a fast one 2 years ago In the dells and I think the kins did a good job with that one.

OK, had a whole reply typed up and the server was too busy when I clicked submit so I lost it. I'll try to re-type or paraphrase myself!

There is really no reason to continue to publicly bash this contest. Everyone knows what they know and the video is out there to draw your own conclusions. And some great points were made on it. KCBS should do two things with this - 1. Ensure the organizer makes things right with the teams that did not get what they were entitled to receive and 2. make sure this organizer never puts on another KCBS event again. Neither need to be drawn out in the public eye. Just handle it correctly and let us know they did.

As for St. Louis and blaming St. Louis people, no one has done that. The issue is that there is a black eye on St. Louis competition BBQ. You have to understand where they are in eastern Missouri and specifically the St Louis area. They've been working hard to make competition BBQ more popular and visible in the area for several years now. And something like this sets them back years. Imagine you were a business owner in St. Louis. You've heard about what happened and you are approached by another person putting on a BBQ comp in the area. They want you to sponsor their event. What's your response going to be? If you're a wise business owner but not real familiar with the sport, you're probably going to say no. This hurts the contest and doesn't help to draw teams to town. See where I'm coming from? I was talking to a St Louis area organizer at the contest I cooked this past weekend and he is genuinely afraid of the consequences this will have for BBQ in the area. See why this just needs to be handled swiftly, as quietly as possible and fade to a distant memory?

[Smokin' Joe]

First, let me say I have no idea what went down this weekend (no youtube at work :)) and have no interest in stiring the pot...just saw the comment above and thought I would provide a little experience we had in the same situation last year...

I cooked a contest last year that did just that - they sent an email the week of the contest stating that they didnt have all the money and were going to have to reduce the prize fund. They were then told by KCBS that they would lose sanctioning if they didnt honor the orginal guaranteed amount. In the end they raised the additional monies and the contest went off as planned.

[jbrink01]

Well said Jeff Stith!!!!

Blazing Saddles - We Must Do Something! Harrumph! - YouTube