Your thoughts on paying 10 places (KCBS)?

[rooftop bbq]

personally id like to see more money going to teams finishing better overall instead of categories. kind of sucks getting a third overall with nothing to show for it, and seeing GC and RGC walking away with the big share of the prize money

 

[sitnfat]

If they only paid the top 3 a lot of small teams would probably stop competing like someone else said that 50 dollar check keeps them coming back. If you need to win your investment back you may have the wrong hobby. I wish I could do a contest and only spend 550 bucks.

 

[Jason TQ]

I was looking at doing a competition in Marietta, GA where first place pays $400. Actually, two others I looked at possibly doing paid the same amount. It would cost me at least $550 to do it - all things total - in addition to a 3.5 hour drive each way. If I could cover my my costs, bring home a first place trophy and $100 bucks, I would be an extremely happy camper. But win the trophy and still lose $150 bucks...not so much.

What happens at the competitions you go to where they payouts are big and maybe you travel a little father, but you don't win anything?

 

[sdbbq1234]

Me, personally I am in it for the bling a ribbon, cheezy printed certificate, plastic bowling trophie etc. if I was lucky enough to ever hear my name I want something to look at down the road. I am just gonna spend that small check on beer anyway.

Bling a ribbon? I thought you said Pabst Blue Ribbon...:wink:

wallace

 

[sdbbq1234]

Heck for me, I wish they would pay down to the next to the last for each category. That way, I would win. :mrgreen::wacko:

All kidding aside, if it is a big pot of money, I would like to see down to 10th place. Smaller pots, down to the 5th place.

But then, what constitutes a "big and small pot" of money. I would also be interested in what the pots of money are and related to the entry fees + corporate sponsors + etc...

But, as a relatively new team (been in 8 comps), I'll take what I can get for now.

Trust me, we were happy as pigs in slop last weekend when we won $100.00 at the SAMs comp in Laurel, MD.

For us, we knew this BBQ comp thingy was going to be a money pit if we REALLY wanted to be in the game.

Already getting a few trophies, and 1 ribbon, and 1 paper certificate and then this check has made us want to stay for the long run.

Making some good friends along the way, making great memories, well, we want to be in it for the long haul (BTW, looking for a battle wagon/bat mobile now :biggrin1

I am starting to wonder if the whole BBQ trend is allowing some of the organizers to take advantage of the situation, at the competitors expense.

:heh:

wallace

 

[sitnfat]

Mmmmmmm Pabst Blue Ribbon

 

[djqualls]

I believe in paying 10 deep in all categories and overall. A Commemorative award is great to hang on the wall, and some good ole US Currency even if its a $20 dollar bill symbolizes accomplishment. Its no different than giving the nephew/niece a $10 bill for their birthday.

If you're doing this to make a profit, get you a sponsor. No one will make a profit in Comp BBQ over a period of time off of prize money alone. it cost a lot of money to put on a comp let alone the prize structure.

In KCBS, just think of what happen to the prize pool if organizers were required to pay CBJ's $10 per contest as some form of reimbursement. What more valuable $10 or a Non CBJ Judge?

 

[poorolddan]

I agree with tker. I'd even like to see the GC & RGC paid $500 & $250. Then each category pay 10 places with 10th getting $100. I've gotten many 3 thru 10th place calls and not much more than a "participation" ribbon.
Spread the money around to those of us that keep paying the entry fees and hardly get any thanks.

 

[Muzzlebrake]

personally id like to see more money going to teams finishing better overall instead of categories. kind of sucks getting a third overall with nothing to show for it, and seeing GC and RGC walking away with the big share of the prize money

How about finishing 3rd-5th O/A and watching the team that placed 8th in chicken walking away with more money? I cannot understand why week in and week out at contests across the country teams that accomplish the most are often rewarded the least. It's much more difficult to finish top 10 overall yet the overwhelming majority of contests pay more to the team finishing 5 in pork than 3rd overall. I don't get it.

I don't know about other areas of the country, but for us, there are a handful of "big name" teams that are consistently in the top 3 or so at local events. These teams go on to win the big national comps as well. I would venture a guess that the vast majority of teams are doing less than 10 competitions a year. It's already tough enough for these smaller, part-time teams to recoup any of their costs. If you make it that much harder for them to have the chance to get anything back at all, I'm pretty sure team counts at contests will start to fall and eventually there will be fewer contests to hit for a payout.

I think that these teams more than likely dominate the top 5 in the categories too. Paying out deeper in the categories isn't going to change that.

I agree with tker. I'd even like to see the GC & RGC paid $500 & $250. Then each category pay 10 places with 10th getting $100. I've gotten many 3 thru 10th place calls and not much more than a "participation" ribbon.
Spread the money around to those of us that keep paying the entry fees and hardly get any thanks.

So those who accomplish the most should be rewarded the least? I'm sorry but that doesn't make any sense to me. This isn't Montessori school, this is the big leagues. When you are talking about KCBS contests, you are talking about competing in what is arguably the highest level of competitive cooking in the country. To think that an individual category should count more than the whole contest makes as much sense as a football game being won not by the team with the highest score but the one that has more first downs or interceptions.

 

[Gowan]

Speaking as an organizer now:

My current contest pays ten places for OVERALL with smaller payouts for Grand and Reserve than some other events of the same size. With a $7500 prize pool, ten places in categories is just too far to spread the available jam so we pay the KCBS mandated five places with amounts that are about average for our size contest. My thinking is that I want to reward the team that is putting up a good product consistently across all four meats, but just not quite making it into the top 5.

To me, the guy who finishes 6th, 7th, 9th and 12th is showing that he is a better cook than the fellow who takes 2nd in pork but is at the bottom of the pack in everything else. I want to reward that cook who is consistently finishing top ten overall but just hasn't broken the barrier yet.

Personal feelings aside, there is one overwhelming reason for organizers to spread the cash out. When you pay large sums to just a few winners you make a small number of people very happy, but if you pay smaller sums to a bigger pool of winners you please a lot of people. Events can't survive without teams coming back, and the team that goes home with a check is a lot more likely to return next year, even if they only won fifty bucks.

 

[Hawg Father of Seoul]

To me, the guy who finishes 6th, 7th, 9th and 12th is showing that he is a better cook than the fellow who takes 2nd in pork but is at the bottom of the pack in everything else. I want to reward that cook who is consistently finishing top ten overall but just hasn't broken the barrier yet.

Maybe I just have not been around long enough, but from what I have seen. Paying 10 places per category and paying top 10 overall typically pays the same teams. Not in every situation, but in most.

Having some contests pay one and others pay the other is a good thing in my opinion. It makes people feel like they have options.

Hats off to all the organizers that take the time to plan and to think things like this through. I do know that many teams like it when all the money is not concentrated on the GC.

 

[The Cosmic Pig]

If they only paid the top 3 a lot of small teams would probably stop competing like someone else said that 50 dollar check keeps them coming back. If you need to win your investment back you may have the wrong hobby. I wish I could do a contest and only spend 550 bucks.

If you're not going to be rewarded for a good showing why even compete? If you work your butt off to come up with a good product and get nothing for your effort, what's the use? I can stay home and have fun cooking BBQ with/for friends and donate money to charity if I'm in it to lose money or just for the fun of it. I don't need to make a profit, necessarily, but reward my effort, at least! And I won $50 for sixth place chicken once; meant next to nothing to me. And I wouldn't even mention it to anyone if I came in tenth place in a category. :tsk:

 

[Gowan]

And I won $50 for sixth place chicken once; meant next to nothing to me.

In that case, I hope you handed the check over to the guy cooking next to you. I bet he would have appreciated the tank of gas!

 

[cpw]

And I wouldn't even mention it to anyone if I came in tenth place in a category. :tsk:

But if I got a tenth place on any category at a 30 or 40 team contest, I'm pretty damn happy about it.

 

[Gowan]

Maybe I just have not been around long enough, but from what I have seen. Paying 10 places per category and paying top 10 overall typically pays the same teams. Not in every situation, but in most.

Possibly, but paying down ten in the categories means a forty-way split of your available prize money, instead of a ten-way. In a $20K contest that might be no problem, but at smaller events it becomes sort of ridiculous to spend all that time and effort to distribute ten dollar checks. $50 is about as low as I like to go to keep it a meaningful amount of money.

 

[The Cosmic Pig]

In that case, I hope you handed the check over to the guy cooking next to you. I bet he would have appreciated the tank of gas!

But $50 won't even buy a tank of gas nowadays! :heh:

 

[The Cosmic Pig]

But if I got a tenth place on any category at a 30 or 40 team contest, I'm pretty damn happy about it.

Well, I have to admit I'm basically a perfectionist. I shoot for first and if I don't get it I feel like a loser! :crazy:

 

[kenthanson]

Well, I have to admit I'm basically a perfectionist. I shoot for first and if I don't get it I feel like a loser! :crazy:

Worst attitude.

 

[DawgPhan]

Well, I have to admit I'm basically a perfectionist. I shoot for first and if I don't get it I feel like a loser! :crazy:

do you compete often? Because no one wins with any real consistency.

Even the teams that get auto to the jack cooked dozens of contests where they didnt win. I doubt any of them consider themselves a loser. Anytime I hear my name called, I feel better good about it.

 

[Icekub]

Well, I have to admit I'm basically a perfectionist. I shoot for first and if I don't get it I feel like a loser! :crazy:

Even Ricky Bobby eventually saw the error of this line of thought. "If you're not first, you're last" This catchphrase not to be used w/out permission of Ricky Bobby Inc. Too many good cooks out there and too much "luck" involved in blind judging of a subjective thing like BBQ to not be happy about a top 10.