Memphis judging

[MemphisNewbie]

I'm going to try and make this short.

I'd like to get an opinion on something that happened during the Memphis in May Bbq contest.

I'm on a team that has been around since the event started I've only been with them for the past five years. On judging day two out of the three judges give us their 10. The other judge tells us they were the best tasting ribs he had and the only reason he didn't give us his 10 was because there wasn't a very defined smoke ring.

An hour passes and we are informed that we placed top 10. After finally getting the paperwork someone notices that it has our team name but a different tent number on it. After they go back to try and verify they tell us they made a mistake and it was not our team but the team with the other tent number.

After hearing all that do you think your blind would cause you to not even make top 60 ? I think they screwed up and swapped our scores.

Thoughts?

 

[Nordy]

Could... I know I saw a video of Tuffy saying all three judges told him he got their 10... and he didn't place top 10....

 

[Right on Q]

Could... I know I saw a video of Tuffy saying all three judges told him he got their 10... and he didn't place top 10....

The onsite judges gave him 10s but his blind box scores were not 10s. Thus why he wasn't in the top 10.

Sounds like they may have swapped your scores. Maybe not. I don't know how you would find out.

This is what I don't like about MBN, MiM. Judges coming up to you afterward telling you their scores. It's good on one hand bc you know why they scored what they scored. It's bad because they can bias their scores on very odd things.

Not giving you a 10 because there wasn't a good smoke ring? :tsk:

But what do I know? Many people around here do MBN, MiM with great results and love it

 

[sitnfat]

Our second judge was a first year judge. We cooked hog. While looking at the pig on the smoker he asked how we get the heat from the smoker behind him up to the pig. How is a first year judge allowed onsite for MIM. We missed finals by 3 tenths.

 

[TooSaucedToPork]

1. There are no teams left from 1977 when it started. Crosstown and Willinghams are the closest and are from the 80's

As for the scores...

60% of your score is blind box
40% is onsite.

Our 3 onsite Judges gave us their 9.9, 9.9, and 10
We came in 105th this year.

All three said it was the best tasting rib of the day.

We are waiting for blind box scores to see what the heck happened...but that is Memphis.

 

[QN]

1. There are no teams left from 1977 when it started. Crosstown and Willinghams are the closest and are from the 80's

As for the scores...

60% of your score is blind box
40% is onsite.

Our 3 onsite Judges gave us their 9.9, 9.9, and 10
We came in 105th this year.

All three said it was the best tasting rib of the day.

We are waiting for blind box scores to see what the heck happened...but that is Memphis.

Redneck Barbecue Express is the only team that has cooked Memphis in May every year since the beginning. They compete in whole hog. They are into the second generation of family members, but the "old" original guys are still there. I have had the pleasure of meeting them over the past years and had the honor of judging their hog on site a couple of years ago.
If you get any 9.9 from an on site judge you can forget making finals. You need10's from all on site judges plus you need 10's on your blind box. Without all 10's you won't final. There are too many teams.
Also, MIM judging is comparative judging. Judges are to compare the entries they judge to each other entry they judge and award their 10 to the best barbecue they have that day. If you got a 9.9 then somebody else got a 10 from that judge. MIM judging is radically different from KCBS. Once you make finals; top 3 in each category, all previous scores are gone/thrown out. Finals is a whole new contest and the finals judges are looking for the best barbecue of the day from the 9 finals teams. It has been a long time since a rib team won GC. For over a decade it has been hog and shoulder taking the top prize.

 

[TooSaucedToPork]

Redneck Barbecue Express is the only team that has cooked Memphis in May every year since the beginning. They compete in whole hog. They are into the second generation of family members, but the "old" original guys are still there. I have had the pleasure of meeting them over the past years and had the honor of judging their hog on site a couple of years ago.
If you get any 9.9 from an on site judge you can forget making finals. You need10's from all on site judges plus you need 10's on your blind box. Without all 10's you won't final. There are too many teams.
Also, MIM judging is comparative judging. Judges are to compare the entries they judge to each other entry they judge and award their 10 to the best barbecue they have that day. If you got a 9.9 then somebody else got a 10 from that judge. MIM judging is radically different from KCBS. Once you make finals; top 3 in each category, all previous scores are gone/thrown out. Finals is a whole new contest and the finals judges are looking for the best barbecue of the day from the 9 finals teams. It has been a long time since a rib team won GC. For over a decade it has been hog and shoulder taking the top prize.

You are correct, I forgot RBE is from 77...last rib team was 2002 I believe

 

[Okie Sawbones]

That sucks, Newbie. It sure makes one suspect, even if it was an honest mistake. I would expect better from MIM.

 

[tduffy]

So it's comparative judging? No thanks.

 

[MemphisNewbie]

Thanks for the replies... The main thing I was pissed about is that they had a different name with a different tent number. That's the part that's fishy. Oh well...

And for how long our team has been doing it.. I was told by the old man of the group...

Heard of sloppy chops?

 

[Gowan]

So it's comparative judging? No thanks.

Comparison has been one of the hallmarks of Memphis-style judging since the beginning.

Some say it's unfair because of the luck factor of which subset of teams you are compared to in the first round. Others say it is more honest because all judges are doing comparison of entries, even if only on a subliminal level.

I've judged both MBN and KCBS, and I don't think one system is better or worse than the other, just different. The reason I cook mainly KCBS is the cost - you have to cook a lot more meat to be competitive in MBN.

 

[BoneDaddy's]

Just like the issues with the NBA and ref'ing, these folks are human and mistakes happen. It will happen again, let's hope they learn from their mistakes and we can move on.

 

[Right on Q]

Comparison has been one of the hallmarks of Memphis-style judging since the beginning.

Some say it's unfair because of the luck factor of which subset of teams you are compared to in the first round. Others say it is more honest because all judges are doing comparison of entries, even if only on a subliminal level.

I've judged both MBN and KCBS, and I don't think one system is better or worse than the other, just different. The reason I cook mainly KCBS is the cost - you have to cook a lot more meat to be competitive in MBN.

My thoughts exactly. I don't think one way or the other is better but I cook KCBS because of the cost

 

[msavard]

1. There are no teams left from 1977 when it started. Crosstown and Willinghams are the closest and are from the 80's

As for the scores...

60% of your score is blind box
40% is onsite.

Our 3 onsite Judges gave us their 9.9, 9.9, and 10
We came in 105th this year.

All three said it was the best tasting rib of the day.

We are waiting for blind box scores to see what the heck happened...but that is Memphis.

We had a similar experience with onsite judges reporting very good scores and finishing right there with you guys. Very eager to see our blind box scores. I thought our ribs were better than our 10th place ribs last year.

 

[TooSaucedToPork]

I've judged both MBN and KCBS, and I don't think one system is better or worse than the other, just different. The reason I cook mainly KCBS is the cost - you have to cook a lot more meat to be competitive in MBN.

This is no longer the case.

All MBN is now BLIND unless you final.

 

[tduffy]

The fact that any of it is not blind would be an issue for me.