(putting on my organizer hat now)
One of the challenges of having a BBQ contest is that it is quite difficult to make a profit. Many times I'm approached by charities who think they want to hold a contest as a fund-raiser and they end up changing their mind when they learn how much work is involved vs how much money is raised.
At the center of this is the fact that for all intents and purposes, these events are a private party for cooks and judges. Little is offered to the public beyond gawking at the teams unless you add other stuff to the sanctioned contest to get a full-fledge festival. Even so, the most successful events in these parts tend to be run with a "break-even attitude" where the goal is to promote tourism and community involvement rather than make money.
At the events I have organized, 75% or more of the cook team's entry fees go right back into cash prizes and trophies. The rest goes into sanctioning fees, Rep expenses, renting tents, tables & chairs, providing signage, power, water, trash service, ice, porta pots, t-shirts, copying of score sheets, security, advertising and a hundred other line items every contest requires. Of course the funds remaining from entry fees only makes a dent in these expenses, which is why corporate cash sponsorship is critical to the success of most events.
As cooks and judges, we do have out of pocket expenses, but we have to remember that in truth our hobby is being subsidised by the event sponsors and sometimes the public attendees, if a gate fee is charged. If we paid for all the costs ourselves, this expensive hobby would be even more costly!