Here's some from past threads.
- It's 2015, if you are going to post a PDF sign up form online please take 10 extra minutes and make it fillable.
- How about a box for KCBS number or team name and head cook name followed by a box "All information is the same as last year"
- Online sign ups are great but can we get basic contest info (where, when, how much) without going through the whole sign up process first?
- Please put all the basic info (where, when, how much, etc) on the same web page; preferably the first one.
- Please give us a real locatable street address for the contest (gps coordinates even better), "In the big park" doesn't help the out of towners
- Please include a "Make any award checks payable to:" line. Many competitors can't cash checks made out to their team name.
- If our only choice is hand filling out your entry form please make the spaces big enough.
- Include a street address - "the south end of the big park" won't work on my Garmin.
And a WORKING phone number - not the one that has the recording telling me what your office hours are. That isn't worth much if I get delayed on the way in to judge on Saturday morning.
Awards
Have awards on time
This should go without saying but it often doesn't work out that way. Talk to your sanctioning body rep and get a good estimate of how long it will take after the last turn in, announce it and stick to it.
Have enough staff to make awards go smooth
Have the trophies / awards on the stage 10 minutes prior to awards start. Have all the checks cut and placed in order as well. Have someone off stage to handle any paperwork for the winners as they come off stage.
Awards should be the priority
Give the awards schedule to any performers and have them understand that awards go off as scheduled, even if it means cutting someone short. It doesn't matter if the drunk girls over on the side are getting into the band's 17 minute version of Freebird. If awards are at 4 and it's 4:01
turn the band off.
On this theme: the stage changeover can wait until after the people who paid lots of money to compete are recognized. Stagehands tearing down / setting up drum risers and staging are distracting. Turn off the background music and the band monitors so the crowd can hear. If the bass player is practicing his speed rips through his amplifier turned up to 11 tell him to shut the hell up.
Get an MC that knows how to use a microphone.
or get them some lessons. When your MC holds the mic down around their navel and constantly points it at the speaker giving the crown ear splitting feedback it takes some of the fun out of things.
Consider what's going on
If you're the person announcing awards have some consideration that almost everyone listening to you is tired, hot/cold & facing a long drive. It's also probably blazing hot or raining or (worse) just about to rain. This isn't the time to try out your new comedy routine, tell us your life story or a bunch of other non relevant crap.
Keep things moving
If you're doing honorable mentions or announcing deep you don't need to wait for 25th place to come to the stage, get their certificate and go all the way back to their seat before announcing 24th, especially if people have a long way to go to get to the stage. You can call the next place while the last place is still moving.
Understand why awards are structured the way they are
This seems simple but I've seen it screwed up more and more: As soon as you award the Grand Champion everyone is going to leave! Don't try to give any awards after the grand.
Don't get cute
You might think it's "suspenseful" to hold all the 1st place winners or bring the top 5 up as a group then announce them off like it's a beauty contest but for the competitors it sux. Just play it straight - please?
If you have a stage use it
Don't gather the cooks into a an isolated corner like it's some secret meeting to hand out awards when there is a big stage nearby with some hack band playing to 10 people
.
Use a PA
No matter how much you or your friends tell you you have a booming voice, if you're trying to project to over 200 people the ones in the back won't be able to hear you
.
In the don't get cute category
Don't foreshadow awards with (to you) cute remarks such as "gee you might as well just stay up here" "I'll pronounce it right in a minute or next time"
Don't lie to the teams
If awards are scheduled for 4 and there is a problem,
Tell us! Be honest and realistic with the reschedule. Don't come around at 3:45 and tell us awards will be 20 minutes late when you know damn well that it's going to be at least an hour because they are still just imputing chicken scores because the system crashed, or the person with the checks has a flat tire, or whatever. If it won't be until 5, tell us 5 so we can finish loading out.
