How many Team Members?

[Brew-Bq]

I know this has many possible answers but Im trying to decide how many members to have on our newly formed competition Team. We have a core of three guys; Myself, my Dad and another friend who is the most experienced Pitmaster among us. My Dad and I just bought a nice trailer mounted Reverse Flow Pit and we are ready to do a few competitions for fun and experience. We also are planning to do some catering under the same name but plan to keep that separate as far as who is involved as well as the finances. For the Team we have a few other guys interested. Im wondering without overthinking it, what is a good way to organize membership? I'm fine with friends helping out whenever but I would think it would be better to keep actual Team Membership to people who are serious about it. Financially I know Q aint cheap so it seems actual members should all have some skin in the game. What are your experiences and recommendations?

 

[Blueislandbbq]

Me my wife and my 2 pugs.

 

[cpw]

We have 2 who are the main team, and then 3 others that show up when they can. We have a team checking account and any money we make goes in there to pay for contests or supplies. We've been fortunate enough the last few years to make enough money that we haven't had to put in our own money.

 

[BB-Kuhn]

My wife dresses and prepares our turn in boxes. She occasionally lends an extra pair hands to open close lids, etc. I do literally everything else.

I don't say this to complain. She is cool enough to come along and help on my hobby. She honestly would say the same as i did. I only bring it up to illustrate that you don't need a huge roster to compete. Sure it's a bit easier in some ways, but it's also harder to agree on things as a group. I used to be the occasional third on another team. It was more fun than doing it solo, but it's 100x more satisfying to get calls when it's all you.

If you have a solid core of 3, that's PLENTY.

 

[Ron_L]

It's just my wife and I. An extra set of hands for setup and tear down would be nice, but the rest of the time we have everything worked out and anyone else would get in the way.

 

[ynotfehc]

I cook alone, if my wife, family or friends come visit, they help run turn ins, clean up and tear down in exchange for some samples.

 

[ITBFQ]

For sanctioned contests, its me and another guy - kwas68. He cooks two meats, I cook two. Sometimes we have folks who help us lift lids, etc. which is always appreciated. As far as contest entry goes, we split that down the middle. Any money won in our respective categories, we keep. Any money won overall we split 50/50. The arrangement might not be for everybody, but it works for us.

 

[Ribeye Republic]

Me and my 9 year old daughter.

 

[thunderalley3]

It's just my wife and I and our 2 faithful dogs. She will be the first to say that she does not cook, but she is a great coffee maker, packer, picker upper person, and loves to run boxes. It works out great as we have a toy-hauler and try to get the most out of each contest by spending an extra day here and there. We have been very lucky and had a few calls and she really gets into the competition spirit and always let's me know I did well, and I let her know I could not do it without her so it is a great situation and I would not change it for anything.

 

[toys4dlr]

It is the wife and me and sometimes one or both of our boys. For the most part I do the cooking, but my wife is a good cook too. We have split a back to back comps with me cooking one as head cook and her cooking as head cook. Was proud to watch her walk twice.

 

[B&R Smoke]

me & my teammate, sometimes we get lucky and the wife will come build boxes and gopher for us. I like it nice and tight, you know the old saying "too many cooks in the kitchen"

 

[Alexa RnQ]

Two is plenty for us.

I'm still waiting on the buff shirtless college-aged roadies for setup and teardown, tho.

 

[New Pal Frank]

Our team consists of my wife and I. I round up all the meat. seasonings & sauces, do all the prep and cooking. she does the garnish for the boxes. At turn in time, she picks the meat that goes in the box and I build them. She keeps things clean and tidy.
This year, due to my wifes back surgery, we had one of her lady friends (an accomplishe pitmaster also) help out. It was nice having some experienced help cooking, but at times it was a little tight in the garage area of our toyhauler where we do all of the comp work.

good luck and safe travels.

 

[mbarys]

Just the wife and I here. She's in charge of the boxes and chicken trimming, I do everything else.

 

[Duddy55]

I'm by myself until saturday morning when the wife shows up to help me with turn ins

 

[masque13]

it's just me and my best bud.......that's about right other than setup and tear down.....it would be nice to have one more for that part.

 

[Gowan]

It all depends on your situation. I've been on a team with four other guys, and I've cooked solo.

The most important thing is that all personalities mesh. There isn't room for more than one big ego on a team - when the pressure is on, someone must be the ultimate decision maker and the rest must follow. Sometimes a group will successfully switch off the leadership role from one meat to another.

Often it is money that breaks up teams. Be sure everyone clearly understands how the funding of the team works and how any winnings will be dealt with. Everybody is friends until somebody has to write (or cash) a big check...

 

[LTG]

It all depends on your situation. I've been on a team with four other guys, and I've cooked solo.

The most important thing is that all personalities mesh. There isn't room for more than one big ego on a team - when the pressure is on, someone must be the ultimate decision maker and the rest must follow. Sometimes a group will successfully switch off the leadership role from one meat to another.

Often it is money that breaks up teams. Be sure everyone clearly understands how the funding of the team works and how any winnings will be dealt with. Everybody is friends until somebody has to write (or cash) a big check...

Bingo. When it all comes down to it there has to be a leader.

 

[Brew-Bq]

Thanks for all the advice which helped clarify what I was already thinking. My gut was telling me to stick with the three of us because we do mesh well and bring different strengths to the table.

 

[gpcvg]

We have 2 main (financial) members. We split the costs of everything but we don't keep the greatest of records. If something needs paid one of us will do it and the other will do it next time.

We also have wives and another couple that helps at most contests. The girls sit and look pretty until something needs done. When all 6 of us are there, we each have jobs that everyone has adopted (box builders, runners, team photographer, taste testers). No one had to assign jobs, everyone just fell into them and it works great. What money we have won has always just gone back into our team account to pay for another contest. We are all very close and consider each other family. It might not work for everyone but it works great for us