Struggling and/or cancelled Comps

[Slamdunkpro]

Imagine being an unpaid board member getting hate mail because you've allegedly disenfranchised members of a BBQ Society. :mrgreen:

I of course have no experience what so ever in that department.:wacko:

 

[Ron_L]

Well, I just got done reading everyone's response and I would like to put my input in. Not to take a knock at the pro teams here but look at the back yard events heald inconjustion with the big events. They are more and more popular with a small entry fee and competitors cooking for bragging rites and that trophy with maybe ya little cash prize but mostly for the love of the cook. KCBS has what they call the competitor series with is a sanctioned 1 or 2 cattorgy cook. I think if you want to help make a existing contest bigger and better add a backyard event. I only do back yard cooks and we do almost 15 of them and I travel all over the place just to cook in them. Take St. Charles this past weekend had the pro teams @34 then on Sunday there were 60 back yard teams. All I am saying is if your looking to grow a event add a backyard event but don't treat it as a just some guys grilling there are serious competitors that travel the circuit and belive me we are just as competitive as the boys that cook all night. I would love some feed back if anyone took the time to read this.

St. Charles is actually a good example of a competition struggling for teams because of other competitions. There is a Sam's Regional event an hour away and a competition in Green Bay, Wi. The organizer for the St. Charles competition just sent our a survey and one of the questions was about alternate dates.

 

[DawgPhan]

Just going to throw this out there...

Doesnt more competitions mean more competition between competitions which means better competitions?

Just allow free markets to work instead of trying to regulate which contests win and which dont.

 

[TooSaucedToPork]

Just going to throw this out there...

Doesnt more competitions mean more competition between competitions which means better competitions?

Just allow free markets to work instead of trying to regulate which contests win and which dont.

*
I must respectfully disagree…
*
Down South this is the truth, up North it hurts contests.* Imagine you have a contest that has been the same weekend every year for 6 years. The organizer chose this weekend years ago, there was not a contest on this weekend for 300 miles. Add another contest 200 miles away the same weekend.
*
Do this in Memphis with a contest in Nashville and there is No problems. There are enough teams to fill both.
*
Do this in Buffalo with a contest in Syracuse. You got problems. You are drawing from a much smaller field of teams.
*
It’s all regional brother.
*

 

[Brewmaster]

I'm not sure what KCBS uses to determine if a contest is too close in distance, but there could be a benefit to two contests being this close. If one of the contest was able to switch to a Saturday/Sunday contest it might entice some of the point chasing teams to venture further to both contests. Just a thought.

 

[CBQ]

I'm not sure what KCBS uses to determine if a contest is too close in distance, but there could be a benefit to two contests being this close. If one of the contest was able to switch to a Saturday/Sunday contest it might entice some of the point chasing teams to venture further to both contests. Just a thought.

In the northeast they are almost always Sat/Sun. I don't know how you manage all those Fri/Sat contests down south, you must get a lot more vacation time than we do.

 

[CBQ]

Just going to throw this out there...

Doesnt more competitions mean more competition between competitions which means better competitions?

Just allow free markets to work instead of trying to regulate which contests win and which dont.

No. Let's take June in New England. There are only two contests in the entire region all month, and they are on the same day. You can only cook one. The free market does it's work, puts one out of business, and now you still have one.

How has that helped anyone?

Personally, I would have preferred 2. (4 really :becky: )

(OK, I suppose there is Merrimack, but the organizers ran that into the ground long ago, so doesn't count in my book. Actually that one is terrible for teams, but survives because they get a large public turnout and sell a lot of beer. Survival of the fittest doesn't mean the best contest for teams wins.)

 

[Roast Beast]

I'm not sure what KCBS uses to determine if a contest is too close in distance, but there could be a benefit to two contests being this close. If one of the contest was able to switch to a Saturday/Sunday contest it might entice some of the point chasing teams to venture further to both contests. Just a thought.

The more Saturday/Sunday contests, the better.

 

[Gowan]

In the northeast they are almost always Sat/Sun. I don't know how you manage all those Fri/Sat contests down south, you must get a lot more vacation time than we do.

You're never going to see many Sat/Sun events in Dixie.

Too many church-going folk down here.

 

[YankeeBBQ]

*
I must respectfully disagree…
*
Down South this is the truth, up North it hurts contests.* Imagine you have a contest that has been the same weekend every year for 6 years. The organizer chose this weekend years ago, there was not a contest on this weekend for 300 miles. Add another contest 200 miles away the same weekend.
*
Do this in Memphis with a contest in Nashville and there is No problems. There are enough teams to fill both.
*
Do this in Buffalo with a contest in Syracuse. You got problems. You are drawing from a much smaller field of teams.
*
It’s all regional brother.
*

Here's another point of view (mine not KCBS's). How about the situation where you go to the same contest year after year and watch it grow from a 15 team event to a 30 team event to a 50 team event. The public attendance grows every year and the gate fees start to pile up. The organizer never raises the prize money or only raises it slightly. They do less and less for teams because they no longer need to attract them because they have a waiting list for the event. Why should this event be protected by some mileage clause ? If another contest pops up a 100 miles away teams have a choice. If the original contest had done right by teams then they would never have to worry about losing them to another contest.

 

[Fat Freddy]

Steve, thank you for your input. I really do appreciate when the KCBS Board members chime in even if I agree or disagree. It makes me feel someone is at least hearing us.With what you described it is older established vs. new contests..My issue in the case I described here is that Ron and Dena Milhous organized a first year back to back event in Marshalltown Iowa. 2 contests a Friday/Saturday and a Saturday/Sunday October 17-19. There have been contests in Marshalltown in the past on different dates that struggled. The Milhous's created a totally new first year event on a different date because they believe in the area.

Then at the Whiting contest, the folks from the Winnavegas casino in Sloan came and picked the minds of Ron and Dena who were the reps for the Whiting contest, the Whiting organizers and several teams like Smokey d's, myself etc...And told a different date for the contest they wanted to organize for their first year contest. They had several of us teams excited because of the payouts they were planning.

Then one day it is listed on the KCBS website as the same day as the Marshalltown 2nd contest. Sloan Iowa to Marshalltown Iowa is 190 mile difference. And several contests in that area have struggled getting teams this year. State Center,Whiting,Nevada just to name a few that are between Sloan and Marshalltown. Thats either struggled to reach teams or did not reach enough teams to be a qualifier. There are several reason they might be down in numbers I tried to address a few possibilities, but regardless they are down.

Back to my point, hopefully it was just a simple mistake and wrong date was asked for but being a first year contest going against another first year contest seems one of the contests are set up for failure. I really truly hope I am wrong but what I fear most is not short term because I am sure both will hit 15 teams this year, but I am thinking each contest is going to take from the other contest where as if the Sloan Iowa contest is a week earlier or later teams would have the opportunity to knock out 3 contest in a 2 week period. I would say yes in theory the Marshalltown one could be moved but it has been planned since January, listed since April and had everything else in the works since probably then. Where the new contest as of July 3rd was still trying to get info on how to set it up but is now sanctioned. Personally I live closer to the Sloan Iowa one but I will be doing the other on just because I feel more confident in it.