Those dam judges

[Rookie'48]

In the above posts - buddies & SO's seated at the same table

• Pork collars & the 5lb rule - when was the last time you saw a rep with a scale?
• Judges not liking pork / chicken skin / whatever = low scores - where is the rep action at the event?
• Inconsistent judging instruction
• Parting pork and putting in back in the cooker - When have you ever seen a rep spot check a cooker?
• Incorrect application of the rules

Maybe the new BOD should add rep performance tracking & rep remedial training tests to their agenda. They could look at how many issues contests have and who the rep is - maybe there's a pattern.

It seems to me that one way to correct most, if not all of these problems is by education. Letting ALL members know what the rules are & when they're changed would go a long way in solving most issues. Not sitting with your spouse, SO, etc is well known but sometimes I see mother/daughter, brother/sister, etc. sitting at the same table. What about "buddies"? I've met a lot of judges in the past five years, am I allowed to sit with any of them or do I try to find a table where I don't know any one?

Maybe an occasional e-mail blast to ALL members (cooks, judges, Reps, organizers, every one) to remind us of the rules - like you're going to eat pork & chicken skin, it's a BBQ contest!

As far as the five pound rule, the meat should have been checked at the meat inspection. As far as the "parting" rule, I think that it should be eliminated but don't get me going on that one :doh:.

Consistent judging is only going to come if there is consistent teaching and some sort of continuing education.

Incorrect (?) application of the rules and tracking Reps is another problem, but we have had Reps disciplined by the BoD with some Reps getting suspensions or even being removed as a KCBS Contest Rep in extreme cases. I think that this process can be improved upon, but the basis is there.

 

[ModelMaker]

You know, all of you (us,I'm one also) cook teams want to cook a event and have your efforts judged fairly by well trained judges.
I as a judge I only want a way to weed out the judges that don't share the same thought process and guidlines. We all see them in the tent. If KCBS can't figure out a way to identify and remedy the problem there is always going to be this divide.
I don't like it.
Ed

 

[Fat Freddy]

One thing to consider is some KCBS contests(if not many) do not have 100% certified judges, so occasionally you may get a table with a judge that doesnt know as much as we all would hope they do. At one time I fell into this category but felt that I was enjoying judging so I should become a "trained" judge. I took the class and have been proud to be a certified judge. This year I felt the next logical step was to compete. I have yet to be very successful but I have not embarrassed myself either but I have learned alot that will make me a better judge when I cannot afford to compete.

 

[Alexa RnQ]

[*]Pork collars & the 5lb rule - when was the last time you saw a rep with a scale?

Actually, during this last season! Kelly and Kathleen MacIntosh had one. And, by the way, they do their own meat inspection -- not like some contests where it's delegated to someone who simply glances in a cooler for the presence of ice, as happened at a different contest we attended.

I only want a way to weed out the judges that don't share the same thought process and guidlines. We all see them in the tent.

This is perfectly answered by another circular argument, that levied against continuing education and mandatory comment cards below a certain score -- "It'll discourage participation by judges!" If marking a card or reading advisories is too arduous a task for some judges, are those really the judges we want in the tent?

 

[Boshizzle]

I'm tired of spending my hard earned money on a contest only to be thrown out of the top 5 by that dang judge #5...(its always that guy).

How do the top five feel about that dang judge #5? Seriously, it's not always the judges. The teams that win on a particular day are happy with the judges. The teams that don't aren't.

I think that judges need to be reminded that a KCBS comp is a meat contest. It's not about the sauce or the garnish or whether or not there is sauce on the lid of the box.

I also think that a more rigorous training program for table captains along with giving table captains some avenue of being able to correct bad habits practiced by judges early on instead of just having to bite their tongues throughout all four categories while some judge at the table continually makes bad judgements based on something other than the rules.