Question for seasoned competition goers.

Bamabuzzard

Bamabuzzard

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My neighbor competed in his first BBQ competition this last weekend in Bossier City, LA. "Smokin' On The Red" was the name of it I believe. On their website it stated it was a "sanctioned" event.

He ultimately didn't place in any of the major meat categories but did place 3rd in beans. But he said he didn't get a copy of his score card showing how he was graded. Is this common? I've never been in a comp but I thought that after it was over the teams received a copy of their score with the comments and such on it.
 
It depends on the sanctioning body. You'll get a score sheet for KCBS sanctioned contests, but for other sanctioning bodies, like IBCA, you won't.
 
In IBCA events, if you didn't get a Top 10 call, or your number called out for final table, then there is really no telling where you finished, you could have just missed final table, you might have finished DAL. It's one of the downfalls to IBCA and Texas style judging. The upside to Texas style judging is that more people taste your entries, not just 6. Pros and cons to both...
 
Sometimes the extra categories like beans and chefs choice aren't tallied on a sheet for you as they don't normally count towards the Grand Champion. Although he still would have gotten results for the main meats if it were KCBS.
 
I will never cook a contest where I wouldn't get a score card even if I finished last. How does any sanction get away with that? You pay them to compete you best be getting your results.
 
His biggest gripe (and rightfully so) is he has no idea where he missed the mark, by how far and what he needs to change the next go 'round. With a score card and some comments he can get some kind of feedback and "feel" of what he needs to improve upon. This way he's shooting in the dark.
 
Frankly it probably saved him some aggravation.. Anyway, i always get more aggravated after looking at the results...

KCBS you have to go the the rep to get it they do not in my experience track you down to make sure you receive it.
 
Bamabuzzard said:
His biggest gripe (and rightfully so) is he has no idea where he missed the mark, by how far and what he needs to change the next go 'round. With a score card and some comments he can get some kind of feedback and "feel" of what he needs to improve upon. This way he's shooting in the dark.
Click to expand...

I haven't kept up as much as I should have but I don't believe comment cards are a requirement.
 
Bamabuzzard, I fully understand his gripe, but the cook he was at was loaded with some of the strongest IBCA cooks from Texas and Louisiana, so I wouldn't leave there discouraged if I was him. If I had to offer advice to a new cook in IBCA, cook middle of the road BBQ (which I think works with most sanctioning bodies) , not too sweet, not too much heat, and cook it tender.
The lack of feedback and help towards newer cooks is a big reason the IBCA has an upstart, rival organization in Louisiana, the BCA.
 
No score sheets (yet) for BCA either! I hope they figure out a way to do it.
 
Since IBCA and other TX groups are the only TRUE blind judging system when even the reps can not tell whose box is whose, there is only so many things that can be done to report who shot who. If the winner does not come forward or has lost his ticket, he become a loser. There was a cookoff series in San Antonio where the numbers were removed from the boxes and cataloged and after it was all over, the cooks could come and see where their box got to in the judging process. It took a rather large group of worker bees and a bit of cooperation between the reps, the cooks and the promoter to accomplish.

I think that the biggest thing to say is half of the boxes move to the next level in each stage of the judging and there can be as many as 15 judges at each table so if the box moves to the next level, it was good bbq.

The draw back to this style is the amount of time between turn-ins varies based on the number of teams. Large cook-offs can be as much as 2 hours between each turn in and this requires a good understanding of how to do your craft as that information becomes available at the cooks meeting.
 
I respectfully disagree, Mack! Someone who is determined to follow a box, can.
 
And teams can horse trade tickets because it is so anonymous. I'm not saying it happens, but it easily could....
 
That is very sad...up here in PNWBA land comment cards are the norm and are a wealth of information for us cooks.
 
I cook in IBCA often. The concept is the common man or woman judging bbq with advancement to the next table. If you make it to the intermediate table(s), you have another chance to advance. It takes away the table of death or the table of angels to a large extent. If you make it to the final table, it is usually announced as a ticket number...not a team name (true blind judging). The top ten are called and the other 7 or so at the final table are posted. If you are not in those numbers, maybe you should work on your stuff? Hillary quote: "at this point what difference does it make"?

Yep, no garnish or appearance score. But one score from each untrained (previous bias unknown?) judge from 1 to 10. Yep. They don't get to pick it up; have to just "taste and feel it" in their mouth. No coolers. Sauce has to be cooked on, no sauce off the pit. A meat contest.

What a concept. A true...how good is your meat?

Btw...the IBCA champ won 1st place in 2 out of the 4 meat contests at the KOS contest this year. Congrats Ronnie!
 
In addition, the KOS contest is the most fair "KCBS" type of judging in my opinion. There are 24 teams. There are 4 meats. There are 6 judges per table. Every judge tastes every teams meat.
 
Candy Sue said:
No score sheets (yet) for BCA either! I hope they figure out a way to do it.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ, Candy! If that's the case, then what the devil have I been so busy with? Between the score sheets and the comment cards, I barely have time to breathe after awards! Come see us in Marksville!

Candy Sue said:
I respectfully disagree, Mack! Someone who is determined to follow a box, can.
Click to expand...

I challenge you, Candy - come work in the judging area with me. I know several cookers who have and have tried to follow a box - they were never able to.

Lynn H.
 
Well put SDAR...
Although the IBCA does not have comment cards or scoresheets, they DID have one benefit that proved very useful to the newer cooks, you were allowed to go up and sample the meat from the boxes of the top 10 finishers after awards. Unfortunately, this past August, that rule was changed. Now the boxes must be thrown out immediately after awards. I have heard differing stories as to why from health and safety concerns from sampling meats that had been set out for hours to there were a few influential cookers that didn't want their meats sampled. Credit goes to gmholler and the newly formed BCA which is based out of Louisiana for their work in going the extra mile for newer cooks including a recent class instructed by some of Louisianas' best comp cooks.
 
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