Teams leaving before awards

I don't necessarily have a problem with a team having to leave before awards as long as the organizers know about it beforehand. If you have to drive a long ways it might be the only way you get to compete.

But if in fact what you say is true about the other team missing the last turn in, that's a whole other issue. I for one wouldn't even THINK about doing anything other than getting the turn ins done before helping someone out.

GreenDrake said:

I really don't care if I get flamed for it, but I have to say, there is nothing more damaging to the fantastic culture of the bbq family dynamic than to have a team, sneak in late to a comp, show up, toss their meat on the table and leave the event immediately after last turn in. Not only does it show complete arrogance, but is disrespectful to contest organizers, fellow teams and the general public.

I found this last weekend to be one fantastic competition, marred a bit by the actions of a national team who swept in and did get the GC, but was hours away on the road by the time awards happened. Only if their intent was to snag a bung for next year, it was cut short by karma, when the team that had helped them load up, missed last turn in and the event did not become a qualifier because of it.

So if you are a big shot team, don't forget where you came from and those around you that are doing it for the love of the experience. When you pack up and bail before even bothering to tell organizers or show up for awards, the last thing you leave in your wake is every other team at the event thinking "what an a$%$(le". Don't be that guy.

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He could have just not showed up at all and it wouldn't have been a qualifier in the first place. I am good friends with the person you are talking about. One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Maybe you should take in to the equation that he had a good 15 hour drive ahead of him and also owns a business to tend to. This is not a common practice of his, he just needed to get on the road. The only "karma" would be for the team who didn't turn in brisket considering they had a call in the other 3 categories they potentially costed themselves their own GC.

I dont know the situation you speak of, however let me use myself in 2 examples. A local event asked me to cook for their beer garden and dance, making good money, at the same time a contest was going on and the organizer really wanted us there because we had done this contest several years. I explained my problem and the organizer put us in a location where we could leave right away after final turn ins. At cooks meeting awards were announced to be quite a bit earlier than expected so we chose to stay, glad we did 3rd overall. But if awards were not early we would have had to leave before awards.

Also LEGALLY I am not allowed to drive at night, an eye disease I have. Fortunately I have never been in a position to push my luck. If a contest awards are a scheduled late one or obviously running late I might be inclined to leave early.

I guess what I am trying to say is unless you actually talk to the team and know their particular situation, there may be more to the story that what is on the surface.

I've done this exact thing (I will notify the reps and organizers before the event) and will do it again in the future without a second thought. Competitions can take up 30-40 weekends a year for these "National Teams". That doesn't mean life stops. Work must go on, kids have birthdays and sporting events, etc... It isn't a preference. It's a necessity. We compete for fun and the experience, but we also do it to sell products and classes or to, yes, win (to ultimately sell products and classes). Sometimes teams need to show up late and leave early.

I also don't feel a team is obligated to meet and greet time after the competition either. He payed to take part in this event not the other way around so he has no obligations to the public or the other teams. If the organizer were to pay him an appearance fee, then that dynamic would be different, obviously.

Just my 2 cents.

I also know the Parrot and will also vouch for him. He wins and loses with about as good a grace as we can hope to teach our children. By no means what so ever an a**hole as you refer to him as. Maybe you should call him direct and ask him for yourself before blasting him on some sold out social media BBQ blog. You know, the real way to handle issues when you are unsure of why or how something happened. #NCO

I'm not sure how the team that cut out before the awards is any different than any other team at the event. My wife and I like to talk with the different teams at the events we judge at. We find the best time to visit is on the Friday night before everyone gets into cooking mode. Saturday afternoon is really hit and miss as far as visiting a the teams as everyone is cleaning up and getting the trailer ready to pull out as soon as the awards are finished. A lot of teams are good for a quick word or two but we feel like we are imposing as they are busy getting packed up. Even is a team is there at awards it seems like they are usually too busy to socialize to any great extent and we find that understandable.

Haters are always gonna be haters, nothing new. I too will vouch for John or any other team cooking 30 contests a year, it's a strain to say the least.

GreenDrake said:

Yeah Freddy I know, no one knew the situation, and of course there are instance where they have other things. I think the general perception was negative because no one knew. Some of the teams were looking forward to meeting everyone, etc.

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I think the thing more damaging to the "family" is stirring stuff up when you don't have full knowledge of the situation (as you've admitted). This is not a good look Drake & the better move is probably to admit you might have overblown the situation a little bit & move on.

The person this is directed at does read this forum occasionally but does not post. Upon reading this thread he asked me to pass along the following message:


the organizer did tell us that she understood if we wanted to take off and get an early jump on the return trip. she made an unsollicited offer both fri and sat morning. so to say she didnt know anything about us leaving is absolutely incorrect. the organizer knew we had a 19 hour return trip for don. she made the offer not once but twice. again to be very clear she asked us if we wanted to leave early. We didnt ask her. she understood don had a 19 hour return drive. as far as the meeting teams part i was at the comp site for approximately 30 hours. got to make a few new friends. helped a team make kale boxes and did a little cooking. sorry we didnt get to opportunity to meet you during that time frame. sadly the 30 minutes during awards is a difficult time to properly get to know anyone. wish you had stopped by before so we could have chewed the fat then.

To add to this, I don't think John has "forgot where he came from" either. He is still one of the few who is cooking out of an ez up and sleeping on top of his coolers. There probably isn't a more accessible pit master than him. If he's not at his cook site, check the nearest bar, or pizza joint and you'll probably find him.

So what's going on in here?? Oh...........oh dear.............

smokeymountainq said:

i think the thing more damaging to the "family" is stirring stuff up when you don't have full knowledge of the situation (as you've admitted). This is not a good look drake & the better move is probably to admit you might have overblown the situation a little bit & move on.

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bingo!!!!!

Oh, and by the way john, congrats on another win.

Well...you did say you were going to get flamed over this.:razz:

I was also there, I can see both sides and I understand why you would want to get on the road with that far of a drive ahead of you. I appreciate the fact that he came to help make the contest a qualifier! On the other hand, the organizer, who is a super lady and only involved with one of these contests a year, didn't even get a picture with the GC.

As teams, especially up here, I feel we need to do the little things to help the organizers feel like it is worth their time and effort to even put on these contests, things such as doing peoples choice (which I admit, I can rarely do because I cook 100% alone). Jon is a nice guy and I am sure he meant no harm and does have a business to run. However, he wasn't the only one at this contest that was 1000+ miles from home and they attended the awards........

I had fun and it was great to meet new friends from the PNWBA!

GreenDrake said:

I really don't care if I get flamed for it, but I have to say, there is nothing more damaging to the fantastic culture of the bbq family dynamic than to have a team, sneak in late to a comp, show up, toss their meat on the table and leave the event immediately after last turn in. Not only does it show complete arrogance, but is disrespectful to contest organizers, fellow teams and the general public.

I found this last weekend to be one fantastic competition, marred a bit by the actions of a national team who swept in and did get the GC, but was hours away on the road by the time awards happened. Only if their intent was to snag a bung for next year, it was cut short by karma, when the team that had helped them load up, missed last turn in and the event did not become a qualifier because of it.

So if you are a big shot team, don't forget where you came from and those around you that are doing it for the love of the experience. When you pack up and bail before even bothering to tell organizers or show up for awards, the last thing you leave in your wake is every other team at the event thinking "what an a$%$(le". Don't be that guy.

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Thnaks for the update, it helps put it all in context

tduffy said:

The person this is directed at does read this forum occasionally but does not post. Upon reading this thread he asked me to pass along the following message:


the organizer did tell us that she understood if we wanted to take off and get an early jump on the return trip. she made an unsollicited offer both fri and sat morning. so to say she didnt know anything about us leaving is absolutely incorrect. the organizer knew we had a 19 hour return trip for don. she made the offer not once but twice. again to be very clear she asked us if we wanted to leave early. We didnt ask her. she understood don had a 19 hour return drive. as far as the meeting teams part i was at the comp site for approximately 30 hours. got to make a few new friends. helped a team make kale boxes and did a little cooking. sorry we didnt get to opportunity to meet you during that time frame. sadly the 30 minutes during awards is a difficult time to properly get to know anyone. wish you had stopped by before so we could have chewed the fat then.

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I would also like to say that over the past couple of years we have gotten to know John. I have nothing but respect for him. He could of gone to any number of contests closer than Missoula. He was on site well before we were and we live 5 hours away. As a small business owner ourselves things have to be done and sometimes that extra couple of hours makes a difference.

As for as the late turn in goes. That was the first time it has ever happened to us. And you can ask almost anyone at that cook. As soon as it happened I personally made a lap and tried to connect with all the teams. If they were outside where I noticed them or had the door open to a trailer I knocked. I wanted to apologize to ever team I could, as I knew the implications of our error caring much more so as to how it pertained to the qualifying status and less about what it meant to our teams chances of GC. We knew we had a solid cook and brisket was going to be our strongest meat of the day. It was poor planning on our part and for that we had to pay the price. That error will hang with me until our next contest. I am just grateful we don't have to wait untill next year.

It was during my walk around that John asked if I would be able to pick up anything he wins because I will be seeing him in a few weeks. I of course was more then willing to help out because that's what we do. It was not Karma and I feel that is a cheap and easy way to try and justify feelings you have. But I agree you should of either contacted him directly or just left it to your self. For us this was a great contest but one we would surely like to forget when the clock struck 1:35.

i'm not going to flame anyone, but I sure hope a valuable lesson has been learned about obtaining facts before publicly calling someone out like that.

I've never had to leave early but I can promise you that if I did I would. it's my money.

MToutlaw said:

As for as the late turn in goes. That was the first time it has ever happened to us. And you can ask almost anyone at that cook. As soon as it happened I personally made a lap and tried to connect with all the teams. If they were outside where I noticed them or had the door open to a trailer I knocked. I wanted to apologize to ever team I could, as I knew the implications of our error caring much more so as to how it pertained to the qualifying status and less about what it meant to our teams chances of GC. We knew we had a solid cook and brisket was going to be our strongest meat of the day. It was poor planning on our part and for that we had to pay the price. That error will hang with me until our next contest. I am just grateful we don't have to wait untill next year.

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That was a class act. The easy thing to have done would have been to go back to your site and mope. I'm sure taking the time to explain, and apologize, was appreciated.

Cooks have long memories. Those that stick around are much more likely to remember your taking the time, than the missed opportunity at winning a qualifier. It's another example of the great people you find in BBQ.