Sam's Club National BBQ Tour - 2013

Wrench_H said:
He then sees my wife's uncle with a beer and tells me he is going to kick me out of the contest if he doesn't throw it out immediately. Sorry for the rant, but it drives me nuts when people talk about how great this guy is and how he is an ambassador for BBQ.
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Had a very similar situation with TB at the local I entered. He's a tool.
 
Now ya'll come out of the woodwork?

:razz:



But, but, but but....Sam's is the best contest we do every year.





The ONLY thing the Sam's Club series is doing is bringing in some decent money for Competition BBQ. They are acting as their usual King-of-the-Hill, My-way-or-the-highway self in the process.

Another large retailer WILL come along and give them some competition for a series with $$$. The folks in the boardrooms just have to find out about BBQ first.
 
Pigs on Fire said:
Another large retailer WILL come along and give them some competition for a series with $$$. The folks in the boardrooms just have to find out about BBQ first.
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You've talked about this before. How do you see it happening? Will some one else come to KCBS, and they'll have two big retail-sponsored series? Do you think KCBS can do more than one and promote them equally? Will the retailer go to another sanctioning body? Is any one else capable of putting on a series that includes more than 3 or 4 states? Judges is an issue. Will the retailer self-sanction and do it by their own rules? Would any one want to compete in that? Again, how would they get judges? Do you think that they'll be single events or more regionally oriented? I'd definitely love for there to be other series out there, and you seem convinced that it will happen. I'd love to know the how of it.

dmp
 
dmprantz said:
You've talked about this before. How do you see it happening? Will some one else come to KCBS, and they'll have two big retail-sponsored series? Do you think KCBS can do more than one and promote them equally? Will the retailer go to another sanctioning body? Is any one else capable of putting on a series that includes more than 3 or 4 states? Judges is an issue. Will the retailer self-sanction and do it by their own rules? Would any one want to compete in that? Again, how would they get judges? Do you think that they'll be single events or more regionally oriented? I'd definitely love for there to be other series out there, and you seem convinced that it will happen. I'd love to know the how of it.

dmp
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i don't think they would use judges. their pr folks probably frequent this board and figure they aren't worth the trouble. they would just pull folks in from the street.
 
Slamdunkpro said:
I could have done without the 15 minutes immediately following awards.:razz:
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We were thankful that they moved the awards up a 1/2 hour and sped through them. It was very good timing as we were heading out of the lot when the skies opened up. Driving was a bit dicey on the way home for awhile.
 
hogzgonewild said:
Maybe it's because we are spoiled here in GA, maybe it's because I'm picky, maybe it's something else, but we did the Sam's Club competition in Marietta in 2012, and unless there are 29 newbie teams signed up this year and one spot left....you won't catch me at another one.

To me, Troy Black came off as a pompous, holier than thou organizer who came in on a bus with two reps who couldn't have cared less. They were in it for the $$ and advertising, not for putting on a good contest or caring about the teams. And I am generally a mild mannered, southern gentleman, not one to speak my mind.

When we pulled in, I asked 6-7 people working the event about who was pulling teams in, and nobody could point me in the right direction. I waited for 20 minutes in my car with my trailer attached, and couldn't get an answer, so I pulled into a 10'X20' open space between the last competitor on a row and the cones. Troy decided to run his mouth and make me move over 10 feet to prove his point, only to come back 3 hours later after we were fully unpacked, and tell me I could have the other 10 feet.

Couple that with the 200 yard walk to get buckets of water, judges reporting entry numbers hitting their tables more than twice, and Troy taking off before awards, leaving the reps to do the job.....and you have one crappy competition.
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^^^ Probably because you didn't arrive with a 5th wheel or fancy trailer. The little guys like us that make up 90% of the BBQ teams out there that only pull a utility trailer and a pop up are 2nd class citizens to these guys. Though, I hear that may be changing for you soon. I hear you are moving up in the world. I hope you will still let me cook near you this season. :icon_smile_tongue:
 
I thought all the Sam's events that I attended were very well organized by Troy. The fact that there were so few problems in this 31 event tournament says a lot about how well organized it is. That is a lot of organizing and responsibility for 1 person. I'm a 1-man team, and I asked ahead of time if they'd let me park right next to my trailer since I have stuff that I keep in my truck, and they worked with me on that. I think anyone who attended one of these knows what the red cups are for. It is stated that Sam's has zero tolerance for alcohol on their property and if open containers are/were witnessed, that falls under the zero tolerance policy. It's the head cook's responsibility to ensure anyone with them uses the red cup advice. I can't complain about the competition opportunities Sam's club has provided, and I think they have been good for competition BBQ overall. Definitely looking forward to their 2013 competitions.
 
And here I was looking forward to signing up for our first one this year. With all this negative feedback, I'm having second thoughts.
 
I thought it was pretty well organized. The fact that there was no running water was not really a problem. They give you handy dandy shopping carts. Plus the store being open was nice. Run in grab some chips, a Nathan's hot dog and use a nice bathroom. I would sign up again.
 
cpw said:
And here I was looking forward to signing up for our first one this year. With all this negative feedback, I'm having second thoughts.
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I would let any of this effect your decision. Sure we had some problems with power and its sort of hassle to get water. The payouts and opportunity to compete in a tournament format are great. And its not like any of these problems can't or don't happen at any other contest.
 
Rich Parker said:
Haha... You can't believe everything you read on the internet. Like everything else in life not everyone is going to agree.
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One of my teammates helped another team at the Charleston contest. His only real complaint was the lack of water, but it was easily fixed by some 5 gallon buckets and a shopping cart.
 
Rich Parker said:
Haha... You can't believe everything you read on the internet. Like everything else in life not everyone is going to agree.
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Stated perfectly Rich. As much as that guy rubbed me the wrong way, I would assume that there are plenty of people that like him. I would guess that this could be true about all of us. Don't let my words discourage you from doing the competition.
 
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Wrench_H said:
Stated perfectly Rich. As much as that guy rubbed me the wrong way, I would assume that there are plenty of people that like him. I would guess that this could be true about all of us. Don't let my words discourage you from doing the competition.
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He wasn't the nicest to us either last year and I would probably feel different if I had your experience but the bottom line for me is the actual contest format that keeps me going back regardless of the organizer.
 
I could care less if the organizer is a tool. I personally consider Troy a friend and I realize that he is basically doing this by himself and an assistant. I have some minor tweaks to the series, but nothing huge. I do have a major problem with the judging. It has nothing to do with me not advancing at the contests. I realize that some days you are king and other days you are a chump. BUT after 2 years of judging inconsistencies, I am not sure I want to go back. I cook and have cooked a ton of contests. For me to receive a 4 in appearance and get beat by some idiot that looks like he put his meat in his box with a blender tells me something. (For the guys in MI they know who I am talking about and yes i saw his pictures of his turn ins.. I cant compete as much as I do if i am turning in 4 and 5's for appearances scores.) That tells me there is a TON of the judges are brand new off the street.
 
We're just happy to have a local this year in our neck of the woods (rumor has it). Not sure if we are gonna be able to cook it though. We are planning on staying close to home after all the miles we logged last year.
 
I'm ready!

I am hoping to enter the event this year again.

Had fun last year, logistics is a pain in the ass. I missed the finals by 6 points. Took 1st in ribs in Vegas and 27th in Albuquerque with the same set up (in fact I liked the 27th place ribs better than the 1st place ones.) but what do I know.

As far as Troy goes, he worked hard for all of us competitors and I’m disappointed in the bashing going on here. Don’t like him then don’t attend his events. Its that simple.

I am going to try and sign up for the one that is near the SEA and bring a boTTLE.

I also think the regional final will be in Vegas!!!! Can't go wrong with that!

Troy
 
Here's my take on the Sam's contests.

Overall I'm very happy with them!

Last year I judged Westworth Village, Texas and Midwest City, Oklahoma and I pit beotched for Slabs of Approval in Lenexa, Kansas. The year before I judged the one in Overland Park, Kansas. This year I will try my best to be involved with at least one of the Sam's Club contests.

Why? Because I think that the contests are well run on the whole. Year two was better than year one (with the exception of the sign-up SNAFU, which wasn't run by Sam's) and I'm expecting year three to be even better. Another reason is that three years ago Sam's Club dropped a bunch of money into a brand new BBQ tournament style format that no one was sure was going to work out. It looks like the format worked out pretty well :-D.

Personally I have my favorite contests that I will do my best to get into. I also have some (very few) contests that you couldn't pay me to be involved with again. The bottom line is pretty clear: vote with your feet and with your dollars.

I'm going to vote with mine to stay involved with the Sam's Club contests again this year.
 
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