What happened to comps?

[rdstoll]

I participated in my one and only official KCBS event in 2015, the Grill Games in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It was great but life circumstances distracted me from entering another one.

I'm looking to get back in the game but am learning that almost all the KCBS events in my area (SE Wisconsin and Northern Illinois) are gone, and that few options remain.

It's also been a long time since I've been on the Competition BBQ thread, which used to be dominated with lots of activity, upcoming contests, and results.

I'm trying to understand what happened? Did KCBS BBQ comps die for some reason? Are people no longer interested?

 

[thirdeye]

In the intermountain west the number of competitions has declined and one reason is sponsor support. Complaints of some judges and cooks is the distance to travel, fuel costs, and increase in lodging. From my town, which has an October competition, the next closest is 150 miles, and the next three or four are 220 miles to 300 miles away.

 

[ronbrad62]

I have seen a serious decline, especially since the onset of COVID, I guess since a lot of competitions were put on hold at the very beginning of COVID and a lot of festivals were canceled but the contests were still held, and that put a big damper on sponsorship because the only attendees were the teams. I also think it caused a lot of teams to reevaluate if they really wanted to continue to cook, especially given the increase in the price of fuel, meats, etc. I know I was considering stepping away from competing (backyard cook), but my wife knows how much I like to get out and cook and mingle with friends, so I mostly continue to do it as a break in my normal routine. It's still an expensive break, but an enjoyable one.

 

[twatsonr1]

IMO, in 2015, competition BBQ was still building from the BBQ pit master series. And then slowly the competitors got bored. And then the Rona hit, and as mentioned prices shot through the roof. Coupled with at the events, people come bc they want to taste the products, but very minimal people/teams do that. So that lost fans, and sponsors. And the end result is minimal money for multiple events.