Scoring?

[sfisch]

Perhaps we need a Judges Liaison to help develop and relay the ideas being expressed between the bbq world and the judges world. Just a thought.

Scott

[spydermike72]

Originally Posted by sfisch

Perhaps we need a Judges Liaison to help develop and relay the ideas being expressed between the bbq world and the judges world. Just a thought.

Scott

Make that recommendation to the KCBS...

On a serious note, the only thing that is going to make the judging process better is for KCBS to manage it better. Bill has some great ideas on how to do this and I hope he has spoken to Mike Lake about them.

Until then I guess we will have to continue with the wild swings that we are seeing...

[Rich Parker]

Originally Posted by rlwestbrook

Interesting thread. After visiting a number of BBQ events large and small around the country in 2009 and 2010 I decided to get more involved in the competitive BBQ world. My wife Joan and I took our judging class this spring with Mike Lake. We have had the opportunity to judge 4 events this year, Sam's TC local, Sam's Indy Regional, Monroe and Silver Lake. We also volunteered to be grunts and work from set up to cleanup at the Sam's event. We joined GLBBQA and made a point of attending events, talking with as many teams as possible and introducing ourselves. It has all been a very positive experience and we have been welcomed very graciously, for that thank you to all. It does helps that we are outgoing people.

This year has provided me with a unique learning curve for a new judge. Some observations ranked in random order.

After working with both the Ford's and the Lake's as Reps I was impresssed with their professionalism in handling the tent. They made a point of making sure the table were well mixed with seasoned judges, many whom they knew and appeared to trust, with those with less experience. Where I thought an area of weakness was with the table captains. In two contests judges were appointed to be table captians with out formal training. The fault of no shows, so you work with what you got. At the two contests where I worked with trained table captains they made a point of leading a quick discussion after each round to give both comment and feedback as to which samples we ranked high and low. I found this to be very helpful to get affirmation that my choices were in line with the rest of the table. The table captain encouraged the writing of comment cards when low scores were given, something I think should be mandatory. Teams both deserve and need the feedback.

I feel that judges should be encouraged early in their careers to cook with a competitive team, maybe after they have judged a few contests. This will sort out the samplers from those committed to being better judges. This of course requires committed teams to the program that can handle a novice cooker.

In reverse I would encourage all cooks to take a seat in the judges tent. It would certainly promote a reduction of the us against them attitude I have detected at times.

At it's best it is a imperfect system. It can only be improved by everyone who has a stake in cooking and enjoying great BBQ being open to improving the process. I am certainly open to having a ongoing dialogue either on line or in person. After all I want to judge the best, cooked by the best.

When you and your wife are ready to cook with a team, look me up as I always enjoy having judges cook with me.

[Rich Parker]

Originally Posted by spydermike72

Make that recommendation to the KCBS...

On a serious note, the only thing that is going to make the judging process better is for KCBS to manage it better. Bill has some great ideas on how to do this and I hope he has spoken to Mike Lake about them.

Until then I guess we will have to continue with the wild swings that we are seeing...

Are you saying "swings" as in it is your opinion that the same ribs scored a 175 at one comp and then scored 150 at the next?

[crewdawg52]

Originally Posted by Rich Parker

When you and your wife are ready to cook with a team, look me up as I always enjoy having judges cook with me.

Wouldnt hurt having a runner too

[spydermike72]

Originally Posted by Rich Parker

Are you saying "swings" as in it is your opinion that the same ribs scored a 175 at one comp and then scored 150 at the next?

Yep, something like that...

[mikerobes]

Originally Posted by Rich Parker

When you and your wife are ready to cook with a team, look me up as I always enjoy having judges cook with me.

I'm a judge, shall we start out together in Armada? I wear an XL by the way
I'll even bring charcoal

[crewdawg52]

Originally Posted by Rich Parker

Are you saying "swings" as in it is your opinion that the same ribs scored a 175 at one comp and then scored 150 at the next?

Originally Posted by spydermike72

Yep, something like that...

Only thing there is different taste buds........... I guess.

Different tastes in different parts of the country can be very frustrating. Sweet here, not as much sweetness and more spice there, etc, etc.

Maybe there should be standardization for the use of rubs, sauces, etc for the 4 categories of meats for all KCBS sanctioned events. All teams using the same stuff.

This is just an out loud thought process. I know it would never float, but interesting thought, I thought.

[Rich Parker]

Originally Posted by crewdawg52

Wouldnt hurt having a runner too

Most definitely!

Originally Posted by spydermike72

Yep, something like that...

My wife likes really sweet bbq and if you gave her a piece of bbq with ANY heat she would not like it one bit. So if you turned in a piece of chicken with a nice kick on the back end I would probably give it a 9 where you would be lucky to get a 6 probably get a 5 from my wife. So why is that wrong?

Taste and appearance are extremely subjective and that can't be changed and shouldn't be.

[Rich Parker]

Originally Posted by mikerobes

I'm a judge, shall we start out together in Armada? I wear an XL by the way
I'll even bring charcoal

I got something for you!