Amateur/Backyard to Professional


 

Benji Chong

TVWBB Super Fan
I know it varies, but ballpark, how many Amateur/Backyard Comps do most people get under their belts before trying to compete in the Professional Comps? Do some even skip Amateur/Backyard all together?
 
We never did backyard before entering a sanctioned competition. The thing that hepled most was a competition class, it really shortens the learning curve, depending on which school it is. Rub has a great class not that far from you. Swamp Boys is the name of his team and how the class is promoted. swampboys.com. He is in Winter Haven, Fl. If I lived closer I'd be signed up in a heart beat. You might have seen him competing on BBQ Pitmasters.
 
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Thanks for the info! Just checked out the website and looks like i missed his Q School by a few weeks, as it was the 1st week of October. I'll be sure to be on the lookout for his next one.
 
You can email Rob a/k/a Rub, and ask when the next one will be. He is a great guy. I think he is at the Jack Daniels this week. Also may be in the World Food Championship in NV Nov. 6.
 
A judging class helps tremendously too. In my opinion, it's really important to know what the judges are looking for. We all (my teammates and I) took a class to become certified KCBS BBQ judges a few years back and I think it's been a huge help.

Oh, and we pretty much jumped right into competitions (we only do like 3- 4 a year due to limited availability) with some varied results.
 
A judging class helps tremendously too. In my opinion, it's really important to know what the judges are looking for. We all (my teammates and I) took a class to become certified KCBS BBQ judges a few years back and I think it's been a huge help.

Agreed ! Also helps understand why there will always be some variance in your scores...
 
Rub's class is extremely good. Since you are in the Tampa Bay area you might also check out Big Papa's cooking school down in Naples. I've taken both and I recommend both. In fact, I was in Dana's (Big Papa) very first class. I consider both good friends and I won't rate one over the other. Dana's next class is in December. I don't see a date for Rub's next one, but he usually does one in the spring.

If you care to go the judging route, there are FBA judging seminars (required to judge) coming up in December in Perry and one in January in Fort Pierce. Go to the FBA website to sign up. Lot's of fun.

Almost forgot to answer your original question. Really the only reasons I've ever seen to do backyard is if you're only going to do one or two comps a year or you're going to enter less than all four meat categories. If you don't enter all four categories, you aren't eligible for grand or reserve in pro division. If you're just getting started and you want to see what it's all about without dumping a lot of money and time, enter backyard, and do one or two categories. Better yet, go to a comp (on Friday), meet some teams and ask to shadow along during a comp. That way you get the full 'flavor' of competing, get some tips, and don't spend hardly anything. That's how I started out.

Russ
 
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