Competition Judging

[dpeirce]

We just finished our second competition of the season and after looking at the scoresheets you really have to question the training some of the judges receive. The first 3 give you "9" for appearance the 4 gives a "6" Were the first 3 wrong or the 4th one wrong. This disparity in judging does nothing to encourage new teams to compete. By the time you're ready to start competition you have invested a fairly large sum of money into equipment and practice. It's very frustrating to see the scores come back this way. I would be interested to hear what some other teams think about this. I'm not crying the blues and will continue to compete but I would like to hear from some others.

 

[smokin' dick]

I took the KCBS judging class and have judged only one competition. At the class the instruction is aimed at getting the judges to know what the KCBS rules are for the submitted meats. Things like what type of garnish, number of pieces in the box, simple stuff. The judges are instructed to judge each submission on it's own merits and not compared to the others or even what that judge holds as the perfect Q. Difficult. Since the judging is so subjective and can really only be ones opinion about what Q should be newer teams have a harder time getting the good scores. One of the more successful teams in the Northeast is on the advisory board that establishes the style of Q at these classes, so if you cook their way, scores might be higher.
Good Q does stand out when you have six different pieces in front of you, and I do remember that what I gave an 8 for in a certain category another judge would give a significantly different score. The judges personal tastes and sense of aesthetics comes into play in these events, so until a competitor knows the very narrow field of winning Q, the scores will be all over the place. I have only competed twice and have had the same experience as you with big swings in the numbers. That's just the way it is.