Tag Archive: TOY

  1. New Two-Tiered TOY Point System To Debut in 2017

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    MABA 2017 Team of the Year Rules

    It is the Board’s pleasure to finally share with you the rules for the MABA 2017 Team of the Year.  If you recall earlier last year, the Board conducted a membership survey and asked several team of the year questions.  In the survey, it was evident that members by and large wanted to a.) get rid of the MABA Cup point multiplier, and b.) establish a tiered TOY system.  Lots of work has gone into these changes.  The major points include—

    ·         The multiplier for the MABA Cup contests has been eliminated.  All contests will use the same multiplier and points system.

    ·         MABA TOY Division I will consist of teams that compete in 8 or more eligible competitions

    ·         MABA TOY Division II will consist of teams that compete in 7 or less eligible competitions.

    We think these changes to the system will be more inclusive and provide more competition for the membership as a whole.

    This will help recognize more teams for their accomplishments through our awards program.

    MABA 2017 Team of the Year (ToY) rules

    I. MABA will break down cook teams into two divisions in 2017.

    a. Division I will consist of teams that compete in 8 or more eligible competitions during the course of the competition season.

    b. Division II will consist of teams that compete in 7 or less eligible competitions during the course of the competition season

    c. A team DOES NOT have to declare what Division they wish to compete in during the season. This will be determined at year’s end automatically based on the number of eligible contests that are competed in.

    II. Accumulating Points for Teams.

    a. Team scores counted for Division I ToY shall be the EIGHT event tally of the sanctioning body point system for top EIGHT OR LESS finishes of MABA sanctioned contests and other sanctioning bodies as determined by the MABA Board of Directors within the Mid Atlantic BBQ Association States that include all of the primary 4 meat categories (Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork & Beef Brisket)

    b. Team scores for Division II shall be the tally of the sanctioning body point system for top FIVE OR LESS finishes of MABA sanctioned contests and other sanctioning bodies as determined by the MABA Board of Directors within the Mid Atlantic BBQ Association States that consist of the primary 4 meat categories (Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork & Beef Brisket)

    c. Competition Teams from Division II ARE eligible to win the Division I Team of the Year title if their combined points for the FIVE OR LESS contests competed in score enough points to make them eligible for Division I awards.

    d. Only open meat contests will award MABA ToY points. Competitor series, and any other invitational or restricted entry events will not award ToY points regardless of their physical location with the exception of the Sam’s Club Tour LOCAL contests.

    e. Only ONE team per Primary Membership is eligible to accumulate Team of the Year points in either division. That team MUST be designated BEFORE the beginning of the season. Points will not be scored or tracked for second or third or more teams on a membership.

    f. Current Sanctioning bodies approved for MABA ToY for 2016:
    • MABA
    • KCBS
    • SAMS Club Local Qualifiers ONLY – Regional’s and Finals are not included.

    g. Points for Overall Event Rankings
    1st place = 125 points
    2nd place = 100 points
    3rd place = 80 points
    4th place = 70 points
    5th place = 60 points
    6th Place = 50 points
    7th place = 45 points
    8th place = 40 points
    9th place = 35 points
    10th place = 30 points
    11th place = 25 points
    12th place = 20 points
    13th place = 15 points
    14th place = 10 points

    All other positions 15 and below = 5 Points.

    Point bonus multiplier

    Take the total number of teams at the event, divide is by 2 then express it as a percentage + 1

    i.e. a 50 team event; 50 / 2 = 25 / 100 = .25 +1 = 1.25 or a 25% point bonus. Points will be carried out to 4 decimal places. (.0000)

    MABA Cup events will NO LONGER CARRY BONUS POINTS! They will be scored the same as any other event.

    III. MABA ToY points will be awarded in the following categories:
    • Overall
    • Chicken
    • Pork Ribs
    • Pork
    • Beef Brisket

    IV. A competition year is defined as a calendar year from January 1st through December 31st.

    V. Recognition of TOY standings will be by team names attached to a chief cook and not by individual member’s names. MABA team names must be affiliated with designated chief cook in the MABA current membership database. The database is created from information listed on membership applications and/or annual renewals. The Chief Cook DOES NOT have to be present at an event in order for their team to accrue TOY points.

    VI. TOY points are only awarded to teams with current chief cook MABA member in good standing. A team must apply for membership AND pay for membership by 9:00am of the day turn ins are judged to accrue TOY points from that event. Teams cannot accrue points during any lapsed membership period. Teams can start to accrue TOY points again upon renewal of membership status.

    a. All teams are responsible for insuring their team name matches exactly between the MABA Membership roster and that of the KCBS Membership roster as well as at the event with the Contest Reps. Failure to do so will result in a team failing to receive points earned at a contest. The ToY Coordinator is not responsible for correcting a team’s failure to insure their team info is correct in both systems. Teams have until May 15 of that year to compare and insure their team name matches exactly.

    b. If one or more teammates are current MABA members but there is no team affiliation documented in the membership database, then their team cannot accrue points no matter how well they have competed. This will not be adjusted retroactively.

    c. MABA members may cook on more than one team throughout the course of a season. It is the responsibility of a noted team that places in the TOY standings to determine their teammates when representing MABA in any national competition, demonstration or exposition.

    d. Only valid teams that have earned the top TOY standings will be officially recognized in writing by the MABA board of Directors for representing MABA in any national events or promotions. Any recognition declared or made without the written consent of the MABA Board of Directors will result in that team’s name, and any MABA member documented to be affiliated with that team, shall be banned from any MABA TOY standings for one year.

    VII. Teams may not accrue TOY points for multiple events on the same contest date. A Contest date is determined by the first day that turns in are judged. If it is determined that a team has accrued points from multiple events on the same contest date all points accrued on those dates shall be forfeit and a penalty of 50 (fifty) ToY points overall and across all categories or the team’s total points accrued (whichever is less) shall be assessed. A second violation of this rule within the same competition year will result in a 2 year suspension from MABA ToY of the team, chief cook.

    VIII. Tie Breaker: In the event of a tie the following tie breaking procedure will be used:
    a. 1st tie breaker – The team with the greater number of 1st place finishes in that category
    b. 2nd tie breaker – The team with the greater number of 2nd place finishes in that category
    c. 3rd tie breaker – The team with the greater number of 3rd place finishes in that category
    d. If no resolution after the above tie breakers a coin flip will determine the outcome.

  2. Interview With the Champs – Redneck Scientific

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    by Brian Walrath, MABA Board Member and Pitmaster for Brown Liquor BBQ

    In case you’ve been under a rock for the last two years, perhaps you haven’t noticed the incredible run that team Redneck Scientific is on.  From Clayton, North Carolina and led by Pitmaster Jerry Stephenson, the pride of Johnston County has 10…yes, 10 grand championship in 2016 alone!  Along with his usual sidekick, sister Roxanne, you’ll see Redneck Scientific not only high on the MABA TOY points standings, but they’re right up there in the KCBS TOY standings too.  And if all this wasn’t enough, Jerry has a huge new project in the works soon to debut…check it all out in this month’s Interview With the Champs!

    Redneck Scientific logo

    Question:
    Wow, 10 GCs in 2016.  Can you point to one or two things that have been the difference this year or is it a combination of things?

    Jerry Stephenson, Redneck Scientific:
    I think the key to this year’s successes has been we’ve kept it really simple which has led us to be more consistent and make less mistakes than others. Also, I think we’ve worked out a flavor profile that’s appealing to judges and not something generic that has been replicated, bartered or stolen by others.

    But, the most compelling reason we are doing so well this season is I have a Roxanne. And no one else does.

    screen-shot-2016-10-18-at-2-24-38-pmQ:
    You’re right there in the hunt for KCBS Team of the Year, currently in second place and within striking distance.  Was chasing KCBS TOY one of the goals for this season?

    JS, RS:
    Third place actually as of today. And, no, chasing TOY was not a goal for us this year. We were gearing towards it in the future but this year is just kind of happened.

    Q:
    Will you keep up the rigorous schedule to try to secure the TOY win?

    JS, RS:
    We plan on finishing out the NC contests, The Jack and both the American Royal Invitational/Open. After that, I think we just shut it down. We’re short on TOY points due to the local NC/SC/VA contests not being full of cook teams like they have in the past. I’m not inclined to go chasing contests all over the nation with 35 or more teams to try to get max points either. In the end, this is a money game played by folks with a lot more money and time than I have at this moment. Maybe in the future we will be able to afford it to make a dedicated run at the KCBS TOY title. But, not right now.

    Q:
    Congratulations on qualifying for “The Jack.”  Will you also be heading to Kansas City this year for “The Royal?”

    JS, RS:
    Ironically, yes. The draw for the Jack was the factor in making our decision to go back to the Royal again this year. We’ve been the past 3 years and a good friend of mine was going there for his first time and wanted us to go with him. I told him the only way we would be going this year, because of all the stuff we have going on, is if we got the Jack draw. Which we finally did after 4 years of being eligible.

    I really think he paid someone off to make that happen too!

    Q:
    Recently you released some big news…can you tell us more about it here?

    Redneck BBQ Lab logoJS, RS:
    Yep. We’re doing exactly what I’ve said I would never do and are opening up a BBQ restaurant in Johnston County NC off of Interstate 40 at exit 319. We will be using our Backwoods Smokers to cook the meat (first and only ones in NC) and will be putting out a daily limited supply of a competition style product not currently being done in our area. We will serve until we run out of food each day. The name of the restaurant will be “The Redneck BBQ Lab”.

    Q:
    You’re heavily involved in Operation Barbecue Relief.  Can you tell us more about your involvement and how the rest of the barbecue community can help?

    JS, RS:
    OBR’s mission statement (“provides compassion, offers hope and friendship to those whose lives have been affected by disasters across the United States.”) shares a core philosophy of mine that food is a critical means to convey caring to people whether they are in need or just feel like they want to give something back to someone.

    All it takes to give is time and/or money. Both of which we all have a bit of. You can find out more about this at:  https://operationbbqrelief.org/.

    Q:
    Tell our readers about your team name, set up, and teammates.

    JS, RS:
    Redneck Scientific was formed in late 2011 as a smoker building company that ended up doing one KCBS competition that year. We’ve been competing now for 5 years. In that span of time, we have done 93 contests, won 18 Grand Championships, had 6 Reserve Grand Championships, had over 250 top ten calls, 3 MABA Cup wins in NC and 8 perfect 180 scores.

    We cook out of a unique custom 20-foot trailer that was built out and designed by us.  We cook on a Backwoods Smoker (Pro Junior). We are sponsored by Royal Oak charcoal, BBQ Guru, Mojobricks, Oakridge BBQ rubs and Q Company Backwoods Smokers.

    screen-shot-2016-10-18-at-2-20-45-pm
    Our team consists of my wife (Liz), Brother in Law (Sean Manley aka “The Guv”), my 2 daughters (Fiona & Elle), my sister (Roxanne) and myself.

    Q:
    Ok, I always ask our winning pitmasters this…what’s the one tip you have for those teams to help them break through and win their first GC or up their game in competition BBQ?

    JS, RS:
    Treat this game like baseball. Concentrate on hitting 4 singles and you’ll become a better team in the Overall standings…where it matters the most.

    Q:
    Any other goals for the remainder of 2016 or looking forward?

    JS, RS:
    Probably just finishing all of the things on my plate would be beyond comprehension to me right now! I’m doubting I can fit any other goals in unless we…

    Q:
    Anything else to add before we sign off?

    JS, RS:
    Yes. I forgot to note that our winning percentage has gone up 300% since attending Cook’s Church at our BBQ contests. Could be a coincidence but why take a chance? Attend one if you get a chance!