To be fair though it would appear this sentiment is slowly being lost with the increasing amount of competitions and prize money on offer and the spread of said competitions across the nation. I recently did a podcast for Ben from Smoking Hot confessions and he asked me what my favourite competition to date was, granted I was given the questions in advance but when I thought about it, my favourite competition was our first back in 2015. The reason was, that everyone was so friendly, it was like we were all in the same boat and yeah there were more than a few egos but the comradery was there. These days’ comps seem extremely cut throat – for example at our last comp I had several competitors whom I regard as friends tentatively walk in to our marquee and say “do you mind if I come in”? My instant reply was “why would I mind”? And all of their responses were about shigging – BBQ term for copying or stealing trade secrets. How things have changed in just over a year.
Anyway, back to the drunken conversation and in answer to my mate’s question…… I explained that most BBQ competitions in Australia were sanctioned by the ABA which would be the equivalent to the UFC and there was a couple KCBS competitions in this case the MMA equivalent to Bellator. As far as there being a Connor MacGregor I was at a loss on that one – well at least being from Tasmania I wasn’t aware of anyone who talked as much shit as MacGregor and actually backed it up. No doubt I could easily name several shit talkers in comp land but as far as them backing it up, that’s where the comparison ends. Still dumbfounded and reaching for another beer my mate said “You’re not helping your cause” with a look on his face that clearly inferred I was an idiot. At this stage I realised that the analogy was of more interest to me in that I was clarifying to myself the transitional phase that competition BBQ was currently in. Not wanting to be selfish and exclude him from what was incredibly interesting to me yet completely alien to him I verbalised my realisation whilst trying to stay on topic making it relate to MMA. I asked “So would you agree Connor MacGregor has effectively revolutionised the way fighters not only promote themselves but also dictate the amount they get paid and subsequently negotiate contracts?” “For sure” he replied. “And would you agree this is because of the UFC’s overall success – Connor wouldn’t have been able to do that 10 years ago, right?” “Probably not” he said. “Well that’s where we’re at with competition BBQ in Australia. At some point, we will get there but for now we are still in the Tito Ortiz phase. I would rather be a seasoned veteran who’s respected within the community when we get to that stage than a ‘Noob’ trying to break in to an established scene.” From here on in the conversation became drivel due to the alcohol and he kept giving me shit calling me Tito so the relevance of the drunken analogy ended. In saying that, it did make me question what is the objective of competition BBQ in Australia. Granted low and slow BBQ in a competition format is derived from the USA where it is massive and teams can effectively compete full time year-round and if successful make a living from it. In Australia however we are nowhere near that stage; as explained we are still very much in an evolutionary phase and as a result we have to accept the short comings of the competitions themselves, whether that be the inexperience of judges, or conversely the lack of availability of experienced judges; or the format and structure of events, where for example teams are being effectively used as a spectacle to attract the public who are paying to attend what are coined as “BBQ Festivals”. We are also now increasingly seeing events where teams submit entries over two days, arguably so as to give the general public something to watch on festivals that are held over two days. Even the teams themselves can be questioned. Is it all becoming about winning to the point where you have to ask someone you consider a friend for permission to enter their marquee? I would like to think that to date the points I have raised are yet to tarnish my love for BBQ in any format. The BBQ is a staple of the good old Aussie summer which has always been a central theme to families and more so communities. I’ve travelled the world and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people from all over the world say “Throw another shrimp on the barby”. But it does make me wonder: is the competition component of competitive BBQ killing what is an Australian way of life? All I can say is I hope not and I hope we forge our own path and keep the creativity, fun and comradery in BBQ and not make the Aussie way of life just another money-making mechanism to be exploited. In the early stages of UFC competitions, prize money was minimal and the sponsorship endorsements for both the event itself and the fighters were also minimal. This was likely due to the small following the sport had in the early days. Arguably, you could say the same about competition BBQ in Australia at present. For example, we (our team) have approximately 7 sponsors who help us with products only – we get no money at all to help us compete. To get sponsors for our team was hard work and we continue to work hard to help them promote their respective businesses. We have also lost three sponsors as they haven’t seen “the worth” in backing us, so it’s swings and roundabouts. Also in comparison, low and slow in Tasmania is definitely not main stream and throughout Australia the movement is still in its infancy so the following from the public is still relatively small. As I’m not a promoter I can’t really comment but from what I gather, sponsors for events in Australia are hard to acquire as well. To a certain degree, it’s up to the competitors to market themselves. Popular competitors, whether it be in BBQ or UFC are always more “bankable”. Promoters will always want the big names at their events – just look at how much money Connor Macgregor has made the UFC to date and what Rhonda Rousey has done for womens MMA. For those of you who don’t know who these people are – put simply they’ve helped bring a spotlight to the sport of MMA.
Again, with regards to sponsorship, the UFC recently implemented a marketing strategy where Reebok are the key sponsor for fighter’s apparel. Previously, fighters could have their own sponsors for apparel, allowing them to make extra income on top of their fight purse. Since the appointment of Reebok, the extra income is now usurped by the promotion. Similarly this has and continues to be a bone in contention in Aussie competition BBQ with some team sponsorship deals clashing (not literally) with event sponsorship deals resulting in teams being unable to promote their sponsors at specific events. It’s fair to say, that in any competition format where there are promoters, competitors, sponsorship deals and most importantly money, there will always be somewhat of a discord. A promoter’s job within this format is to promote the event - nothing more nothing less - they make money from the event and the bigger the event the more money they make, it’s simple. If you ever hear a promoter say that they’re not making money from an event, the likelihood is they are incredibly bad at their jobs. I mean, let’s not be under any illusions here, promotion is marketing designed to make you buy a product and in this case the product is the event. To give you another UFC example one of the biggest UFC stars in the early days was a guy called Tito Ortiz. Tito was constantly falling out with management as he wasn’t getting paid well but he was pulling in huge crowds making millions for the promoters. Unfortunately, as the UFC was the only viable promotion at the time, there was nothing he could do about it. If he wanted to fight he had no choice but to do so under the banner of the UFC which effectively minimalised his negotiating position when it came to being reimbursed. But this is what happens when monopolies become too powerful. A good friend said to me recently “Without competition, monopolies can easily become dictatorial”. Of late a lot of teams have put it to me that they feel as if they are being used as "sideshows" or "spectacles" to bolster public attendance at what are commonly being known as BBQ Festivals. So yeah, ok these might seem like shitty terms to the lay person but I live in an optimistic bubble and would like to think that people are intelligent enough to work out for themselves that in essence we are in one way or another, tiny cogs in a huge capitalist machine. Not to mention we’re all adults we all make our own decisions in life and we’re not being forced against our wills to compete. We are all responsible for our decisions. Not to mention, nearly everything in this day and age is about money, everything that is, except for most competition BBQ’ers. Most teams I know don’t compete for the money which is a good thing, trust me if you compete in competition BBQ in Australia to make money, you should get a day job or you’ll end up broke! continued..........
For example; arguably without the UFC, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in its current guise wouldn’t exist. To give you an idea, MMA is essentially a fighting discipline which requires knowledge of grappling - generally wrestling or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and striking - generally boxing or kick boxing, essentially the ability to strike with both hands and feet. This mix came about due to the early format being martial artists from different styles pitting themselves against each other to decide who had the best style i.e Karate or Kung Fu – Kick Boxing or Jui Jistu and so on. Over the years and with the broad set of rules, fighters found that no one style was dominant and in order to win, fighters needed to utilise a mix of martial art styles. Hence, over the years the style of mixed martial arts evolved and has now become a basic necessity to fight and win within the UFC. How does this apply to competition BBQ in Australia? I would like to think that even though low and slow style methods and flavour profiles have their roots in America, we should be adapting these to create an Australian style and forge our own path. Therefore, similarly to the UFC, within the current format of Australian competition BBQ where seafood, lamb and categories such as chef’s selection, and even desserts are cooked low and slow, and on top of that include the non-specific cut restrictions in most categories, it is logical to conclude that similar to the UFC a new style will immerge. More importantly, an Australian style. Ok, so at this point I’d like to make it clear this is only a rough analogy and we’re about 4 tins deep – so it’s probably loose in detail and is in no way intended to liken to any real entities or individuals. Never the less, by now my mate is hooked, hanging on to every comparison I make. He’s now thinking Australian competition BBQ is gladiatorial!! “So can you make good money if you’re winning” he asked. To be honest I’m surprised this wasn’t his first question as this is usually the first thing I’m asked, but I guess I distracted him with the UFC analogy. I explained “I wouldn’t say make money. The total cost for the team to compete at our last comp was around $3000, and who knows how much has been spent on smokers, wood, charcoal, rubs, spices and practise meats? But if you win at big comps you get free BBQs”. “What do you want another BBQ for?” he asked. Good point as I have around 15 at last count and most of my BBQ friends have a similar number. “Most teams sell them” I told him. “If you win how are you going to bring it back to Tassie?” he asked. Another good point as usually the dual cab ute is overloaded. At this stage I wondered if BBQs were a viable prize – I mean would I rather say $2500 cash or a $4000 smoker? I must say, probably the cash as I have enough smokers but selling smokers won as prizes may suit other teams and be a good way to maximise winnings. At this point I lost him. Not being a BBQ fanatic he couldn’t come to terms with the combination of expense and effort in comparison to the rewards of competing. Put simply he thought I was crazy, and to a certain degree pretty crap as I’d only had average results. With a look of confusion on his face he asked “So do you have like a Connor Macgregor and a Dana White?” I laughed at him – what sort of a question was this? Not wanting to go into irrelevant detail which I know would only disinterest him further I said “C’mon mate, in any competition format there will be polarizing characters who people will love or hate and somewhere in the middle there’ll be the Uriah Faber” UFC Joke. In hindsight, though, this question potentially had more relevance than I had first considered. |