Cost of Competition

You can try not to break the bank or rob a bank. Your choice.

 

Ever wonder what it costs to compete in a KCBS event? I see the question come up a lot on the interwebs and figured I would try to take a stab at it. We can do this the hard way or just make some simple assumptions first and make it a much easier blog to write.

 

I am going to guess that if you are planning to enter a full KCBS comp then you likely already own a smoker and have most of the items you are going to need to compete so I will focus primarily on the basic costs. So if you are using commodity type meats that’s going to run around $175. Food and drinks for the crew is another $145. Average comp price is around $350. Sauces, rubs, charcoal, wood, fuel and propane for the stove is an additional $150. Those are just the out of pocket costs and doesn’t cover taking a day off work, team member’s gas and time off or beer. So a good average cost per comp is around $825.

 

Now if we switch from commodity meat to the good stuff you can add an additional $250 to that figure. I’m sure I have left out a few things but that is likely a typical average cost. Your mileage may vary.

 

Chicken – $20
Ribs – $50
Pork Butt – $40
Brisket -$55
Ice – $25
Drinks for crew – $60
Food/snacks – $60
Entry Fee – $350
Sauce/rubs – $30
Charcoal/wood – $30
Fuel/Propane – $75
Disposable pans/foil – $15