Once the competition itself is over, a feeling of relief often sweeps over organizers and competition staff. After spending many weeks or months planning the event, it feels good to be done with it and have life return to normal. There are, however, still two very important tasks yet to complete. So that life can truly get back to some sense of normal, it is imperative that these tasks be addressed as soon as possible after the competition. Putting them off leads to forgetting, which may lead to anger and disappointment for entrants and participants alike. These individuals are less likely to involve themselves in a competition in the future that does not take care of the final details in a timely manner.
One of the tasks yet to complete is filling out and submitting the organizer’s report to the BJCP. This must be completed on-line within 21 days of the competition date, although the best organizers complete the organizer report immediately following the competition. Accuracy in tracking data and filling out the competition report is important as this is how the organizer, staff, judges, and stewards get their BJCP points. In order to complete this report, the organizer must have all the necessary information accessible, including the names of staff members on hand and the staff positions they filled.
Staff points are allocated by the organizer out of the pool given based on the number of entries in the competition. The organizer will also need the list of judges who served at the competition and the number of sessions they judged, which determines the number of points they are awarded. The BOS is considered a bonus; those judges earn additional points. A list of stewards and the number of days worked is also needed, as this is the way points are determined for stewards. The organizer can only earn organizer points. The number of points available is based on the total number of entries in the competition. For specifics on points available for the various individuals involved in a competition, please refer to the BJCP Competition Point Award Schedule.
The second task, organizing and preparing the scoresheets and ribbons and/or other awards to be sent back to all of the brewers, takes more time. This should be done within a week of the competition as entrants eagerly await the results. There are a three common alternatives for performing this task:
- One way to make this task easier is to share the responsibility with other staff members by doing a group mailing. Get volunteers together after the competition to sort and stuff envelopes, and then prepare for mailing.
- A more cost-effective option is get the scoresheets ready for dissemination during the competition so that entrants in attendance at the competition can leave with their scoresheets. Doing this leaves one less task for the organizer to complete after the competition and also saves on envelopes and postage. To make this possible, a team of workers must be formed whose main focus on competition day is to collect, organize, and stuff manila envelopes with entrants’ scoresheets. This would take three to four additional volunteers, but it is well worth it.
- One final option is to use automation. If organizers have access to copiers that creates copies as PDFs, they can copy each packet of scoresheets and save as PDF files. These documents can then be emailed to each entrant, saving significantly on postage. Any awards won, however, will need to be sent out in the traditional manner.
To return scoresheets the same day (option 2), the team can set up storage containers with dividers and puts each brewer address label on a manila envelope, checking the list to determine the appropriate sized envelope that is needed. Note that depending on the number of entries a brewer has entered, a larger sized envelope may be needed to
accommodate the paperwork and ribbon. Individual printouts of brewer entries are then placed in the appropriate envelope. Next, the envelopes are placed into the storage bins by brewers’ last names.
Once a category has been judged, checked for accuracy, and all necessary information entered into the database, the completed scoresheets can be given to the Scoresheet Team. The scoresheets are then sorted into numerical order. The entry number on each individual scoresheet is checked against the printout of entries/brewers to determine the name of the brewer(s). That entry number is then checked off as being received. The manila envelope for that brewer is located in the alphabetized bins and the scoresheet placed in it. That entry then is checked off the brewer’s list in the envelope. If the entry was the brewer’s only entry, the manila envelope is removed from the alphabetized container and put into another box for completed envelopes. This process is repeated until all the scoresheets for all of the entries have been filed. Ribbons or other awards earned by some of the entrants can be added by this crew or later by the organizer/staff prior to mailing.