Things you should start working on now:

• Your event is posted on the SCA website, please review for accuracy, and let us know if you see anything that needs changed.
• Start encouraging locals about entering the steak cookoff.
• Start pursuing sponsors for your event.

Promoter Responsibilities: 

• Marketing your event
• Sponsorships
• Pre-event Promoter Responsibilities
• Event Supplies

Marketing your Event:

• This is your event to promote. 
• SCA events are listed in the National BBQ News magazine monthly.
• Create a Facebook event page.  Here is a video of how to do it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5QaSLO-w6A
• Here is another link on how to create a FB event that Facebook provides  https://nonprofits.fb.com/topic/events/ 
• Promoters are encouraged to promote their event on the “Steak Cookoff Association Group” page anytime on Facebook. 
• Encourage your local business to field a team.
• Encourage your local first responders to challenge each other, for example, EMT’s, fire, police
• Invite everyone you know to your event.
• Attend a regional steak or BBQ cookoff to invite teams to participate.
• Involve a local charity (People are more likely to donate and attend).
• Create a special challenge between organizations such as the police and fire departments.
• Use SCA logos on all advertising materials for the event.

Sponsorships:

• SCA events are family oriented and sponsors are always looking for ways to support their communities.  
• Start talking to local grocery stores about possible donation or discount on the steaks for your event.
• Use a local butcher for the steak (trade out for sponsorship)
• Invite a local business to sponsor the ancillary category.  Bacon, brewery, cheese, sausage, and any other food purveyor. 
• Four $250 sponsors are much easier to get than a $1000 sponsor.
• Local sponsorships will be easier to get than a national sponsorship.
• Ask your local hotel and tourism bureaus to sponsor the event.  Filling hotel rooms and boosting the local economy is their job.
• Raffle off a grill, smoker, or ice chest to raise funds and interest.
• Adding a car or craft show to your event helps draw a crowd.
• Selling vending spots to local artisans provides additional income and attracts people. 
• Bring in food trucks to the event and charge them a percentage of their sales. 
• Where local Health Departments allow, pre-sell steak dinners to the public or conduct a peoples’ choice competition.

Pre-event Promoter Responsibilities

• Provide a location for the awards ceremony and a sound system or PA if possible.
• Provide a private area for judging with electricity, tables, and chairs usually 4 – 8-foot tables and 12 chairs.
• Secure trophies for the awards ceremony.
• NO RED TENTS (It is impossible to judge doneness in a red tent) 
• Adequate lighting is important in judge the doneness of steaks. 
• Provide 3-4 volunteers to assist in the judging area 
• The promoter must have either cash or checks prepared for the awards ceremony.
• Provide a metal trash can to dispose of teams hot coals.
• Provide steaks for the cookoff.  The SCA Standard is a minimum of 1 1/8” boneless choice ribeye steaks.
• Provide adequate restroom facilities and trash receptacles.
• Obtain any required local event permits.
• Pay each SCA Rep’s expenses (mileage & hotel if necessary), $200 Judging Fee for their time and services.  
• Mileage is figured at current government-mandated rate.  
• We will try to use the SCA Rep that is closest to your event. 
• Payment must be made to Rep on the day of the event.
• One Rep required for 1-49 Teams, 2 Reps for 50-99 teams, and 3 Reps for 100 Plus Teams.   

Event Supply List:

The promoter is responsible for securing these items prior to the event.

For events up to 50 Teams (If over 50 teams your SCA rep will advise you on supplies)

• 3 Case of Bottled Water 
• 3 Bag of Oyster Crackers
• 500 Heavy Duty Plastic Forks (Sam’s Club) (Judges will use a clean fork for each bite)
• 500 Heavy Duty Plastic Knives (Sam’s Club) (Judges will use a clean knife for each bite)
• 3 Rolls Paper Towels or 1 pack of napkins.
• 4 (2 Red and 2 Blue) Plastic tablecloths for steak selection (Dollar Store)
• 100 or 125 pack of 9” Styrofoam Boxes undivided (Sam’s Club)
• 1 box of Dixie Cups (Dollar Store)
• 2 bottles of hand sanitizer
• For double steak events or additional ancillaries, contact your SCA Rep for additional supplies you might need.  
• Check/Cash for the SCA Rep’s Fees

Pizza Category (If applicable)

• Provide one 11–13-inch pizza box per teams entered into the pizza category 

Mixed Drink Categories (If applicable)

• 2-16oz cups per team participating in any SCA drink category 
• 5 soufflé cups or 5 plastic spoons per team participation in drink category  

SCA Responsibilities

• Judges
• Team Registration

Judges:

• SCA will manage the recruitment and registration of all judges. 
• Registration for certified judges will open 90 days prior to your event.
• In the event that there are not enough SCA certified judges for the event, we will enlist your help in securing volunteers to fill the remaining seats.
• All judges are required to register through the SCA website and SCA Certified Judges MUST have priority for the steak judging seats.

 Team Registration:

• Don’t panic, the majority of the teams will sign up for the event the last week to ten days
• Registration of teams will be through the SCA Website. 
• All monies collected by SCA will be paid by check to the promoter at the event.

Additional Information

SCA Steak Standard & Ordering of Steaks:

*Steak Quality*

• A Minimum of 1 1/8^th or 3cm thick, Boneless Choice Grade Ribeye Steaks.
• It is your responsibility to provide quality steaks for this steak cookoff.  If for some reason the steaks are greatly below standard a team has the right to request for a refund of their entry fee at the cooks meeting.
• You are required to have an extra 10 steaks per event for the steak selection table. Many promoters will sell these steaks at awards to recoup the money.
• Your SCA Rep will advise you on how many steaks to order for your event.

Trophies:

• Start thinking about the trophies for your event, think outside the box, handmade, unique trophies are appreciated.  We encourage the use of the SCA logo on the trophies. 
• All events must announce the top ten in steak at awards.  We recommend awarding the top three to five teams in steak with trophies and certificates for 6th-10th place. 
• All events must announce the top 5 in ancillary categories at awards. We recommend awarding the top one to three teams with trophies, certificates to the remaining teams in the top 5.
• ·        SCA recommends providing trophies for the top 3 in steak and a 1st place in any ancillary category at a minimum.  These providers have been SCA friendly.   Please contact them directly    Justin West jalw36@hotmail.com  Todd Baird todd.baird@fullypromoted.com  or Cathry sales@steelimagesinc.com

SCA Contest Representative:

• Your Rep for this event will be Michelle and she is copied on the email.
• If you had requested a specific SCA Rep for your event we will do our best to honor that request.
• We will notify you as soon as an SCA Rep is assigned to your event.
• Once assigned, your SCA Rep will be the main point of contact leading up to your event, please direct all questions to them.
• Your SCA Rep also has a full time job, please direct first questions via email to them.  The rep will get back to you at their convenience.

SCA's Right to Merchandise and Promote Sponsors

• SCA reserves the right to display, promote and sell, SCA products and services and that of its national sponsors at SCA sanctioned contests.  Organizer agrees to provide a space in a highly accessible area, either in the cook area or near the judging area, where SCA may place its official merchandising tent and promote, display and sell SCA products and that of its national sponsor.  The Organizer agrees to provide free of charge a space up to 20x20 for this purpose if requested.