MCAB Event Standards

The goal of MCAB is to provide excellent service to entrants in all events, including the annual MCAB finals event.  Excellent service, as defined by entrants themselves in a survey is:

• advance notice of the competition

• clear, accurate, well-organized  web site information

• ease of entry (on line entry is strongly preferred)

• good judging

• good score sheet feedback

• notice of where the results will be posted

• fast posting of results

• prompt mailing of score sheets and medals

• a broad entry window is appreciated

•  minimum time between the entry deadline and the competition date

Rating judge quality and quality of feedback is extremely subjective and, therefore, impractical, although we will look into ways to evaluate the certification level of QE judge pools. 

Many of the other items can be evaluated objectively, although some will still be subjective.  MCAB participants will be encouraged to rate all participating competitions, including the annual MCAB event; the rating form is available for download on the Feedback page (or click here).  The rating form is based on feedback from a survey of MCAB qualifying brewers, which we will try to do annually. 

In addition, the MCAB Director rates each Qualifying Event, as well as the annual MCAB event, using the rating sheet with the following scoring system, with a maximum score of 100 points.  The desirable score is 85 or higher.  Bear in mind that these are our goals, things that we think are measurable and that, if done well, will give our entrants a sense that they are competing in an atmosphere of excellence and responsiveness.  We value continuity in our Qualifying Events and will continue with those that meet our expectations.  At the same time, we will seek out competitions that we think are among the very best, while keeping the total number of Qualifying Events at a manageable level.  In addition to the performance criteria below, some other factors that are considered are number of entrants (300 to 700 is desirable), geographic location, time of year that the competition is held and potential judge pool.  MCAB rates the annual event just as it rates the QE's, and invites all participates to rate the annual event as well.

Back to Top                                                     Back to Menu
 

Advance notice (20 points total):

• The competition date, entry due date and contact info should be posted on the sponsoring club's/competition's web site at least two months in advance of the entry due date.  WHY?

  • 4 points max

  • -1 point for each week late

  • Assuming that you get this done on time, it is very much to your advantage to tell the MCAB director when you do it - that assures that you get full credit

• The complete competition info should be posted on the sponsoring club's/competition's web site at least one month in advance of the entry due date.  WHY?

  • 8 points max

  • -4 points for each week late  that's all the points in only 2 weeks - WHY?

  • up to -4 for new info mixed with last year's

  • Assuming that you get this done on time, it is very much to your advantage to tell the MCAB director

• The competition should be registered for AHA sanctioning at least two months in advance of the competition date.  WHY?

  • 8 points max

  • -1 point for each week lat

  • -2 points for non-working contact or web site link

  • Assuming that you get this done on time, it is very much to your advantage to tell the MCAB director

   

• Please try to remember to tell MCAB when you do things so we can give you credit and keep our site updated

Ease of entry (15 points):

• We would like all Qualifying Events to have on-line entry.  WHY?

  • On-line entry, near perfect: 15 points

  • Paper-based, near perfect:  7 points

  • -2 to -10 points for cumbersome or mistake-prone

Back to Top                                                     Back to Menu
 

Organization (15 points total)

• Lag time (5 points) - It is assumed that all MCAB QE's will be well organized, but an overall measure of organization is the amount of time between the entry due date and the competition date.  The lag time should be no more than 14 days.  WHY?

  • 5 points if < 15 days between due date and competition date

  • -1 for each day beyond 14 days

• Web site organization (10 points) - The competition's web site should be clear, concise and sensibly organized.  SPECIFICS

  • 10 points max

  • - 5 for lack of a specific statement of when and where results will be posted

Posting results (20 points)

• Results should be posted on the QE web site as soon as possible after the competition is complete.  WHAT'S THE RUSH?

  • posted day of: 20 points

  • -1 per day for next 3 days

  • -2 per day for each additional day

  • -5 if location is a mystery

  • MCAB annual finals event posts the evening of the competition

  • Within 2 days seems reasonable

Back to Top                                                     Back to Menu
 

Returning score sheets and medals (20 points)

• Score sheets and medals should be mailed promptly to non-attending entrants.  WHAT'S THE RUSH? 

  • Mailed by the Wednesday following the competition: 20 points

    • within 1 week: 18 points

      • by Monday a week after the competition is considered 1 week

    • within 10 days: 15 points

      • Wednesday a week after the competition

    • within 2 weeks: 10 points

      • Monday 2 weeks after the competition

       

  • Yes, we know it's a lot of work - we strive to do it too, so we know!  But competitions that have 500 to 1000 entrants get it done within ten days, which means they grade out well.  Some do it within three days, which means they get full points.  The target for the MCAB finals event is to get it done within the 18 point time frame.

    • As noted in the "what's the rush" link above, mailing of score sheets and medals to medalists can be deferred if the medals require customized manufacture before they can be mailed.  But the non-medalists should not have to wait to get their score sheets.

  • You may also scan and e-mail score sheets.

    • Most of the annual MCAB entrants do not attend the event, so it makes for a long, hard job when we do it.  But it saves money, eliminates a horrendous amount of post office work and time and it gets score sheets back to entrants very quickly.  Most QE's don't have to send as many sheets because many of the entrants attend the event, so it can be a very attractive option.  It's quick and easy to do with most modern printers.

    • e-mail me if you want info on how to do it

Back to Top                                                     Back to Menu
 

Sending MCAB Qualifying Brewer (QB) results to the MCAB director (10 points)

WHAT'S THE RUSH? 

WHY CAN'T YOU JUST GET IT OFF OUR WEB SITE?

• 10 points if e-mailed within the week following the competition in a usable format

  • preferably a Microsoft  Excel spreadsheet

  • Cat & subcat

    Last name

    First name

    Beer name

    Club name

    Address

    City

    ST

    Zip

    e-mail

  • this is very easy if someone in your organization is designated to do it

• All first-place finishers in BJCP categories 1 - 19 and category 22, regardless of splits

  • in other words, if you split the Stout category into three subcategories, then all three first place finishers qualify for the MCAB finals in the Stout category

• The following information is desired/required:

  • Category & subcategory

  • Brewer last name

  • Brewer first name

  • Beer name

  • Club name

  • e-mail address

  • Mailing address

  • City                            WHY ALL THIS?

  • State

  • Zip/postal code

As the end of the calendar year approaches, it's necessary to post the coming year's Qualifying Events on the MCAB web site so MCAB competitors can prepare for those that occur early in the year.  The following will apply to the next year's Qualifying Events table:

• Absent any known changes, your Qualifying Event will be listed as occurring in the same month as the previous event

• No entry due date will be listed until you provide it to the MCAB webmaster - sooner is always better; 2 months advance notice is appreciated, as brewers need time to brew their entries

  • Those competitions that occur early in the year must provide next year's competition specifics before the current year's end

• Please  provide an interim web page if at all possible.  A good interim page gives approximate date and due date of the next competition, a link to the previous year's information (or the standard competition information), contact information and links to past winner lists.  Entrants also like to know the number of entrants you get.

• Please try to remember to tell MCAB when you do things so we can give you credit and keep our site updated

Back to Top                                                     Back to Menu