Bathurst Homebrew Competition

[pint of lager]

This has just come through from the head organiser.

Fellow Homebrewers

I am the bearer of bad news. The B-Rock Bathurst Homebrew Competition in its present format will be no longer be held. I have had meetings with the radio station and due to the enormous cost of running the comp. we have decided that it will have to end.

We made a rod for our own back when the comp. was still associated with the Royal Bathurst Show by having free accommodation and paying some fuel costs for people who traveled long distances to help out.

This has always been more than appreciated and without people like yourselves the Bathurst Comp. would have never reached the pinnacle it was.

The support from the homebrew industry has been great but to ask sponsors to come up with the $10,000 to help out with costs is just too much. To all of you who have helped make the Bathurst Comp. the success it was then a big THANK YOU from me personally.

We are going to run a comp. on a local scale later in the year (2006) and if anybody wants to come along and help out then you will be made very welcome but all travel and accommodation will be at your own cost.

I am sitting down with the people from the radio station early in the New Year to work out a date and the format to run the comp.

I can assure you that we will not clash with the State Comp. and maybe in the future we can get the comp. back up to what it was.

If anyone has any suggestions on keeping the comp. going then please let me know.

Cheers and Hoppy Brewing

Brian Noyes (The Bigfella)

 

[Gough]

This is a real shame Thanks a lot to the organisers of the (late) Bathurst comp. It was really well run and will be sorely missed. Best of luck with the new smaller comp.

Shawn.

 

[AndrewQLD]

Very, very sad news. It was one of the best run competitions in Australia. A real shame.

Andrew

 

[Guest Lurker]

Bother. Well done for getting the best organised comp in the country to keep going as long as it did. Thanks POL for letting us know as well, I was about to brew a couple of higher gravity batches ready for Bathurst. Now, what shall do I do with the barleywine that Chiller judged at Bathurst this year, and said something along the lines of "Bit rough, but send it back to us next year and it should have come good"? Mind you it hasnt really, so it might be for the best.

 

[big d]

very sad news indeed.an extremely well run comp.was looking forward to placing some entries in the comp again.hope all goes well in future endevours.


cheers
big d

 

[wee stu]

This is sad news. I have every sympathy for the organisers, having experienced first hand the joys of helping organise a major comp myself this year. The sponsorship dollar is a tough one to crack in current conditions and these competitions are not cheap to run.
The comp I am involved in (ANAWBS) actually significantly increased sponsorship this year, but on the back of a lot of hard work bringing in a lot more small sponsors rather than reliance on one large one.
Our show is also allied to a wine show, and being a wine state has helped in that regard. How a more regionally based comp could spread the sponsorship dollar locally, I don't know.

Let's hope this is just a temporary setback, Bathurst leaves a big hole in the competition calendar, and it has been held in universal high regard.

awrabest, stu

 

[T.D.]

Bugger! I missed this by a whisker last time and just figured "oh well, there's always next year" - never though there wouldn't be a next year!

 

[tangent]

Off topic:
That's what I thought about the StevieRayVaugn concert.
Ah, he'll be back.....

Damn helicopters :angry:

 

[Weizguy]

Much respect to the Bathurst comp/ organisers.
And much sadness for the loss of the current format for the comp.

One of my first successes was at Bathurst.

Is it possible that most of the judges were local-ish and/or would not expect to attend at the organisers expense in future? If it were me, I'd be happy to pay my own way from Newcastle, and my own accom for a couple of days, to be a helper.
For accom, could it be an option to billet the remote attendees with willing families?

What about fundraising raffles? (naughty, naughty)

Sad news indeed, as the Bathurst comp was highly valued and respected across the brewing community as a worthy proving ground/ testbed, as well as an integral part of their brewing/ judging education.

Seth's 2 cents

 

[Peter Wadey]

Weizguy wrote:

If it were me, I'd be happy to pay my own way from Newcastle, and my own accom for a couple of days, to be a helper.

Indeed! After all it only happens once a year and is something to look forward to.

The only thing that has kept me away since getting back into brewing is our toddler, but I would be more than happy to pay my/our own way.
Getting your expenses paid is a real luxury.

I feel sure that the diehards would still attend, no expenses paid.

Surely this is worth testing, POL.

Rgds,
Pete Wadey
Eastwood, NSW

 

[tangent]

where do all those $$$s go in running an event like that?
$10,000 is just a "help out"?

I thought most of it would be run by diehard volunteers.

It can't all be advertising because I've never seen any advertising for a home brew comp.