[udubdawg]

Dividing by size is fine, though each winner will no doubt be at the top of their size range.

...was just talking to Amanda that the entire current system is the antithesis of what clubs are about. Sad.
Sad that we've got to scheme and potentially leave new enthusiastic brewers out or recruit as many as possible outside our area if we want to win.

I'd still like to see us give "most final round points" and "most total points per entry" awards.

[micsager]

I am a member of the BNArmy.  And always will be.  Justin has done some wonderful things to help folks become better brewers.  I refer all new brewers in my local club to The BN.  The archive of Brewstrong is just plain wonderful. 

The only single thing that makes them "not a club" to me is the members don't get to choose their leaders, content of meetings or such. 

But, I do think Justin and his crew deserve much appreciation from all of us.  They are an important part of our community. 

[pete b]

I am a member of the BNArmy.  And always will be.  Justin has done some wonderful things to help folks become better brewers.  I refer all new brewers in my local club to The BN.  The archive of Brewstrong is just plain wonderful. 

The only single thing that makes them "not a club" to me is the members don't get to choose their leaders, content of meetings or such. 

But, I do think Justin and his crew deserve much appreciation from all of us.  They are an important part of our community.

It seems everyone on this thread is saying that BN is a good organization that does good things. Its the rules of this contest that people think need to be changed.

[micsager]

I am a member of the BNArmy.  And always will be.  Justin has done some wonderful things to help folks become better brewers.  I refer all new brewers in my local club to The BN.  The archive of Brewstrong is just plain wonderful. 

The only single thing that makes them "not a club" to me is the members don't get to choose their leaders, content of meetings or such. 

But, I do think Justin and his crew deserve much appreciation from all of us.  They are an important part of our community.

It seems everyone on this thread is saying that BN is a good organization that does good things. Its the rules of this contest that people think need to be changed.

Agreed.  Folks hould be contacting the governing committee, and suggest specific changes. 

[theDarkSide]

The last 13 Homebrew Clubs of the Year:

  2003 QUAFF
  2004 QUAFF
  2005 QUAFF
  2006 QUAFF
  2007 Saint Paul
  2008 ? (the AHA site has some guy listed-Saint Paul again perhaps?)
  2009 Saint Paul
  2010 DOZE
  2011 The Brewing Network
  2012 The Brewing Network
  2013 The Brewing Network
  2014 The Brewing Network
  2015 The Brewing Network

Eliminate "online" clubs and I'm sure this list will look the same, minus the BN.  And having separate COTY categories for online vs. brick and mortar - how exciting that would be  .  The BN vs. Chop and Brew vs. Homebrewtalk...yay.

Maybe the COTY has run it's course and all effort should go into the Gambrinus and Radegast to make them the highlight of the evening.

[S. cerevisiae]

Speaking of clubs, does anyone know what percentage of AHA members belong to a club?  Most of the brewers that I have known over the years have not been members of organized clubs. 

[pete b]

Speaking of clubs, does anyone know what percentage of AHA members belong to a club?  Most of the brewers that I have known over the years have not been members of organized clubs.

I would say I'm at least in part an AHA member because I live in a rural area with no clubs nearby and this forum is my chance to talk brewing, pick others brains, connect etc.

[toby]

Speaking of clubs, does anyone know what percentage of AHA members belong to a club?  Most of the brewers that I have known over the years have not been members of organized clubs.

I don't know if they collected that stat in the new survey they seemed to have been posting during the members' meeting.  The only one I can seem to find currently is the one from 2013:
https://www.brewersassociation.org/press-releases/aha-infographic/

[klickitat jim]

Isnt there like 30k members and like 4k enter?

[hopfenundmalz]

Isnt there like 30k members and like 4k enter?

There are just over 40k members, 3181 entered in 2014.

[JT]

Sounds like the award qualifications need to be changed.  Or better yet, removed altogether.  I mean, really what does this award prove?  Clubs with the highest number of entries will have a statistical advantage in placement. 
If the club is listed by the home brewer it gets listed with the brewer's name.  There's the club recognition, end of story, problem solved. 

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[pete b]

As someone who wasn't really aware of this award until this thread I'm surprised that this award is called "club of the year" .To me the Radegast award, which seems to be based on all the good things a club did that year is the "club of the year" The current COTY year should be just called NHC champion. A club could spend their whole year abusing puppies and be named COTY as it stands. Obviously from what I hear on this thread the winning club does a lot of good things for himebrewing and beyond, I'm just saying that I don't thing winning one contest, even the biggest one, should be the criteria for COTY. It sends the wrong message that clubs are only about competing.

[udubdawg]

I kinda thought that it was obvious that the award announced at the end of the National Homebrewing Competition was about competition. No one has said COTY stands for anything else.

[JT]

As someone who wasn't really aware of this award until this thread I'm surprised that this award is called "club of the year" .To me the Radegast award, which seems to be based on all the good things a club did that year is the "club of the year" The current COTY year should be just called NHC champion. A club could spend their whole year abusing puppies and be named COTY as it stands. Obviously from what I hear on this thread the winning club does a lot of good things for himebrewing and beyond, I'm just saying that I don't thing winning one contest, even the biggest one, should be the criteria for COTY. It sends the wrong message that clubs are only about competing.

I agree and my experience is the same as yours.  Having never been to the NHC, I didn't know the award existed before this thread, and the name seems very inappropriate/misleading.  It's just a silly award, IMO. 

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[jeffjm]

I originally liked the idea of a midwest super-club, but I'm starting to think that the formation of a huge club isn't going to solve the problem of huge clubs being the only ones with a chance at winning CoTY.

Amanda's suggestion about GABF-style categories is a good one. I think it could be made even better by splitting the categories into small regional club, medium regional club, large regional club, and internet-based club. With the current entry limits, I don't see how even a club with 200-300 members can compete with a club that has thousands. FWIW, I come from a large club by most standards, but so few of us compete that we'd never win.