Overview Of Competitive eating

Game Rules

Competitive eating contests often adhere to an 8, 10, 12 or 15 minute time limit. Most contests are presided over by a master of ceremonies, whose job is to announce the competitors prior to the contest and keep the audience engaged throughout the contest with enthusiastic play-by-play commentary and amusing anecdotes. A countdown from 10 usually takes place at the end of the contest, with all eating coming to an end with the expiration of time.

Many professional contests also employ a series of judges, whose role is to enforce the contest rules and warn eaters about infractions. Judges will also be called upon to count or weigh each competitor's food and certify the results of the contest prior to the winner being announced.

Chipmunking:

Many eaters will attempt to put as much food in their mouths as possible during the final seconds of a contest, a practice known by professionals as "chipmunking."If chipmunking is allowed in a contest, eaters are given a reasonable amount of time (typically less than two minutes) to swallow the food or risk a deduction from their final totals.

Dunking:

In many contests, except those adhering to "picnic style rules" mentioned previously, eaters are allowed to dunk foods in water or other liquids in order to soften the food and make it easier to chew and swallow. Dunking typically takes place with foods involving a bun or other doughy parts. Professional contests often enforce a limit on the amount of time competitors are allowed to dunk food.

Debris:

Competitors are expected to maintain a relatively clean eating surface throughout the contest. Excess debris after the contest may result in a deduction from the eater's final totals.

Vomiting:

If, at any point during or immediately after the contest, a competitor regurgitates any food, he or she will be disqualified. Vomiting, also known as a "reversal", or, as ESPN and the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest call it, a "reversal of fortune", includes obvious signs of vomiting as well as any small amounts of food that may fall from the mouth deemed by judges to have come from the stomach. Small amounts of food already in the mouth prior to swallowing are excluded from this rule.

Equipments Need For Competitive eating

Food:

The type of food used in contests varies greatly, with each contest typically only using one type of food (e.g. a hot dog eating contest). Foods used in professional eating contests include hamburgers, hot dogs,pies, pancakes, chicken wings, asparagus, pizza, ribs, whole turkeys, among many other types of food. There is also a vegan hot dog eating competition held in Austin, Texas.

History Of Competitive eating

Traditionally, eating contests, often involving pies, were events at county fairs. The recent surge in the popularity of competitive eating is due in large part to the development of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual holiday tradition that has been held on July 4 virtually every year since the 1970s at Coney Island.

1970-The annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, which has been held every Fourth of July since the 1970s, is televised live on ESPN from Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

2000-The hot dog rivalry between Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, the leading Japanese eater, is the best known scandal in competitive eating, and has hurled the sport to international fame in the mid-2000s. 

2001-In 2001, Takeru Kobayashi transformed the competition and the world of competitive eating by downing 50 hot dogs – smashing the previous record (25.5). The event generates enormous media attention and has been aired on ESPN for the past eight years, contributing to the growth of the competitive eating phenomenon. 

2008-In 2008, Chestnut and Kobayashi tied at 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes (the time span had previously been 12 minutes), and Chestnut won in an eatoff in which he was the first of the two competitors to finish eating 5 hot dogs in overtime, earning Chestnut his second consecutive title.

Great Moments In Competitive-Eating History

Origin Of Competitive eating

Competitive eating as we know it began as an American pastime in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Pie eating was the norm at state fairs, but as the buzz quickly gained momentum, we saw the introduction of other foods. Not to mention the excitement friendly wagers brought. Nowadays, it’s seen as a sport. According to the sport’s governing body, Major League Eating, 1916 marked the official start of competitive eating. This was the year that Nathan’s Famous held its first Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in Coney Island.

Governing Bodies

All Pro Eating:

• All Pro Eating is the only Independent Competitive Eating organization in the world and also officially sanctions competitive eating contests.
  
• Recognized All Pro Eating Competitive Eaters include Molly Schuyler, Eric "Silo" Dahl, Jamie "The Bear" McDonald and Stephanie "Xanadu" Torres.
  
• All Pro Eating has been significantly featured in American and International media including a strong connection with television projects produced by TV Tokyo.
  
• In 2010, All Pro Eating was joined by new eaters including former IFOCE members "Jammin" Joe LaRue, Chris "The Mad Greek" Abatsas and newcomer "Munchin" Mike Longo.
  
• The year started off with the USquare National Eating Championship in Madison Wisconsin. Ian The Invader Hickman won with 102 ounces of food court food in 8 minutes.
  
• On June 5 in Rockville Centre, NY "Munchin" Mike Longo won the National Cheese Steak Eating Championship with 4.05 cheese steaks eating in 7 minutes.
  
• "Munchin" Mike Longo also won the Little Jimmy's National Italian Ice Eating Championship again beating AICE eating star Ian The Invader Hickman and legendary eater King George Van Laar, eating 4 lbs 1.25 ounces of Italian ice in 7 minutes.
  
• In Middlebury. Connecticut The Caribbean Food Eating Championship took place where Joel The Cannon Podelsky won the National Bun and Cheese National Championship eating 40 ounces in 4 min and 43 sec. King George Van Laar won the National Beef Pattie Eating Championship eating 60oz of beef patties in 7 minutes 32 sec.
  
• 5th Annual American Meatball Eating Championship took place in Midlothian, Illinois. Bob “KILLER” Kuhns of Pittsburgh, PA took 1st with 36.5 meatballs in 7 minutes to win $1,000.
  

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IFOCE:

Major League Eating (MLE) is an organization that sanctions professional competitive eating events and television specials. The stated mission of Major League Eating is to maintain a safe environment for all events, to create a dynamic and enjoyable fan experience, and to help sponsors develop, publicize and execute eating events in a wide variety of food disciplines.The league airs its annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN.

History

MLE was founded as the International Federation of Competitive Eating, Inc. (IFOCE) is an organization that supervises and regulates eating contests across the globe, acting as a central resource for the sport. Top events include the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, La Costena "Feel the Heat" Jalapeño Eating Challenge, and the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship and the National Buffalo Wing Festival. The IFOCE was founded in 1997 by brothers George and Richard Shea.

The IFOCE counts thousands of competitors in its league, including top-ranked eaters such as Joey Chestnut of California, "Megatoad" Matt Stonie of California, Sonya Thomas of Virginia, and "Notorious B.O.B." Bob Shoudt of Philadelphia. The IFOCE currently is in a dispute with Takeru Kobayashi of Japan over whether competitors may also participate in contests not sanctioned by the IFOCE.The IFOCE develops, promotes and runs more than one hundred events in all variety of venues during its annual circuit.

The organization also produces television shows on competitive eating. In 2002, IFOCE produced Glutton Bowl, a two-hour eating event on the Fox Network. In 2007 the IFOCE produced four one-hour programs for Spike TV under the title Chowdown. In 2006, the IFOCE produced three hours of programming on ESPN, including a one-hour live show on the 2005 Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest and one-hour shows on the Johnsonville Foods Bratwurst contest and the Krystal Hamburger contest. The Alka-Seltzer U.S. Open of Competitive eating, a three-hour elimination tournament was a 2005 IFOCE production. In addition, the IFOCE produced four 30-minute shows under the title of Tour de Gorge and six 30-minute shows titled Eats of Strength for INHD.

IFOCE changed its name to Major League Eating (MLE) in the early 2000s.

Nationwide branches:

The IFOCE maintains principal offices in New York City and operates in the United States. The Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, the TV Food Network and the UK’s Channel Four have also aired one-hour documentaries on eating and the IFOCE and Fox Television aired a two-hour IFOCE championship.

The IFOCE maintains a ranking system for competitions it has sanctioned. IFOCE safety measures ensure that all sanctioned matches occur in a controlled environment under the supervision of a licensed emergency medical technician and that only individuals over the age of eighteen compete.

TV Ratings:

The ESPN2 telecast of the 2014 Nathan’s event generated a 1.6 rating and 2.8 million viewers, making it the most watched telecast in the contest's history.The ESPN2 airing also ranks as the 6th highest-rated and 5th most-watched telecast of the year on ESPN2, behind NCAA Football, NBA and World Cup.

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