Nathan’s qualifier registration opens today

April 6, 2010 at 12:28 am by ojrifkin · More posts about:2010 Nathan's Hot Dog Contest

Registration for the 12 Nathan’s qualifiers will open at 11 am eastern today.

update 11:13 am Registration is now open on the qualifier pages at http://ifoce.com/contests.php

update 12:15 An anoymous commenter noted that a June 6 qualifier at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia and a June 19 qualifier at Fort Bragg, NC are listed on nathansfamous.com

A list of all the 15+ HDB performances from the 2009 qualifiers follows after the jump:

2009 May 2 1st 25 Crazy Legs Conti Biloxi, MS
2009 May 7 1st 26 Rich “The Locust” LeFevre Las Vegas, NV
2009 May 7 2nd 21 Ron Koch Las Vegas, NV
2009 May 9 1st 26 Sean “Flash” Gordon Foxborough (Boston), MA
2009 May 9 2nd 23 Peter “Pretty Boy” Davekos Foxborough (Boston), MA
2009 May 9 2nd 23 Allen “Shredder” Goldstein Foxborough (Boston), MA
2009 May 9 4th 15.5 Russ “The Black Hole” Keeler Foxborough (Boston), MA
2009 May 16 1st 50 Tim “Eater X” Janus East Hartford, CT
2009 May 16 2nd 27.5 Eric “Badlands” Booker East Hartford, CT
2009 May 16 3rd 19.5 Russ “The Black Hole” Keeler East Hartford, CT
2009 May 16 4th 15 Yasir Salem East Hartford, CT
2009 May 16 4th 15 Mike Springer East Hartford, CT
2009 May 17 1st 38 “Notorious” Bob Shoudt Allentown, PA
2009 May 17 2nd 19.9 Russ “The Black Hole” Keeler Allentown, PA
2009 May 17 3rd 19.8 Micah “Wing Kong” Collins Allentown, PA
2009 May 17 4th 17 Eric “Steakbellie” Livingston Allentown, PA
2009 May 23 1st 30.5 Juliet Lee Atlantic City, NJ
2009 May 23 2nd 26 Pat “from Moonachie” Philbin Atlantic City, NJ
2009 May 23 3rd 23 “Buffalo” Jim Reeves Atlantic City, NJ
2009 May 23 3rd 23 Allen “Shredder” Goldstein Atlantic City, NJ
2009 May 23 5th 22 Micah “Wing Kong” Collins Atlantic City, NJ
2009 May 23 6th 21 Eric “Steakbellie” Livingston Atlantic City, NJ
2009 May 23 7th 20 Dave “U. S. Male” Goldstein Atlantic City, NJ
2009 May 23 8th 15 William “Wild Bill” Myers Atlantic City, NJ
2009 May 30 1st 28 Erik “The Red” Denmark Tempe, AZ
2009 May 30 1st 33 Hall “Hoover” Hunt Tampa, FL
2009 Jun 6 1st 32 Tim “Gravy” Brown Overland Park, KS
2009 Jun 6 2nd 27.5 “Buffalo” Jim Reeves Overland Park, KS
2009 Jun 6 3rd 27 Marco “Mongo” Marquez Overland Park, KS
2009 Jun 6 4th 22 Bryan “Big Sexy” Beard Overland Park, KS
2009 Jun 6 1st 26 Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti Plymouth, MN
2009 Jun 6 1st 36 Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas Norfolk, VA
2009 Jun 6 2nd 16.5 Joe “Big Boss” Tursi Norfolk, VA
2009 Jun 6 3rd 16 Jay “The Gormonster” Gorman Norfolk, VA
2009 Jun 6 4th 15.5 Will Schmeirer Norfolk, VA
2009 Jun 13 1st 30 Marco “Mongo” Marquez Denver, CO
2009 Jun 13 2nd 29 Peter “Pretty Boy” Davekos Denver, CO
2009 Jun 13 3rd 18 Bryan “Big Sexy” Beard Denver, CO
2009 Jun 13 3rd 18 Jimmy “JiminEater” Mares Denver, CO
2009 Jun 13 5th 15 Alex Fenn Denver, CO
2009 Jun 13 1st 23 Micah “Wing Kong” Collins Charlotte, NC
2009 Jun 13 2nd 22.5 “Nasty” Nathan Biller Charlotte, NC
2009 Jun 13 3rd 20 “Big” Brian Subich Charlotte, NC
2009 Jun 20 1st 40 Eric “Badlands” Booker Queens, NY
2009 Jun 20 2nd 32 Pat “from Moonachie” Philbin Queens, NY
2009 Jun 20 3rd 25 “Nasty” Nathan Biller Queens, NY
2009 Jun 27 1st 25 Peter “Pretty Boy” Davekos San Jose, CA
2009 Jun 27 2nd 20.5 “Nasty” Nathan Biller San Jose, CA
2009 Jun 27 3rd 20 “Big” Brian Subich San Jose, CA
2009 Jun 27 1st 22 “Buffalo” Jim Reeves Newnan, GA
2009 Jun 27 2nd 20 Allen “Shredder” Goldstein Newnan, GA

Comments (37)

37 Comments »

  1. nunonabun2 said (Registered November 10, 2009)

    April 6, 2010 @ 8:58 am

    Thank you OJ

  2. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    April 6, 2010 @ 10:19 am

    If they allow dunking again this year it would not surprise me to see at least two or three eaters to break (i.e. get credit for) “70,” which would equate to about 45 HDBs actually eaten (using nondunking rules).

    After watching Krystals Iast year I know who the most talented eaters are in sandwich foods, and in what order.

    The added smoke-and-mirror effects resulting from dunking need to be elininated in all contests. Just eat the damned food!

  3. Anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 10:29 am

    Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    April 6, 2010 @ 10:19 am

    If they allow dunking again this year it would not surprise me to see at least two or three eaters to break (i.e. get credit for) “70,” which would equate to about 45 HDBs actually eaten (using nondunking rules).
    ———–

    This is my first year trying out for Nathan’s, I haven’t been to an event that allows dunking yet, so this will be foreign to me. In this scenario you laid out above, is there really 25 HDB’s lost in debris and in water cups in a 70 HDB credit, or were you seriously over exaggerating?

  4. gastroboy said

    April 6, 2010 @ 11:20 am

    Signed up at 11:07 for all June 26 qualifiers. Hope to get a seat this year!

    @Anonymous 10:29am i don’t think anyone can get close to that amount of debris. Anything above 2 hotdogs is easily spottable.

  5. Pat From Moonachie said (Registered December 10, 2005)

    April 6, 2010 @ 11:25 am

    My verbal suggestion box idea would be to “double check” (pun intended!) for plates sticking together ..speaking for myself, i’m pretty sure in one instance I got an extra plate counted in my final total.

  6. gastroboy said

    April 6, 2010 @ 11:27 am

    BTW i miss international qualifiers in an international hotdog eating contest :S. I know thery are hard to set up but would love to see some of them next year.

  7. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    April 6, 2010 @ 11:47 am

    No, it’s surely not all debris, though much is—-more for some eaters than others.

    The point I’m trying to make is that (and this has been said many times) eating food the way it was intended to be eaten, w/o dunking, is more difficult, but it keeps the playing field level. Hence, true talent is seen af face value.

    When you dunk, eating becomes more of a black art, at which some people are better than others. It becomes like wrestling. You get credit for what you can get away with.

    Look at the Nathan’s Finals totals from 2009 (dunking). Then look at the Krystals totals from 2008 (dunking) as compared with 2009 (nondunking).

    I’m not picking on Tim Janus. He’s an eating superstar, but he was able to eat 50 (50!!) HDBs in 2009 under dunking rules. (That total would have easily won the Mustard Belt in 2003!) He ate over 70 Krystals in 2008 with the same (dunking) format, which I think earned him 4th place.

    When they took the water away in Krystals last year he finished behind Hall Hunt and finished 7th. And it’s not because Hall improved either.

  8. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    April 6, 2010 @ 11:50 am

    I think you’re dead on Pat. No fault of Badlands, but I think his 40 HDB total last year in the qualifier was likely the result of two (or three) sticky plates. This sort of thing happens not often, but more than it should, I would suspect.

  9. Anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 11:52 am

    Did anyone notice on the Nathan’s site, the 2 extra qualifiers on military bases.

  10. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    April 6, 2010 @ 11:53 am

    Y’all chew on that for awhile … I’m going to lunch. I think I’ll eat Rachel Ray today.

  11. nunonabun2 said (Registered November 10, 2009)

    April 6, 2010 @ 11:59 am

    I would eat Rachel Ray. Zing

  12. NReda said

    April 6, 2010 @ 12:12 pm

    I almost received credit for a “sticky plate” last year at Tempe… it wouldn’t have made any difference in the final results, but the judges noticed that it really wasn’t mine so no foul occurred. I think it was actually my neighbor’s plate. In the melee of the contest, plates were moved and stacked without attention to ownership. No one paid much attention because the table leader was comfortably ahead. But, I realized how much human error and human subjectivity could contribute to tabulating counts at a speed contest.

  13. NReda said

    April 6, 2010 @ 12:14 pm

    Of course, this whole problem could be resolved if judges watched video clips of the contest…. you can clearly see how many hdbs really went into any particular eater’s mouth.

  14. Anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 12:58 pm

    Seems like the first thing they would need to do is make sure people aren’t double plated, I’ve heard (read) of this in the past.

    excelent point on badlands, looking at his stats in the past, he seems to be a 25-30 HDB guy, so did he just happen to have a career day with the 40 HDB qualifier?

    this is a little discouraging, especially if you work your ass off and lose because somebody was double plated.

  15. NReda said

    April 6, 2010 @ 1:22 pm

    Exactly, anon 12:58.

    I don’t think that screaming at the judges would help your case much at that point…. but I would be irate if I believed that shady counting was responsible for losing a contest / qualifier.

  16. A. Nonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 1:34 pm

    The plates with the hot dogs actually touching them should be marked as they plate the dogs.

    It really doesn’t matter.

    The eaters that the IFOCE wants at the finals will be there.

    As an eater, you have a mental count during the contest as to how many you eat. If the number is bigger when they tally the plates, do the honorable thing and say how many you actually ate!

  17. Pat From Moonachie said (Registered December 10, 2005)

    April 6, 2010 @ 1:37 pm

    Like I said i’m only speaking for myself by my total vs. how full I felt ..even if (BIG “if” ..I wouldn’t want anyone questioning MY totals!) he got 2 extra plates he still would’ve beaten me ..i’m just bringing it up because I think most eaters want an accurate count and that’s something to watch out for.

  18. Anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 1:38 pm

    Rhonda does not understand dunking. Some guys make a huge mess. For those guys, yes, dunking is a dark art. Some guys make such huge messes and/or leave such large amounts of food inside their cups that their numbers indeed are much higher than they would otherwise be if they didn’t make a mess. Other eaters simply eat more in dunking contests because dunking the food softens it and makes it easier to swallow, which allows them to eat the food faster and utilize their large capacities. Those eaters are eating honest amounts of food. Their totals are legitimate. Those eaters excel in dunking contests because dunking events are more about capacity than they are about swallowing awkward bites of food.

  19. Anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 1:42 pm

    A. Nonymous said
    April 6, 2010 @ 1:34 pm

    The plates with the hot dogs actually touching them should be marked as they plate the dogs.

    —————-

    such a simple idea and it would eliminate the double plate controversy.

    a simple “X’ mark with a sharpie on the top plate, count all plates with X marks and ur good.

    but I guess that would mean everybody would be carrying around sharpies in their pocket.

  20. anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 1:56 pm

    You give him the benefit of the doubt because it badlands booker who can do no wrong . If it was anyone else you be accusin them of cheatin

  21. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    April 6, 2010 @ 2:05 pm

    (Arguably) I think it’s rather common knowledge (among most) that the IFOCE is recognized worldwide as the most legitimate competitive eating organization today. Part of the responsibility that comes with that recognition is to set the standard in rules and judging. The buck has to stop there.

    I think the IF has made some progress in the last few years, and we’re all human, but there can be no excuse for errors in “bean counting,” or before-and-after weighing, when that’s the essense of determining CE talent.

    It can be quite deflating to be denied a higher (money) placing because of an error in judging, especially when you’ve spent upwards of several hundred dollars and traveled half-way across the country for a contest of only a few minutes.

    .

  22. Ron Koch said

    April 6, 2010 @ 4:32 pm

    To all the anonymous e-mailers, Booker is one of the best eaters in the world.He does not need to cheat’ to win..Win or lose Booker is a champ…..All you anonymous so called eaters would never want to meet him one on one in a contest..Thats why you anonymous…………………..

  23. A. Nonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 4:37 pm

    Anonymous @1:42 – yes, people could carry sharpies, but read the last sentence in my previous post again. If you’re allowing your incorrect number to stand, you already have no honor, so cheating by marking your doubled plates isn’t much of a stretch.

    The mark would have to be something unique at each contest. It could be as easy as going to a Dollar Tree store and buying sheets of kid’s stickers, and using a different design for each contest.

  24. Anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 5:02 pm

    Has anyone decided where they are going to qualify? I am trying to make it to Las Vegas just because even though I probably won’t qualify I will have a good time.

  25. Anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 5:06 pm

    Besides the fact that Booker is a skilled eater he is a really nice guy and down to earth. I have never heard him say a bad thing or not carry a pleasant air about him.

  26. nunonabun2 said (Registered November 10, 2009)

    April 6, 2010 @ 5:09 pm

    If you can not love Booker as a person and eater then you have never meet the man.

  27. Pat From Moonachie said (Registered December 10, 2005)

    April 6, 2010 @ 5:15 pm

    If you’re focusing on eating it’s easy to lose track of your total ..especially, if you’re a Dyslexic/ADD mofo like me!

  28. Pat From Moonachie said (Registered December 10, 2005)

    April 6, 2010 @ 5:16 pm

    Amen, nunonabun2!

  29. Anonymous said

    April 6, 2010 @ 8:22 pm

    If a plates are stuck together there would be no liquid or debris on the bottom plate.

  30. Cheata said

    April 7, 2010 @ 1:01 am

    I’m bringing extra plates with me, with pre-chewed debris for realistic effects, and my own bunnette scientifically trained to multiply, instead of add.

  31. Big Sexy said (Registered May 8, 2009)

    April 13, 2010 @ 11:20 pm

    Anyone else notice that OJ lists 2 San Diego qualifiers… One at Nathan’s Famous and the other at Splashdown Park? Is this a typo or are there going to be 2 San Diego qualifiers?

  32. Big Sexy said (Registered May 8, 2009)

    April 13, 2010 @ 11:20 pm

    http://eatfeats.com/calendar/California.html

  33. Big Sexy said (Registered May 8, 2009)

    April 13, 2010 @ 11:21 pm

    Typo… Splashdown is in Fishkill… Continue as you were…

  34. ojrifkin said (Registered July 27, 2005)

    April 14, 2010 @ 1:07 am

    Thanks. The calendar has been corrected.

  35. beautifulbrian said

    April 14, 2010 @ 12:21 pm

    you might want to update your TN challenge page. Uncle Lou’s monster burger challenge In memphis no longer exists . I spoke to the owner and the 18 scoop ice cream challenge in memphis brings up a not found page. Kooky Canuck 7lb burger in memphis is still in effect.

  36. Anonymous said

    April 14, 2010 @ 1:54 pm

    Thanks for your monumental contribution Brain

  37. Anonymous said

    April 14, 2010 @ 2:03 pm

    I knew it. BB is a closet OJ Lover.

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