Today the International Barbeque Federation (IBF) stunned cooks world wide with their decision to officially open the Australian BBQ season a staggering 6 weeks ahead of the traditional Labour Day long weekend in October.

In another bizarre twist, the IBF decided to hold their press conference in the Inner West of Sydney, in the backyard of two prominant Concord West residents.

The two housemates, Crim and Fez, were honoured with the task of "Tongman" and "Disher-outerer" duties respectively. Fez, clearly happy to be at the launch had this to say.

"Clearly the IBF has recognised the great work of Crim and myself in our attempt to break the World Shortcourse Barbequing record last summer, when we collectively cooked 14 tonnes of Australian Red Kangaroo in a 4 week period."

A spokesman from the Bathurst 1000, who have staged the launch for the past 8 years, was clearly bitter with the decision to open early, and was quick to identify the problems with the event.

"If you're going to open something as massive as the barbie season, you've gotta make sure you do it right... steak, snags, and onion. These wanna-be's only made a bloody salad. It's a cause for national shame." said Max Power.

IBF President, Smokey Joe Weber - the man that started it all, defended the duo for their brave selection. "Not just anybody can pull off a move like this. These two are not your average Australian's - they take risks, they live on the edge. Kangaroo, Chicken Caesar Salad, Deli Surprise - these men are revolutionising the Australian Barbeque landscape, and we're not about to stop them before their influence take hold."

Speaking at the post-BBQ conference, Crim revealed another insight as to why the pair were selected for the honour. "In the past 18 months, Fez and I have staged a number of BBQ regattas, with a particular emphasis on getting women involved. By introducing the Caesar Salad at the launch, we're inviting the women this summer to take on a more pro-active role at the BBQ plate. This in turn should allow the men to be able to fully enjoy the backyard cricket matches, while allowing the women full control over the culinary aspects of the occasion."

The jury is still out on if the decision has come to early, but with the Bureau of Meteorology hinting that "winter has broken" it may just be the most successful BBQ season in recent history.

In unrelated news, Crim and Fez have approached the IOC in relation to their thoughts on a new Olympic event which, time permitting, could be included for Beijing. Given that the 250m sprint cycling is the fastest event at the Olympics, a combination event between the Equestrian and Cycling organisers has been proposed.

"We all know Horses are faster than Humans, so it just seems natural to put a Horse on a bike to get the fastest event in Olympic history." said Fez.

"Think about this logically - humans can run at a top speed of about 36km/h, but horses can run at about 72km/h. If these cyclists are doing the 250 in 11sec, there is no reason why a thouroughbred can't do it in 6sec. You do the maths... 2 legs versus 4 legs, it's not rocket science!" said Crim.

Centrebet has the odds of the Equincycling being run at the 2008 Olympics at "write your own ticket", amid speculation that Fez and Crim are holding onto a patent for the Quadcycle in the hope that licensing rights will make them rich.