Through our Members’ passion for BARBECUE, cooking, and competitive spirit, our mission is to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, EDUCATE, and DEVELOP lasting SKILLS through the art of barbecue while embracing TEAMWORK that leads to our ability to SERVE and BUILD a stronger COMMUNITY.

These official rules, as set forth and approved by the SBC Board of Directors, shall govern the practices, procedures, and participation in the contests known collectively as the Southeast BBQ Championship. Acceptance of these rules is required for participation in the contests administered under these rules. Interpretation of these rules shall be the purview of the SBC Board of Directors, and their decisions are final. These rules, as written, shall remain in effect until and unless the SBC Board of Directors approves a revised set of official rules.

Membership: Membership is open to anyone, provided they do not have an existing suspension or revocation in place. Members may resign but must still pay any outstanding financial obligations. Membership may be suspended or revoked for failure to pay financial obligations, for poor sportsmanship, or for any other reason that causes the member to be considered “not in good standing” as determined by a majority of the Board. Reinstatement of a member may occur following the process described in the bylaws. Rates of Membership and membership categories are determined on an annual basis. The rates and membership categories shall be set by the December board meeting for the upcoming Calendar year.

Team Registration: One Team Membership is required for each team to participate in the contests of the SOUTHEAST BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP (hereinafter referred to as simply the SBC) except for Kids Q teams. Kids Q teams are exempt from this rule. This membership serves as the team registration for one season of the SBC. Teams must register for the level of competition they intend to compete in (Pro, Backyard, or SCA). Teams who decide to move from Backyard to Pro during a season must pay the difference in fees to have their points counted in the Pro division. Teams must be paid in full with a current team membership to collect points for all contests cooked during the calendar year season. If a team cooks a contest and is not a member, to collect points for that contest, they may join the SBC and collect points for that contest as long as the membership is paid in Full by Midnight (Eastern Time) on the Monday night following that contest. Team membership will renew on the date of purchase every 12 months. No exceptions to these team membership rules are allowed. Rates of Membership and membership categories are determined on an annual basis. The rates and membership categories shall be set by the December board meeting for the upcoming Calendar year.

Contests: The number of contests shall vary depending on the number and willingness of sanctioned KCBS contests in the State of Georgia and all states that touch Georgia’s borders (North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida) to participate in the SBC. SCA events in these same states are counted as described in the SCA Division section below. While the SBC will endeavor to provide the most complete calendar possible before the beginning of a season, the SBC retains the right to remove or add contests. Contest cancellations and late sanctioning, along with other circumstances, create situations that are out of the control of the SBC but directly affect the SBC’s ability to conduct its contests. Therefore, participants must agree to allow for the SBC to make adjustments to the contest schedule as needed to provide for changing circumstances. It shall be up to the SBC Board to decide which contests shall be included. It is also up to the SBC Board to decide whether to include scores from additional events such as One Meat contests in the main SBC points race, to place them into a separate contest, or to disregard them. This decision shall be made before the season and shall govern all contests for that season.

Points Calculations: Pro Team points will be calculated with a 2-tier system. Tier 1 will consist of the best five (5) out of 0 – 10 contests competed. Tier 2 will consist of the best eight (8) 11-and-above contests competed. Once a team cooks their 11th contest, they will automatically roll into Tier 2.

The SBC will conduct a “Georgia Barbecue Championship OG” points race for Pro Teams only. Points will be collected ONLY for contests in the state of Georgia. Points will be calculated from the best five (5) KCBS Master Series contests from the state of Georgia. Only the overall winner will be awarded for the “Georgia Barbecue Championship OG” points race.

The SBC points system is identical to the KCBS Team of the Year Master Series points race, with two important differences – the number of events that count for SBC scoring is limited to the 2-tier system listed above for Pro teams, or best five (5) finishes for Backyard teams, and there are no “bonus points” awarded depending on the size of the contest. Teams will be awarded SBC points solely based on their finishing order by the following schedule:

Individual contests may be deemed an SBC BONUS Contest. For a contest to be part of the SBC BONUS Series, the contest organizer may apply to the SBC, and the SBC will approve the contest to be part of the SBC BONUS Series. If a contest is accepted to be part of the SBC BONUS Series, all places 1st – 25th will receive an additional (10) TEN Bonus Points. (1st Place – 260 Pts, 2nd Place – 235 Pts, ...... 24th Place – 40 Pts, 25th Place – 35 Pts.)

SCA Division: Beginning January 1, 2027, the SBC will conduct a points race for Steak Cookoff Association (SCA) cooks. Any member with an IP (SCA, Pro, or Backyard) is eligible to collect SCA points, subject to the same Monday-night membership deadline described under Team Registration, collected ONLY for SCA events held in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida. Every eligible SCA event counts- the five limits above do NOT apply to the SCA Division. Steak and Ancillary (including Ribs) are tracked as two separate points races. At multi-day events, each ancillary entry is counted. Invitational competitions at the SCA World Championship do NOT count for SBC points; open (non-invitational) SCA World Championship WILL count when the event is held in one of the states above.

SCA points are awarded for 1st through 10th place only, on the scale 1st Place – 250 Pts, 2nd Place – 225 Pts, 3rd Place – 200 Pts, 4th Place – 175 Pts, 5th Place – 150 Pts, 6th Place – 140 Pts, 7th Place – 130 Pts, Place – 110 Pts, 10th Place – 100 Pts. SCA events may apply to be part of the SBC BONUS Series in the same way as KCBS contests. At an SCA BONUS event, receive an additional (10) TEN Bonus Points (1st Place – 260 Pts down to 10th Place – 110 Pts).

SCA Tie Breaker: In the event of a tie, the ranking is based on each cook’s single highest SBC point score, then their second highest, then third highest, and so on until there is a clear winner. If d events before the tie is broken, the cooks remain tied, and their prizes will be split evenly.

Payout information: This info is set on a year-to-year basis and voted on by the SBC Board.

Overall, Chicken, Ribs, Pork, and Brisket (if Pro follows the 2-tier system) rank independently & will all be tracked for prizes and trophies. To participate, teams must follow KCBS Rules and regulations for KCBS contests and SCA Rules and regulations for SCA events. KCBS and SCA membership are encouraged but not required to participate in the SBC, and active SBC membership is required. 

Tie Breaker:< tie, the tie will be broken based on the "highest SBC points" in a head-to-head matchup. It will begin with the teams' highest five (5) SBC d, they will roll to their highest sixth SBC point score, and seventh, and eighth, and so on until there is a clear winner. If the two teams do not match, then they will likely end in a tie if they have to roll over to a fourth tie-breaker, where one team has the eighth comp score, but the other has the seventh total comps. In that case, the two (or more) teams would remain tied, and their prizes would be split evenly. Ties in the SCA Division are broken as described in the Division section above.

Disqualification and Forfeiture of Points: Teams are expected to follow all KCBS, SCA, and contest test. Failure to do so may result in disqualification from receiving points for that event, as determined by the SBC Board. Teams that are disqualified by the contest organizer, KCBS, and/or SCA shall also be disqualified from receiving points by the SBC for that event. Teams that have outstanding fees to SBC shall also be disqualified from receiving points from related events at the discretion of the Board. Failure to pay delinquent financial obligations by the end of the year tally shall result in removal from consideration in that tally at the discretion of the Board. Forfeiture of points and/or disqualification; the obligation to pay outstanding financial obligations.

Revised October 28, 2026. Rules are voted on by board members and approved with a quorum.