Team Information

We are inviting up to 30 BBQ teams to this event. 25 teams are required to make this a qualifying event for "The Jack Daniels Invitational" and the "American Royal". Please plan on cooking all four meat categories, even if you do not think you may have a strong finish in one or more of the categories. In order to remain a qualifier, a minimum number of entries for all 4 meat categories must be turned in on time.  So if they are at the exact minimum, your lack of turn-in for a category would cause the event to no longer be a qualifier that would affect all teams who competed in the event. 

We recommend that teams set-up Friday evening. The competition area at Haydu Park in Kalama will be a tight fit, so the more teams we can get set-up in advance, the better. You can stay overnight in your space if you want. There will be security patrols throughout the night. The park closes at 10:00 pm and there is a security gate. The event organizer and crew will be staying overnight as well, so your set-up will be very secure. 

Samples should consist of 2 oz or 4 oz samples, unless you are selling full plates.

2 oz samples for $3

5 oz samples for $5

Customers will pay with tokens, so there is no need for you to handle cash. 

This year the event will keep 20% of vending sales in order to fund future competitions.

If you are planning to vend (sell samples) you must be set-up and ready for patrons by 11:00 am and remain open until 7:00 pm. If you choose to vend, you must vend both days. Additionally, you must have at least one person designated to sell samples at all times. If lots of teams want to vend, we may consider allowing some teams to vend for a smaller window of time. Patrons will be given 3 tickets per day that will be used as votes for their favorite teams. At the award ceremony on Sunday, we will announce the People's Choice winner.

Teams who are vending must be set-up and ready for patrons by 10:00 am and remain open until 6:00 pm. This day is tricky for vending, since you will also be busy with competition turn in times. This is why you must have a designated person available to sell samples while your team is frantically getting ready for each turn in time. Last year we had guests who were unable to get food because no teams were available during turn in times, or they ran out of meat. Here is a typical schedule for Sunday. It may change slightly:

• 10:00am - Judges Meeting
• 10:30am - "Jack Shot" if possible. This is a strong tradition in the BBQ world with usually a quick "toast" to a great day and good luck to all. We encourage event coordinators, judges and all teams to be included if they wish.
• 11:00am - Pork Turn-in (this is done from 10:55 to 11:05, 5 mins before and after)
• 12:00am - Brisket Turn-in
• 1:00pm - Chicken Turn-in
• 2:00pm - Ribs Turn-in
• 4:30pm to 5:00pm is the award's ceremony. Judges like to do it at 5pm to give them time to tally all the scores, collect comment cards, print or write checks to each winner, print total results pages and make a packet with all of that for each team to take home so they have a copy of overall results, etc. Teams like to do the awards ASAP so they can get on the road. If we push to have the awards by 4 or 4:30 with a lot of teams the head judges will not be happy!
• 5:30pm load out

If you are planning to set-up on Saturday morning, you may enter the park as early as 6:00 am on Saturday June 24. Once you are set-up in your 20' x 20' space, you will park your vehicle across the street from Haydu Park. All vehicles must be out of the competition area by 9:00 am to ensure safety of guests who will be arriving at 10:00 am. 

$195 includes your 20' x 20' team space, turn in containers, and up to 20 amps of power. If you need more power, you must provide your own generator. Many teams bring their own, just to be safe. Teams will be given a swag bag and a container to collect their People's choice votes. You are encouraged to decorate your space with lights, banners, etc. Have fun but keep it appropriate. (nothing obscene, political, or racially charged). The PNWBA will open registration sometime in May and you can officially register and pay at that time. This form is merely an RSVP for the event organizer. No payment is accepted on this form and it does not guarantee your your team a space in the competition. However, this pre-registration will put your team in line for a space and the event organizer will notify you directly when registration is open. 

Security patrols will monitor the park overnight but you are welcome to sleep overnight in your space.

The Pacific Northwest BBQ Association website has a ton of resources. Here is a direct link to their rules page.  Restrooms, hot ash disposal, garbage disposal, grey water disposal, and grease disposal are available on site. Any teams disposing of waste in undesignated areas will not be invited to compete next year. 

Only team members may sleep in your team space. Please encourage out of town friends and family to reserve a space at Camp Kalama (.5 miles away) or OYO Hotel (1 mile away), one55elm (1.5 miles away), Kalama Harbor Lodge (2 miles away), or one of several nearby Airbnb or VRBO locations.