Bo’s Battle ‘QUE Rules & Expectations

LOCATION

The contest will take place on the practice soccer field across from Spangler Stadium.
341 Stadium Drive, Shelby, NC 28152

Bo’s Battle QUE is a Southern BBQ Network Sanctioned BBQ Competition. It is a part of the Homecoming Festivities at Gardner-Webb University and serves the purpose of raising funds for student scholarships. Access the rules here.

Bo’s Battle QUE Rules

Shannon Hovis is the Event Representative.
Each team will consist of a Pitmaster, Alternative Pitmaster, and as many assistants as the Pitmaster deems necessary.
Each team will provide a grill/cooker to be used exclusively by that team within the confines of the team’s assigned cooking space.
Each team will bring their own seasonings, and cooking equipment. Meat must be kept in cold conditions prior to teams beginning to cook. Pork Butts will be provided by the competition. Teams are responsible for ribs and chicken.
All seasoning and cooking of the product shall be done within the confines of the team’s assigned cooking space.
All teams must have a grease barrier underneath the cooker.
Registration fees include a 20’ x 20’ cooking space and needed trailer space.
Contestants must adhere to all fire, health, and other codes whether local, county, state, or federal.
All teams must comply with the Town’s Noise Ordinance, therefore quiet hours will be 10pm – 8am.
No fighting!
All contestants are expected to respect the rights of other teams. Profane language or infringement on another team WILL NOT BE PERMITTED!
Teams must provide their own 150 ft outdoor rated and grounded extension cord, as well as food grade water hose.
Limited electricity available. Teams must be prepared to provide their own electricity.
All generators must be muffled. No exceptions!
Clean up your own area; do not leave any trash lying around.
All speakers must be turned so that amplified music or sounds are playing inward, toward the team area. No amplified music or sounds may be projected out of the team area.

PRIZE INFORMATION

Awarding Cash Prizes for Butts, Ribs, and Chicken:
1st place in each category –   $250
2nd place in each category – $150
3rd place in each category –   $75

People’s Choice Winner will receive trophy.

Grand Champion –                   $750
Reserve Grand Champion – $300

Competition Guidelines

Check-In & Inspection:
Friday, October 17, from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm. Teams will be allowed to set up immediately after the event representative has ensured the team has means to keep meat in cold conditions.

Cooks Meeting:
Friday, October 17 @ 5:15 pm. Pitmaster must attend cooks meeting. Alternative Pitmaster may attend cooks meeting, but Pitmaster must be in attendance.

Load In and Setup:
Teams must make all deliveries of equipment, cookers, and needed supplies by 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 17, 2025. No cooking or preparation for cooking should take place prior to cooks meeting at 5:15 p.m. No vehicles associated with cook teams, except to pull trailers, etc., will be allowed to enter or exit the competition site for any reason after 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Parking vehicles in areas other than those provided is prohibited. Vehicles of any kind other than passenger cars or trucks are prohibited on the grounds unless specifically approved by the organizers or for the transportation of certifiably handicapped persons. Use of any prohibited vehicle by a contestant; team member or guest will be grounds for disqualification. Please come prepared with trash bags to dispose of trash. You will need to break down any cardboard boxes before disposing. You will be responsible for managing grease and grey water disposal as we will not have that available at the event. Large trash receptacles will be available to guests voting in People’s Choice.

Power
We will provide access to electrical power, but you will need to bring a 150’ extension cord to access.

Water
Water will be provided on the competition field. Water will run from the concessions stand across from our soccer field to a large, mounted PVC pipe with spigots. Please bring 2 buckets with you: one for clean water and one for “gray” water.

Restrooms
Restrooms are located at the concessions stand across from the soccer field we are using. They will be accessible throughout the competition.

Cooker Heat Source:
There is no requirement that any particular heat source be used in the preparation of barbeque. We leave the choice of the heat source to the cooker. It may be wood, gas, electric or any other reasonable heat source. We expect all cooking devices to be in working order and any cooking devices that may be found to be faulty or dangerous could be disqualified for use in the event. If electricity is required, please refer to that on your application form. There will be designated locations on site for hot ash and trash disposal.

Meat Categories:
The festival is a Backyard BBQ Competition. Competition classes include:

Pork – Teams will be provided Two (2) bone-in Pork Butts. Pork butts will be used for People’s Choice samples.
Ribs – Bone in, excluding county style ribs. Teams will need to provide their own.
Chicken – Cookers Choice. Teams will need to provide their own.

The Barbeque within the turn in box may be chopped, sliced, pulled, shredded, ground or any way the contestant wishes to submit. Please remember to comply with local health regulations regarding internal meat temperatures.

Pork butts will be used for People’s Choice samples. If competing in the Ribs and Chicken category, teams will need to provide their own meat.

People’s Choice supplies provided by organizer:
Teams competing in Bo’s Battle ‘QUE will need to prepare pork butts for People’s Choice. Guests will purchase tickets in advance to sample and vote. Our competition will provide the following supplies for People’s Choice:

2 oz plastic cups for samples
2 Large aluminum pans for meat Forks
1 bucket with lid for collecting votes (tickets). Please decorate your bucket. Gardner-Webb University colors are encouraged.

Entry/Turn-In Times:
The entry/turn-in times are set as follows for turn in at the receiving table:

Pork Competition – 9:55 am – 10:05 am
Ribs Competition – 10:55 am – 11:05 am
Chicken Competition – 11:55 am – 12:05 pm

Teams will be recognized on the field during the 1st Quarter of the Homecoming game and winners will be announced, approximately 2:15 p.m.

Judging:
Judging will be blind judging only; entries are submitted in an approved container with no external markings, drawings, signage, etc. A marking of any kind disqualifies the entry. Each entry is judged using the judging criteria of APPEARANCE, AROMA, TASTE, TEXTURE, and TENDERNESS. Meat may be sauced or un-sauced. A minimum of 8 separate and identifiable portions must be submitted.

Scoring:
Entries are scored in five areas: APPEARANCE, AROMA, TASTE, TEXTURE, and TENDERNESS. Scoring ranges from a low of 1 to a high of 10. An entry, found to be disqualified will receive a score of 1.0 in a category.

Judging Procedure:
Table Captains deliver all sample boxes to their table. They announce each sample box number to be judged then opens each box and checks for rules violations such as marking, insufficient number of samples, etc. Table Captains then present each sample box to judges; judges score each box for appearance. This procedure is repeated for boxes 2 through the last sample box. Once all sample boxes are presented and judged for appearance, Table Captains begin with sample box # 1 and passes each box for judges’ samples; this procedure is repeated for boxes 2 through the last sample box. Each judge then begins to sample and score each entry. Once all entries are distributed, the Table Captain returns sample boxes to a designed area. Table Captains then collect judging slips, reviews judges’ scores for consistency, organizes judges’ score sheets in order of the judges’ sign-in sheet, and turns them over to the Event Representative for final score processing.

Disqualification:
The Event Representative is the only person that can disqualify an entry. The Event
Representative can be made aware of possible rule violations by Table Captains and Judges. An entry may be disqualified for any of the following reasons:

Evidence of marking or sculpting. Marking is defined as: any handwritten or mechanically made mark inside or outside the turn-in box that identifies the submitting team to any judge. Sculpting is defined as: carving, decorating, forming, or shaping of a meat entry, contained within a turn-in box, that identifies the submitting team to any judge.
Foreign material within the turn-in boxes besides the meat, no garnishes.
Less than 8 separate and identifiable samples.
Evidence of blood such that the meat is prepared below State Health Department’s safe consumption guidelines.
Entry is turned in after the officially designated time.
Not cooking pork as a single piece of meat.
Not cooking the meat that was inspected.
The Event Representative reserves the right to disqualify any entry and/or team based on any violation of rules and guidelines contained within his event packet.

Local Health Regulations
There are always various local health regulations that are imposed by the county, city, and state. These regulations are the purview of the agency involved (generally the Department of Health). If any entry is disqualified by the local Health Department, then it is disqualified for entry into the contest and will not be judged. All cookers are expected to follow all the local health regulations that are imposed.

Each team is responsible for observing required temperature control and good hygienic practices. Good hygienic practices (hand washing) must be observed by contestants. Provide a hand washing station (container with “lift up” spigot), catch bucket for dirty water, soap, and hand towels at each cook site. Bo’s Battle Que is a Backyard BBQ Competition.

Vending
Teams are allowed to vend during Saturday’s competition, from 9:30am-1:30pm. Items that may be sold at your site include t-shirts, hats, bottled sauces, and spice rubs. Vendors are solely responsible for collecting, reporting, and paying all appropriate taxes.