CONTEST RULES

1. CONTESTANT – A contestant is any individual or group that will prepare and cook an entry or entries 

for the purpose of being judged. Contestant and all team members must be amateur competitors. The 

contest organizer may not cook in any category in this contest. Contestant will be referred to as 

“Griller.” 

2. INTERPRETATION of RULES – The interpretation of the rules and regulations are those of the contest 

organizer and his or her decisions are final. 

3. REFUND OF ENTRY FEES – N/A

4. EQUIPMENT – Each Griller will supply all of the equipment necessary for the preparation and cooking 

of their entry including a cooker. COOKER can ONLY be one of the following: Charcoal, Wood or Gas 

(NO open/pit fires). The health and safety of contestants and event goers should be a primary 

consideration when selecting appropriate cooking fuels.  

5. MEAT INSPECTION – All meats must be USDA or state DA inspected and passed. All meat must be 

maintained at a maximum temperature of 40 degrees F prior to inspection. Prior to cooking, all meat 

that is resting in preparation for cooking must be covered at all times. All meats must be cooked to a 

minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees F. and in a covered container until turned in for judging. All contest 

meat, once inspected, may not leave the Griller’s site until turned in for judging. After inspection the 

meat may be marinated, salted, seasoned or cooked by the Griller.  

6. CONTESTANT’S SITE – Each Griller is required to keep all equipment including cooker, canopy, etc. 

contained within assigned space.  

7. CLEANLINESS AND SANITATION – All Grillers are expected to maintain their cook sites in an orderly 

and clean manner and to use good sanitary practices during the preparation, cooking and judging 

process. The use of sanitary gloves is required at all times while handling food. Failure to use sanitary 

gloves may result in disqualification. Grillers are responsible for cleanup of their site once the 

competition has ended. All food safety rules and regulations must be adhered to at all times. A 

sanitation/water supply will be provided for all teams use during this event.  

8. MEAT CATEGORIES – Pork products only:  

9. JUDGING – Entries will be submitted in the containers supplied by event organizer at check-in by the 

Griller. Each entry will be judged on APPEARANCE, TASTE/FLAVOR, TENDERNESS and TEXTURE. Meat may be sauced or un-sauced. A minimum of four (4) separate and identifiable portions per category in containers supplied to Griller at check-in must be submitted for judging.  

10. SCORING – Each entry will be scored by four (4) judges in the areas of APPEARANCE, TASTE/FLAVOR, 

TENDERNESS and TEXTURE. Scoring ranges from a low of 2 to a high of 9 in increments of 1 point.  Any entry that is disqualified as per SECTION 11 will receive a score of zero from all judges at the table.  

11. DISQUALIFICATION – An entry can be disqualified by the event organizer only. An entry can be 

disqualified for any of the following reasons: 

a. There is anything foreign other than meat/sauce in container submitted for judging 

b. The entry is turned in after the officially designated time 

c. Gloves are not used while handling food products 

d. Not cooking the meat that was inspected 

e. There is not a minimum of four (4) separate and identifiable containers for entry. 

f. There is evidence of blood such that the meat is uncooked. 

12. TURN-IN TIMES: 4:30 EST 


13. JUDGING PROCEDURE
 – The event organizer brings all approved containers to the table. He/She 

announces the number of containers to be judged, opens each container and checks for rule violations 

as stated above. The containers will be passed around to the judges for sampling. The judge will then 

score each entry for APPEARANCE, TASTE/FLAVOR/TENDERNESS and TEXTURE. The event organizer 

makes sure that all scores for the containers are recorded in the proper place. This procedure is 

repeated for all containers. After each container has been scored the event organizer will return the 

container(s) to the designated area. The event organizer will then collect the judging slips.  

14. WINNERS – Grillers will have the opportunity to win First (1st) or Second (2nd) The winners in each category will be determined by adding all the scores together. THE GRAND CHAMPION Title will be the Griller with the most total points and be declared the 1st Place Trophy Winner. THE RESERVE GRAND Title will be the Griller with the next highest total points and will be declared the 2nd Place Trophy Winner. Prize monies will also be awarded: $500 for first place and $100.00 for second place.  In the event of a tie, the prize monies will be split between the top two contestants. 

15. GRILLERS may not sell any food items.

16. SAMPLES Each contestant will provide a minimum of (50) 2oz samples for public consumption in containers provided by IRC.

17. COST OF ENTRY FOR CONTEST: No Cost 

MAIL or eMAIL COMPLETED ENTRY FORMS AND ENTRY FEE TO: INDIAN RIVER CHURCH 1355 Cheney Highway 
Titusville Florida, 32780 PORK OF JULY BARBEQUE CONTEST 

QUESTIONS – Call 321-267-7922