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It is the mission of the FBA to promote the uniquely American tradition of barbecuing meat over natural wood or charcoal-fired heat and smoke through education, family-friendly fellowship, and competition.

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View the FBA Support Our Sponsors  page or click the logo to visit the Sponsor's website.

The Team of the Year Program (TOTY)

TOTY recognizes those FBA cook teams that have perfected barbecue recipes after many sanctioned contests and years of experimentation. Is it the best barbecue? Well, judging by the points, we’d have to say it’s certainly the best in the minds of our FBA certified judges!

The Team of the Year race begins each year with the first contest after the annual FBA Funcook in December. It ends with the last contest of the year, just before the FBA Funcook.

The Top 10 teams receive awards at the Celebrate Last Year party held at the Funcook and the number one team has their cook team name inscribed in the Joby Stanaland Team of the Year Trophy, donated by the very first TOTY winners – The Sorry Boys: Chip Faul and Gary Leyman – in 2002 and named after the FBA’s first president.


Previous TOTY Winners

GitChewSum BBQ led by Allen Pomerleau wins FBA 2023 Professional Team of the Year with trophies, a Top Ten TOTY decal, and $2000 payout. His team competed in 15 contests this year to fully support the FBA


Click here to find out all of the Professional Division 2023 Team of Year winners!


Whiskey Church BBQ led by Joe Mareci wins FBA 2023 Backyard Team of the Year with a  trophy, Top Ten TOTY decal, and $750 payout. His team competed in 12 contests this year to fully support the FBA.

Click here to find out all of the Backyard Division 2023 Team of Year winners!


2023 - Professional - GitChewSum BBQ

2022 - Hot Wachula's
2021 - Backyard Bros
2020 - Backyard Bros
2019 - Pig-Chicka-Cow-Cow
2018 - Pig-Chicka-Cow-Cow
2017 - Swamp Boys
2016 - Sweet Smoke Q
2015 - Hot Wachula’s
2014 - Sweet Smoke Q
2013 - Hot Wachula’s

2012 - Big Papa’s Country Kitchen
2011 - Get-R-Smoked
2010 - Big Papa’s Country Kitchen

2009 - Swamp Boys
2008 - Swamp Boys
2007 - Home BBQ
2006 - Home BBQ
2005 - Home BBQ
2004 - Home BBQ
2003 - Home BBQ
2002 - Sorry Boys

2023 - Whiskey Church

2022 - Backyard - Matty B's
2021 - Team Smoke N’ Ash
2020 - Keepin it Smokin
2019 - La Famiglia BBQ

2024 Pro Team of the Year Rules

  • You must cook all 4 categories to receive any overall points. If you miss a turn-in or get disqualified in a category that will not keep you from getting points in other meat categories. However that will greatly affect your overall points for that contest.
  • Overall Points will be awarded based on the team count of the contest. GC will be worth a value equal to the amount of teams at the contest divided by 2. A maximum of 30 points for GC and a minimum of 10. Points Schedule available HERE.
  • Category points will be awarded as follows; 1st place will get 10, 2nd place will get 9. This formula will continue through 10th place being awarded 1 point. These points are not tied to the team count as the Overall points are. They are, however, subject to the double point’s rule of a State Championship.
  • Contests designated as State Championships will earn double points in Participation, Category and Overall. Overall points will be capped at 60 to be in-line with the maximum of 30 points for a non-championship contest.
  • TOTY points may be challenged up to 30 day after a contest.
  • No substitute cook teams will be able to participate in the absence of the head cook for the purpose of accumulation of TOTY points.
  • No cook teams can split up and compete in 2 separate FBA contests the same weekend for the purpose of accumulation of TOTY points.
  • The participation of regular cook team members without the head cook will be subject to review and interpretation by the FBA Board of Directors to determine if TOTY points will be awarded.
  • The FBA Funcook does not count toward Pro TOTY points.
  • TOTY points and points for other FBA programs will only be awarded to teams where the head cook is a member of the FBA.
  • The total points at the end of the year will determine the Team of the Year.
  • Only a tie for first place (Team of the Year) will be determined by the total accumulated scores from each contest the teams have cooked; all other places allow for a tie.
  • Numbers in each place column represent number of times team has placed at that position. Numbers under Total, Chick, Rib, Pork and Brisket are total points in that category. Points per contest is total points divided by the number of contests. (Shows per contest performance) Batting Average is Total Points divided by # of contests, divided by 100 (shows per contest performance). Average Rank shows the ranking of team based on per contest performance.

2024 Backyard Team of the Year Rules

The Backyard division has been set up to be a training ground for Backyard teams to learn their trade and develop the skills needed to compete at the Professional level. The following guidelines have been established to assist in this goal.

  • All FBA member teams can only compete for TOTY points in one division. If you are a Backyard team, you can compete in any Professional only event but you will not receive TOTY points earned in the Professional division.
  • Any Backyard team that wishes to move up to Professional TOTY can do so at any me but will forfeit all Backyard TOTY points earned up to that point.
  • Any team that wins the Backyard TOTY can continue to compete as a Backyard team in future years but will not be eligible for Backyard TOTY points.
  • Since some teams only cook a few contests each year and have no desire to ever compete in the Pro division, there will not be a time limit for Backyard team to move to the Professional levels.
  • Points for Backyard TOTY will begin at the first contest of the year with a Backyard division and end with the last contest of the year with a Backyard division.
  • Points can be earned at any contest offering a Backyard division contest.
  • The total points scored from the teams' top 5 contests will determine the Backyard Team of the Year.
  • Points for categories will be 1 point for 10th place going up to 10 points for 1st place in each category.
  • Points for overall will be earned only if the contest has a minimum of 3 categories. If the contest meets this requirement, points will be the same as in categories 1 point for 10th place and going up 10 points for 1st place overall.
  • One (1) point will be earned for participating in the contest.
  • Any team that is vending is required to compete in the Professional division. Simply put, vending is a profession and if you are a vendor and selling BBQ you are a Professional and are required to compete as a Professional.  If vending at a Backyard only contest and the organizer requires the vendor to compete in the contest, the vendor will not be penalized or receive any TOTY points.
  • To assist new Backyard teams in getting started, an announcement at the Cooks Meeting will be made for anyone who has any questions to remain behind and a couple of Professional teams will remain to answer any questions a Backyard team may have.
  • To show our support for the Backyard division, each year one contest will be designated as a Backyard State Championship and will be a double-points contest.

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Address:

Florida BBQ Association

6800 Gulfport Blvd S Ste 201, #359

South Pasadena, Florida 33707

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