2024 GBA Judge of the year, Loretta Spradlin receiving her award from GBA Chairman Greg Hoyt at the judges meeting at the Dilly Dally in Dooly Contest. Mrs. Spradlin was unable to attend the awards banquet, congrats to her and all Judge of the Year nominees. Our judges are appreciated more than you all know, thank each of you for your dedication to the Georgia BBQ Association!
The 12th Annual Tifton Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival at Fullwood Park in Tifton, GA was nothing short of spectacularβtruly a “Party in the Pines”! The weather was perfect, setting the stage for an unforgettable weekend filled with coast-to-coast music, mouthwatering food, incredible craft vendors, a thrilling dog show, engaging cooking demonstrations, a spirited kids’ cook-off, multiple ancillary competitions, and some of the best BBQ action around!
With 34 Backyard Teams and 34 GBA Pro BBQ Teams, the competition was fierce, but the camaraderie was even stronger. The dedicated, welcoming, and hard-working Team in Tifton, Georgia, made sure this event was one for the books!
GRAND CHAMPION was The Look and The Cook BBQ (Winning with their Amazing Ribs Scoring a 593.7!)Squeezing out the win over the 1st Place Loin (592.6) and the 1st Place Pork(592.4).
RESERVE CHAMPION was 319Q edging out the Rescue Smokers by 2.4 points.
LOIN CATEGORY
1st Place Loin β Shark Bite BBQ (scoring a perfect 600 in the prelims!), 2nd Place Loin β 319Q, and 3rd Place Loin β Rescue Smokers.
PULLED PORK CATEGORY
1st Place Pork β Pig-eee-licious (scoring a perfect 600 in the prelims!), 2nd Place Pork β Smokey Mountain BBQ (with a perfect 600 in the prelims!, in their first ever GBA event!), 3rd Place Pork β The Look and The Cook BBQ.
RIBS CATEGORY
1st Place Ribs β The Look and The Cook BBQ, 2nd Place Ribs β 319Q, and 3rd Place Ribs β Big Daddyβs Meat House.
Finals Notifications
Category Results
Reserve Scoring
A huge THANK YOU to all the teams, judges, vendors, volunteers, and the amazing citizens of Tifton for making this event a BBQ loverβs dream come true! We can’t wait to do it all again next year!
THANK YOU TO our 2025 Georgia BBQ Association TEAM of the YEAR Sponsors – A BETTER BUILT FENCE CO. & DEXTER MEAT CO.
If you’re looking for quality in your fencing needs, look no further thanΒ A Better Built Fence company. They install both residential and commercial fencing, serving the entire metro Atlanta area.
Dexter MeatsΒ is your go-to shop for quality meats, whether you’re competing on the circuit or in your backyard! They also offer ready made meals, and can cater any size gathering.
Also thanks to our 2025 Product Sponsors:
Mike’s Garage Doors – Need an overhead door? Got one that needs a little work? Call Mike Ratterree to schedule an appointment.
Bubba GrillsΒ – looking to upgrade your cooking game? A Bubba grill is definitely the way to go.
Sunflower Apparel and PromotionsΒ – If you’re in the market for team shirts, hats, aprons, etc.
The Georgia BBQ Association headed over to Vienna, GA for the 2025 Dilly Dally in Dooly. Starting off the 2024 GBA season with 48 amazing teams! We had beautiful weather and at a historic venue, with Great Organizers, GBA Teams, GBA Judges, and GBA Reps. Rhonda, Amanda, and the Dilly Dally Crew did a fabulous job! The GBA Teams made life tough for the judges there, and when all the judging was done, RESCUE SMOKERS won the Grand Championship with their 1st Place in Loin.
RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION – Pop’s on the Hill
Pop’s Smoke on the Hill won the Reserve Grand Champion being the most consistent team of the day, being the only team to double final..
PORK LOIN CATEGORY
Rescue Smokers won the Loin Category while scoring a Perfect 600 in the preliminary round, Big Salty’s BBQ took 2nd Place Loin also having a perfect 600 in the preliminary round, and Grills Gone Wild took 3rd Place Loin.
1st Place Loin – Rescue Smokers2nd Place Loin – Big Saly’s BBQ3rd Place Loin – Grills Gone WIld
PORK CATEGORY
Hog Harris BBQ won the Pork category in their very first Professional GBA event, Pop’s on the Hill took 2nd Place Pork, and Flaming Hogs BBQ took 3rd Place Pork.
1st PLACE PORK – HOG HARRIS BBQ2nd Place Pork Pop’s on the Hill3rd Place Pork – Flaming Hogs BBQ
RIB CATEGORY
Georgia Bullhawgs won the Rib category, Pop’s on the Hill took 2nd Place Rib, and Jack’s Old South took 3rd Place Rib.
1st PLACE RIB – GEORGIA BULLHAWGS2nd Place Rib – Pop’s on the Hill3rd Place Rib – Jack’s Old South
CATEGORY FINALS
CATEGORY RESULTS
Reserve Grand Champion Scoring
UPCOMING CONTESTS
The 2025 GBA Season is already on fire with the first competition in the books. Our next stop is March 1, 2025 is the Tifton Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival with $11,700 in prize money! If you haven’t signed up, you need to contact Angela ElderΒ immediately at (229) 848-9899 mobile or (229) 386-0216 office.
March 14-16, 2025 is the Firehouse BBQ Festival in Donalsonville, GA with $10,000 in prize money and will be the first“Double Points Contest” in the “A Better Built Fence & Dexter Meat Co.” 2025 Team of the Year Points Race! If you plan on competing in the contest, please go ahead and give the organizer Tori Gravlee a quick call so she can get an accurate team estimation. Cell: (229) 416-5929 Office: (229) 524-2118
March 28-29, 2025 is the Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash in Ashburn, GA with $12,500 in prize money including the Brisket Category paying $2,000 as the other three categories. This contest will be the second“Double Points Contest” in the “A Better Built Fence & Dexter Meat Co.” 2025 Team of the Year Points Race!! Get your applications in as soon as possible, it’s sure to be a great weekend with Fireworks on Friday night and some of the best trophies in BBQ! https://fireantfestival.com/bbq-bash/ The BBQ Bash will also include the Fire Ant Kids Burger Challenge with trophies and prizes 1st through 10th Place, with Turn ins will actually be on Saturday after the BBQ turn ins. There will also be a Peoples Choice Category paying out $500. https://fireantfestival.com/kids-burger-challenge/
The 2024 GBA TOTY is sponsored by “A Better Built Fence Co.” owned by Chuck & Carrie East of Covington, GA. They repair, replace, or install commercial and residential fence. They pride themselves in efficiency, quality, and making sure every customer is satisfied with the work provided. If you are in need of a fence give them a call at (678) 939-7027.
Congratulations to Rocky Cisneros of 319 Q on being the 2024 GBA TOTY!
11th Let's Smoke Something; 12th Bite My Butt BBQ; 13th B-Rads BBQ; 16th Johnson Boys and Girl BBQ; 18th Grills Gone Wild; 19th Big Daddys BBQ Pit
BACK to BACK – 319Q Takes the Grand Championship with a Triple Final Showing!
Grand Champion – 319Q
The GBA headed north to one of favorite contests of the year β theΒ Red, White, and Blue BBQΒ at the American Legion Post 45 in Canton, GA. 20 GBA teams battled it out with some amazing BBQ and there was plenty of shakeups in the making for the 2024 GBA Team of the Year Points Race with this “Double Points” Contest. Hats off to the great group at the American Legion for making this a very special event, and for taking such good care of the GBA. We had an amazing group of GBA Reps and GBA Judges on scene to judge some amazing Q.Β 319Q showed out withΒ Triple Finals & Winning Back to Back Grand Championships over the last two contests!!!!Β Pig-eee-licious held off (Posse BBQ with their 3- 4th Place Finishes) to take the Reserve Grand Championship. Huge Congrats to the Apalachee HS Bar-B-Cats on a GREAT showing at the Red, White, & Blue BBQ, please know that all of us here in the GBA continue to keep you and your community in our prayers! There also happened to be a Hootie sighting! We have two contests left in the 2024 GBA Season, October 26, 2024 is the BBQ, Brews, & Blues in Perry, Ga and then December 7, 2024 the 11th Annual Moultrie Moose Lodge #1158 BBQ Cook-off in Moultrie, Ga.
Reserve Grand Champion – Pig-eee-licious
Meat by the FireΒ took the top Loin spot in finals with a Perfect 600 in the preliminary round, followed byΒ Grills Gone WildΒ in 2nd place loin also with a Perfect 600 in the preliminary round.Β 319QΒ take 3rd place in the loin category.
Pork Category
319Q won 1st Place in Pork, Heavy Metal Hogs 2nd Place in Pork, and Scott’s Smoke Shack taking 3rd Place Pork.
319Q Won the Rib Category with Pig-eee-licious taking 2nd in Ribs and Lolly & Pops Smokin-Que taking the 3rd place Ribs.