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The FBA Judges

Quick links and Messages
Confirmed Judges are now on the Contest Page

Contest Organizers have begun sending lists of Confirmed Judges for their contests. Those lists are noted by the red push pin icon to the right.
As always, please contact the Contest Organizer if you have any questions prior to the contest date. The FBA does not assign or control the selection of Judges for any contest other than the Funcook and Triple Crown Invitational.
Master Judge Program Take an FBA Judges Seminar Seminar Rosters Judge of the Year Program
FBA Judge Requirements

  1. Maintain an active FBA Membership.
  2. Judge a minimum of one FBA sanctioned contest every 12 months. (note: failure to achieve this requirement means you will have to attend an FBA Judge's Training Seminar prior to judging again.)
  3. Be present for the Judges Briefing at any contest your are confirmed to judge. Failure to be present means that you will not judge that contest. Check-in for judges starts at 9am on the day of the contest and ends at 9:30am. The Judges Briefing begins at 9:30am, followed by the Table Captains Briefing.
  4. If you fail to show for three contests that you are confirmed to judge without notifying either the Organizer or one of the Reps, you will be removed from the list of judges for future contests.
  5. Judge all four categories at any contest you are seated at for judging.
  6. During the contest, you are not allowed to visit with the cook teams. Doing so will cause you to be removed from the judging that day.
  7. After the contest, you may visit with the cook teams, however you may not discuss any part of the judging including your scores. Doing so will cause you to be removed from the list of judges for future contests.
50 Contests Judged

50 Contests Judged judges: Dan Buchanan getting his pin from Chuck Ray at Haines City. Marty and Karen Hyde, Donna Ray, and Gordon Gilbert, who all received their pins at Ft. Myers. Ruth Cukras, Bert Snyder, and Norman Cukras, receiving their pins from FBA Treasurer Ricky Ginsburg at Palm Beach Gardens. Clara Clark, receiving her pin from Chuck Ray at the 2009 FBA Funcook. Jerry Clark getting pinned by Ida Isaacs at Grant, Florida. Nick Cassevoy pinned by Dennis Schmitz at the Triple Crown. EJ Kraus gets his pin from Ida Isaacs at Tavares, FL. Gayle DiMaggio pinned by Carol Rodehaver and Donna Ray. Katie Buchanan awarded at Lake City, FL by Dennis Schmitz. Gary Zunt with Ida Isaacs and Dennis Schmitz. Mac McLaughlin gets pinned by Donna Ray and Carol Rodehaver at the 2010 Triple Crown. Joe Johnston III and Larry Gibeault reaching 50 at Winter Haven, FL. George Kendall and Sheilah Jones awarded their pins at Venice, FL. Lynn Cooper at Lake City, FL., Jodi & Kent Harriss at Lake City, FL., Frank Jones at Ft. Pierce, FL., Ed Cavin at Dundee, FL., Ed Thomas at Winter Haven, FL., Carol Nezat at Haines City, FL., Cullen Logan at Clermont, FL., Tony Wolfe at Ashburn, GA., Tom Pippin at Starke, FL., Rowdy Davis at Cocoa, FL., Paul & Mary Chapman at the 2012 Funcook, Donna Kendall at Mulberry, FL., Pete Odom at Ft. Pierce, FL., David Marmar at Haines City, FL., Steve Brumm at Dothan, AL., Leon Isaacs at Tavares, FL. The Master Judge Status page now has a column to indicate the Total number of judgings for each certified judge. Note: Repping and Cooking with a team DO NOT count toward the 50 contests.

75 Contests Judged

75 Contests Judged judges: Gordon Gilbert, Ruth Cukras, Norman Cukras, Marty Hyde, Karen Hyde. Bert Snyder. Dan Buchannan. Gail Cushing. Rick Dimaggio. Gayle Dimaggio & Katie Buchanan. George Kendall. Lynn Cooper. EJ Kraus. The Master Judge Status page now has a column to indicate the Total number of judgings for each certified judge. Note: Repping and Cooking with a team DO NOT count toward the 75 contests.

100 Contests Judged

100 Contests Judged judges: Karen Hyde, Marty Hyde, Ruth Cukras, Gordon Gilbert, Norm Cukras, Rick Dimaggio, Gayle Dimaggio. The Master Judge Status page now has a column to indicate the Total number of judgings for each certified judge. Note: Repping and Cooking with a team DO NOT count toward the 100 contests.


The Master Judge Program

The FBA Master Judge Program is designed to recognize those judges who have shown their support for the most judge friendly, cooker friendly competition barbecue circuit around. The FBA Master Judge is there at almost every contest. They provide the teams with a fair and unbiased arena to test their cooking skills.

The following requirements must be met to become an FBA Master Judge:

  1. Judge a minimum of 20 FBA sanctioned contests in any 5 year period or less.
  2. Table captain a minimum of 5 times in any 5 year period or less in addition to requirement #1.
  3. Must be a member of the FBA and must sustain that membership.
  4. Must cook with a cook team at least once during the same 5 year period at an FBA sanctioned contest.
  5. The Funcook is considered an FBA sanctioned contest for the purposes of judging and master judge.

If you are working towards your FBA Master Judge please click here to check your status.
This list will be updated after each contest.
If you would like a detailed breakdown of the contests you have judged
please go to the Contact Page to send an e-mail to Ricky.
Our Newest Master Judges

Susan Gibeault

Charles Golden

Bethany Reece
Cook Teams that are participating in the Master Judge Program
The cook teams require 30 days notice to reserve your space with them at an FBA contest
Please contact the head cook directly. Do not contact the FBA as we can not make these arrangements for you.
Forrest's Fine FoodsForrest Dilmore - (850)-209-77772 judges maximum
Kick the Tire, Light the FireMike Byrd - (321)-626-62582 judges maximum
Pop's QuePop Marshall - (813)-633-33382 judges maximum
Second Star BBQRuss Sylvester - (321)-543-29231 judge maximum
Smokin' Cracker BBQ TeamJimmy Brod - (863)-381-15302 judges maximum
The Wolfe BrothersAnthony or Richard - (407)-855-4520 or (407)-963-68212 judges maximum
Judge of the Year Standards

Current Standards

Lead Reps selects 3 Names and provides to FBA Board of Directors. It's the Lead Rep's responsibility to provide 3 names or delegates to another Rep

  • Show up on time at sign in
  • Seated on time for each category
  • Support the Florida Bar-B-Que Organization
  • Show consistent scoring

Additional quantifiable Judge of the Year Standards

  • Friend/Referrals: Anyone that refers a new member; be it a Cook Team, Judge, or Restaurant Owner, will be awarded 1 point for each referral.
  • Every 5 contests: Point awarded for every 5 contests judged.
  • Committees: Point awarded for those individuals that serve on a committee.
    1. Judges Committee
    2. By-Laws Committee
    3. Fun Cook Committee
    4. Celebrate Last Year Party
    5. Other committees so elected by the FBA BOD
  • Grazing Table Monitor: Point awarded to individual assigned as grazing table monitor.
  • Assist a Rep: Point awarded to those judges that stand down from judging assist a rep Saturday. Individuals would be asked to set up/tear down tables, assist with turn in table, and assist at discretion of FBA Rep.

JOTY would be a culmination of points awarded by the Quantifiable Point System and Lead Rep's Nominations. Individual with most points would be JOTY; remaining nine individuals would be JOTY finalist.

2012 Judge of the Year Finalists:
Pat Brannan, Dan Buchanan, Katie Buchanan, Gail Cushing, Ginny Davis, Gayle DiMaggio, Rick DiMaggio, Kevin French, Charles Golden, Tom Pippin

2012 JOTY Winner Rick DiMaggio.

Rick Dimaggio
2012 Judge of the Year

Marty Hyde
2011 Judge of the Year

Marty Hyde
2010 Judge of the Year

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