2022 INVITATIONAL CONTEST UPDATE & INFORMATION – The American Royal is once again extending an invitation to all teams who qualified during the 2019 qualifying period through the 2022 qualifying period (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2022).
The qualifying period extension is a single-year decision based on the numerous BBQ contests that have been canceled or postponed due to COVID-19. The 2023 Invitational Contest will return to the standard qualifying period of July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023.
The American Royal Invitational Contest is by invite only. Eligible teams must have won a Grand Champion from a qualifying contest through our approved partnering sanctioning bodies during the qualifying period (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2022) which included at least 15 competing teams the first year and 25 competing teams each subsequent year. Qualifying international contests require a minimum of 10 competing teams & require that the team enter all categories (Pork, Chicken, and Beef).
All Invitational teams are required to participate in the Open Contest (Sunday turn-in). There is no additional fee to enter in the Invitational Contest (entry included in space cost). Only one entry per meat/per team/per category is allowed.
For special circumstances or for additional information on the International Invitational requirements, visit the Invitational information posted on our website.
RETURNING TEAMS – The returning team deadline to retain a space that honors past space assignments from the 2021 BBQ is June 30, 2022 (11:59pm CST). Honoring the space from the year prior is not guaranteed for teams who sign up after this date. If a team requests the same location but wants a different space size, the American Royal team will try to honor the request but the same location is not guaranteed and is subject to change. Additionally, if a team does miss a year of the competition, that team's space will no longer be able to be honored upon their return. (For example, teams who competed in 2019, but not in 2021 will not have the first right of refusal of their space from 2019.)
REGISTRATION LOGIN - At the conclusion of your registration you will be asked if you would like to create an account. ALL TEAMS MUST CREATE AN ACCOUNT or LOGIN TO EXISTING BBQ ACCOUNT (if your team has created an account for a previous year's competition). This will allow you to log back into your account, pay a final invoice on your space, update information, and edit your account throughout the registration period. Additional information on how to log in and register can be found in your email confirmation and/or the website.
REGISTRATION PAYMENT OPTIONS: At the time of registration, teams will have two options for payments:
- Full payment via Credit Card – at the time of registration
- Full payment via Check – to be mailed to the American Royal offices
For teams opting to pay via check: Finishing your team’s online registration without payment does not complete your registration. Registration data will be held until payment is received. Team space assignments will NOT be made until the check payment is received. It is strongly recommended to send the check immediately after you register if you would like your space honored. Teams paying via check and requesting the same space/first right of refusal from 2021 must send their check to the American Royal association by June 30, 2022. Full check payment must be received by August 31, 2022, in order to participate in the contest.
PAYOUTS - The Chief Cook listed on the application must list their social security number or tax ID. Award checks will be written to the individual whose information appears on the application. Please refer to the team packet for additional payout information and international payout information.
NOTICE - The American Royal will continue to operate in compliance with the local regulations and guidelines, which are subject to change at any time. Should a change in these regulations and guidelines occur, the American Royal will notify all registrants and will require that all teams abide by any new processes and rules outlined in order to be allowed to participate.
The American Royal also reserves the right to cancel an event for reasons beyond Force Majeure. In the event of a cancellation, registrants will be notified and offered a full refund of the fees that were directly paid to the American Royal minus any non-refundable processing fees. The American Royal is not responsible for any refund(s) for travel expenses or for any refund(s) between a registrant and a third-party vendor.
