15th place overall / 84 teams

38th place overall / 80 teams

??rd place overall / ?? teams

73rd place overall / 104 teams

3rd place overall / 20 teams

20th place overall / 72 teams

10th place overall / 50 teams

6th place overall / 31 teams

36 teams.

8th place overall / 46 teams

9th place overall / 40 teams VIRGINIA'S TOP SCORING TEAM - Governors Cup

15th place overall / 60 teams

26th place overall / 65 teams

156th place overall / 476 teams

11th place overall / 85 championship teams

1st place overall / 15 teams GRAND CHAMPION

West Virginia is one of the most beautiful states in the US of A, and we would never miss an opportunity to head out to the mountains. Especially when we had a championship title to defend out in The Mountain State. This year there was double the teams and the weather was perfect. Like last year, Chris arrived on Friday morning with the Dizzy trailer, and the set-up, food prep, and the beginning stages of cooking was a solo effort. About 7 on Friday evening help arrived, with Kenny and Andy showing up and ready to roll! The 3 of us cooked up some nice vittles for the judges, and we were rewarded with 2 first place finishes in Pork and Brisket to hoist us to our second "repeat" grand championship of the year with 663.42 total points. Thanks to all those involved on the Snowshoe staff, and to KCBS reps Scott and Steve Grinstead for making this a great event. Congrats to Bills Grill on their first Reserve Grand Championship finish, and to Pigs on the Run (3rd) and to my partner Mike Kerslake whose 8 year old daughter Hannah led Pee Wee's BBQ to a strong 6th place overall finish! Also, special congrats to Gary's Barbecue on their first place ribs!

#30 New Holland Summerfest, New Holland Pennsylvania - August 2006

7th place overall / 72 teams

Now it's the 5th straight year at this most excellent event. This year there was a phenominal 72 teams, and we had our work cut out for us. As usual, thanks to Melvin, Chuck and the gang, the event ran like clockwork from start to finish.

A beautiful trophy for 2nd place ribs was our best finish, and our other finishes (17th, 20th and 35th) would have normally put a damper on our overall finish. But with 72 teams, the Dizzy Pig consistency once again set us up into the top ten overall. Speaking of consistency....for the second year straight our friend Steve, with Team Agave, came away with Grand Championship honors besting the second place team by over 17 points. Congrats Steve, Dale and George!!! We also want to extend a hearty congrats to Rich and the Lost Nation crew who pulled out a Reserve Grand Championship trophy with their 2nd place overall finish. Also worthy of congrats are our friends from these teams....Tarheel Smokers (3rd overall), Philly Pigs (4th overall), Smokey T's (5th overall), Ribs WIthin (6th overall), Shenendoah Q Crew (8th overall) and Dixie Bones (9th overall). Nice cookin guys!!

1st place overall / 39 teams GRAND CHAMPION 2nd Year Straight

2nd place overall / 29 teams RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION

The Award ceremony was similar to last week. Other teams got more calls to the stage, but our consistency paid off again with our first ever Reserve Grand Champion crown. A big congrats to our friend Jim and the Philly Pigs team on their well deserved Grand Champion honors!

1st place overall / 28 teams GRAND CHAMPION

36 teams. 2nd place overall points for Saturday's DC Lotto Challenge.

34th place overall / 76 teams

1st place overall / 45 teams GRAND CHAMPION with 674.85 points!

12th place overall / 55 teams.

21st place overall / 60 teams.

37th place overall / 66 of the best teams in the world.

The big news was being there. Spending time with some great folks from great teams. Walking in the team parade. Enjoying the fabulous weather. And a top shelf contest was capped off with Dizzy Pig winning a 5th place trophy jug for our BBQ Sauce! Keep your eyes peeled for an award winning sauce on the market!

20th place overall / 474 teams  -- woohooo!!!

"Okay. Chin up!! So you were a dismal 69th in the Invite." Last year we tanked the invitational, and rebounded in the Open. So we put our hopes on a rebound, and cooked the same stuff we cooked the day before (and all year long). Dizzy Pig and Big Green Eggs!! Well, this time the judges agreed about how consistently good our food has been! To receive three top 100 finishes of nearly 500 teams, and a 20th overall is very cool.

Not only did we have a nice showing, but we got to spend some time over on The Dark Side! This is the party spot, where hundreds of teams both cook and throw huge parties. It is quite a scene. Got to hang out with some really good folks both days at "The Royal", and we enjoyed this even more than last year. Even though it's over a thousand miles, we'll be back if we are lucky enough to be invited again!

69th place overall / 81 championship teams

Receiving an invitation to the American Royal for a second year straight is an honor. All of the team was excited to make the trip out to KC dragging a bunch of Big Green Eggs. To compete alongside more than 80 grand championship teams is a memorable (and humbling) experience. It is also a whole bunch of work and a really, really long drive. But the team works so well together, things went very smooth. What a great time we all had. This time we knew even more of the other teams, so it was more like a gathering with good friends and less stressful than last year. We had two goals when we left. Improve over our 62nd place overall finish last year, and get a call to the stage.

Well, we met one goal with a strong 15th place finish in pork (and call to the stage for a ribbon). Unfortunately our ribs and chicken did not fare as well with the judges, and we sadly ended up in 69th place!

1st place overall / 8 teams GRAND CHAMPION

We heard a rumor about this "Snowshoe" contest earlier in the summer, and the first thing Nature Boy thought of was MOUNTAINS! We do a lot of backpacking out this way, and would never miss a contest up in beautiful West Virginia. The contest did not disappoint. For a first time contest things were run very well. The organizers were very much in tune with the teams' needs, and also seemed very interested in knowing how they can improve for next year. Unfortunately, since it was a first time event, only 8 teams registered and got to experience this wonderful contest, but they all seemed to have a blast! It came down to a half a point, but Dizzy Pig was able to cap off a dream season with yet another Grand Championship! Don't miss this great event in 2006. I think it will be even better the second time!

4th place overall / 55 teams

For the fourth year straight we have attended this fantastic event, and the New Holland Summerfest is pencilled in for the next 10 years. I think even when, someday, we stop competing, we will still come out to New Holland. The entire crew does an incredible job at taking care of the teams, the public, and making sure everything goes smoothly. And smoothly it went.....

Well, except for when the meat inspection was done, and Chris went to get the injection juice he had prepared....then realized he had left all of the injections and sauces at home in the fridge 3 hours away!! Time for some improvising. A trip around to beg some other teams yielded some good substitutes, and even some of the same products we use. A last minute trip to the store for some other substitutes. Other teams were unbelievably generous with helping us out. Special thanks to Steve on Team Agave and Andy on Sweetgum Hollow! We were able to provide a cutting board for Tuffy....who ended up without his....so I guess it all equals out! What a great weekend, and for the first time in 4 showings, we came away with two plaques! Finally some long awaited New Holland hardware...and some food for thought.....If we would have gotten a 5th in brisket, we would have won the grand championship! (there is ALWAYS an "if")

1st place overall / 38 teams GRAND CHAMPION

Never having been to Bel Air we did not know what to expect, but we had heard great reports. Well, again we had the pleasure of cooking a very well-run and organized event. Good thing too, because the record heat was a huge challenge in itself. They kept the ice coming, and took good care of everyone. Judges were all certified, Jerry and Linda Mulane were great KCBS reps, as usual, and Craig Ward did a bang up job....both as organizer, and the MC for the awards.

Chris and John set up Thursday night, then Friday Chris flew solo until Kenny and John arrived later that evening...it was a lot of work for one person in 100 degree heat, and by the time John and Kenny arrived Chris felt like passing out. We pulled it all together and kept the cookers goin steady all night. Then Saturday morning things kept falling into place with our cooking. Stuff was done right on time. Color was right. And in spite of the stifling heat, the Dizzy Pigs kept it positive and upbeat. It paid off with our best finish ever. 666 points on the score sheet with nothing lower than a 4th place finish. It was an honor for us to finish 22 points ahead of the second place team. There was no shortage of good cooks at this one. We are still pouring cold water on ourselves.

1st place overall / 29 teams GRAND CHAMPION

We had heard from other teams that the "Wildwood" contest was not only a well run contest, but one of the funnest around. So the Dizzy Pig Team decided to get our entry checks in early for the New Jersey State BBQ Championship in the charming town of Wildwood. "The Shore", as the folks from Joisey say. Well, what we had heard was true. We had the time of our lives, and in the process we cooked up some pretty good food. Complimenting our core team (Chris, Kenny and John) was Chuck Watson, an experienced egger from Medford, New Jersey. We cooked some of our best food ever, and the judges enjoyed. Congrats to Lost Nation Smoke Company (last year's champs), and the Porkitects (2001 champs) on their 2nd and third place finishes!

36 Teams

"What the hell" we said. We had never cooked in a Memphis in May contest...this is where you are judged partly by the food in your "blind box", and partly by judges that you serve on your site! Three judges come...one after the other....and they come to be impressed! They loved the Big Green Eggs, and were very interested in what they could do. They were also anxious to hear about Dizzy Pig rubs! It was a fantastic contest on the streets of DC. Well run. Well attended. Very HOT!!! Saturday was the DC Lottery Challenge with 3 categories: Chicken, Chef's Choice Bed, Chef's Choice Pork. All were blind box entries, and we acually did fairly well with a 3rd, 6th and tenth! The onsite ribs were fun, and even though we were practicing onsite presentations for the first time, we came in a respectable 16th place. Lots and lots of fun...but a lot of work on the streets in the heat. Jack's Old South won it all, with Barnyard Roasters pulling right behind in second place.

6th place overall / 16 teams

The BBQ Road Show. Smokin' on the Chesapeake. This turned out to be a nice contest, but the smallest we have cooked yet. On the beautiful grounds of the Farm Museum in the rolling hills of Westminster, MD we set up our eggs and got cooking! Beautiful weather, and cool for June, temps were in the 70s daytime and the low 50s at night. The crowd was modest on Saturday, but there were quite a few people attending on Father's Day. The eggs and the rubs were quite a draw, and we had a real enjoyable time cooking next to our friend Andrew on Sweetgum Hollow. He was fourth overall in his first KCBS contest. Congrats to Cool Smoke, Porkitects, Dirty Dick, Sweetgum Hollow and Pork and Deans for taking the top 5 spots overall!

1st place overall / 37 teams GRAND CHAMPION

The Dizzy Pig Team made the trek out to the Eastern shore of Maryland for the Second Annual Pork in the Park BBQ Competition in Salisbury Maryland for their first competition of the year. The contest was very well run, the local people extremely friendly, and the weather (though far from perfect) was much better than forecasted! The team had high hopes of getting some good practice in to start off the year, but had no idea what was in store. Just a few days before the contest, the organizers finally received their Governors proclamation to designate Pork in the Park as a State Championship. And the Dizzy Pig team's two first place trophies, a ninth in pork, and an 18th in brisket were just enough to squeak out the 629.714 points needed to secure their second-ever Grand Championship! Now it looks like a Royal invitation is on the way, and once again we are honored to be in the hunt for a draw to the Jack Daniels World Championships.

44th place overall / 62 teams

The "JD". Just saying "World Championships" gave us the chills, and our main goals going in were to have fun and NOT to come in last place. We achieved both goals, and really had the time of our lives. From the personal guided tour of the distillery to the seriousness of the cookoff, it was an honor. The parade of teams was a blast, and once again we met some of the finest folks on the planet! We turned in some fantastic BBQ (some of the best ever) but with the stiff competition you had to turn to the second page of the score sheet to find us in most of the categories! The icing on the cake was the final category to be called....the elusive Beef Brisket! Well, the Dizzy Pig team picked up a 6th place ribbon in the toughest category to cook. Our 165.7140 points was just four ten-thousandths of a point out of Fifth, and only 2.5 points from a first place win!!

18th place overall / about 450 teams

Wow. As tired as we were the second night it was amazing we got eveything done right on schedule. Mike and Bryan ran the night shift while the rest of the team spent the night in the hotel. A bitter cold October blast hit the area, and the Canadians struggled to stay warm, but kept the cookers going steady all night long! Refreshed in the morning, Chris, Kenny and John got to work and Mike and Bryan came back after a nap, and we turned in some fantastic barbecue. We didn't hear until my wife called us on the way home (right as our trailer bearing burned up) that the Dizzy Pig team had come in 18th overall out of a field of over 450 teams. Yeeehaaaaa!! Being stuck in St. Louis was a little easier to handle with the good news. The Royal was a helluva scene, and we had the time of our lives.

62nd place overall / 89 teams

Ahhh!! This parking lot is hard!!! Okay, no complaining....this is the American Royal! We worked so hard to get here, and here we are with our tents in a sea of motorhomes competing against teams who have cooked in well over 100 contests. It is a brutal weekend, as there are two full cookoffs back to back. While we are preparing our entries for the first day of judging, we are also preparing our meat to cook for the next day....the "Open".

Overall we achieved our goals and turned in some of what we thought was top notch barbecue. Never cooking in the KC area before, we had very little idea what the judges were looking for, and we definitely had some tough competition. But we got hammered pretty good on just about everything. Chin up! Still have the Open to cook!

11th place overall / 54 teams

Our third trip to New Holland was another great weekend. For the first time we brought the kids...four of them actually! My nephew, Kenny, won the overall Kids Q with a second place in both chicken and chef's choice! My daughters and my niece were a big help selling Dizzy Pig rubs and tee shirts. Again we met some fine folks, and put out what we thought was our best effort in BBQ. Three tenth place calls were the best we could do, and we were unable to get back into that top ten overall that we always hope for! Congrats again to our pals on the Free Range team for a big 2nd place overall finish, and to Captain and his Piglets for his second win there in three years!

Again, this is a contest where I ended up with an incomplete score sheet. There are some question marks, but we did not do great!

14th place overall / 39 teams

Our second trip to "Harpoon" was just as much (or even more) fun, but we did not fare as well this year. As usual, the staff at Harpoon made it a pleasure to be there. Our local buds, the "Free Range BBQ" team won 4th place overall, and our friends UFO Social Club (now IQue) won the Grand Championship!! Congrats to them. We ended up without a score sheet, and don't remember how we finished in most of the categories. We do remember we had a great time, and met some fantastic folks form this beautiful place they call "New England".

1st place overall / 26 teams GRAND CHAMPION

A week after the Philadelphia contest was cancelled out from underneath us, we had registered for the "Smokin on the Chesapeake" competition...right in the home state of Chris and Kenny! Chris lost his father earlier this year, and this Father's Day weekend contest was dedicated to John Capell. And Dad was indeed looking down on us this day. The incredible sunrise lead to a fantastic morning of cooking and presenting our entries. Everything went smoothly, and dang if we didn't land on some good judging tables as well. Hearing our name called for the Grand Champion was very much like a dream. Very surreal.

15th place overall / 35 teams

The town of Danville reminded us of Mayberry RFD. The entire town was storybook friendly, and the organizers of this event went far out of their way to make sure the teams had everything they needed. The weather was perfect, and the park was by far the nicest spot we have competed in. I think the challenge of competing for the first time this far South, and a problem with the quality of our ribs hurt us here, but we were pleased to end up, once again, in the top half of a tough lineup.

4th place overall / 26 teams

The "other Lynchburg" as we called it turned out to be a great contest for us. We met some great new folks and the contest was very well run for a first time event. We had to improvise, as I could not get a trailer in time, and we had to get by with what we could fit in the Pathfinder, and two of our regular team mates missing. Our normal setup involves 5 or 6 big green eggs, but for this contest we had to make do with three. The pared down staff (Brett Brown from the Free Range BBQ team helped us out) and equipment shortfalls were a challenge to deal with, but the food came off the cookers especially nicely, and when the results were tallied up the Dizzy Pig team ended up with a respectable 4th place overall.

17th place overall / 43 teams

While the Dizzy Pig guys are generally a humble bunch, starting off with two top ten contests can start inflating the heads of even the tamest of egos. This turned out to be the contest that made us realize it wasn't good enough to just cook good food. Not only did we need to try and improve on what we were turning into the judges, but we began seeing that there is definitely some luck involved on which table of judges your entry lands on. Overall we were still pleased to be among the top half of the teams, but our normally strong brisket and rib scores really took a big hit this day! Ouchola.

9th place overall / 37 teams

Our second contest in beautiful Windsor, Vermont was not only an incredible time, but we learned that our beginners luck in our first contest might not be ALL luck! Again, we were blown away by the organizers of the contest, Harpoon Brewery. They not only know how to set up a contest, and how to treat the teams, but they top off the whole thing with a free pass for their wonderful brews. It is like they have a hose running straight from the brewery. Again the Dizzy Pig team was tested against the best teams on the East, and while the top ten finishes were soon to be a little less common, it was a pleasure to receive a 9th place overall finish.

8th place overall / 34 teams

New Holland, or N'Holland as the locals call it, has become our traditional every year contest, and is fantastically run. The park setting is a beautiful place to spend a weekend, and the folks who run the contest made us feel at home immediately. We also enjoyed competing against so many great teams as one of our goals was to see if we could really cook, or whether people had just been lying to us all along! This weekend had a happy ending, and answered many questions for us. It was easy for us to decide this one would be a regular for us.