Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour Kicks Off with a Bang

Bentonville, AR (PRWEB) February 06, 2014

The heat and smoke are beginning to rise as the fourth annual Sam’s Club® National BBQ Tour is gearing up to discover competition barbecue’s National Champion once again. Boasting a $500,000 prize purse, 25 local qualifying events, 6 regional finals and a national championship, held at the Sam’s Club headquarters in Bentonville, the national tour holds the title as the largest and richest barbecue series ever. Directed by All-Star Pitmaster Troy Black, former editor of Southern Living magazine, the Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour will kick off on Sat., Feb. 22 in Tampa, FL.

Since 2011, the Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour has traveled the United States, region by region, searching for the year’s best in competitive barbecue and awarding winning teams a total of $1.4 million in total prize money. In that time, thousands of Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) competition teams worked to carefully perfect and present their barbecue, which was assessed by KCBS Certified Barbecue Judges, hoping to earn the title of “National Champion.” More than 700 teams are expected to compete for their shot at fame in the 2014 Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour.

“Barbecue is truly America’s cuisine, from the iconic smoke flavor to the regionally specific tastes, a tournament of this size and magnitude is unparalleled,” said Troy Black, series director for the Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour. “This year, we’ve added stops in Maine, Pennsylvania and California to accommodate the growing competitive barbecue population in those regions, and we’ll return to barbecue hotbeds like Memphis, Tenn., Charleston, S.C., and Kansas City, Mo.”

The Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour is a tournament-style series in which teams must advance from a local qualifying event to the top tier of their regional event in order to qualify for the National Championship and a shot at the $50,000 Grand Champion prize. Sponsored by Bush’s®, Cargill®, Coca-Cola®, Heinz®, Hillshire®, KC Masterpiece®, Kingsford®, the National Pork Board, New Zealand Lamb, Pillsbury®, Tone’s® and Wright® Brand Bacon, this continuously building competition that brings out the best, most committed barbecue teams and keeps judges and spectators returning to Sam’s Club competitions for the smell and flavor of the country’s best barbecue.

While the competition teams are cooking, Black will showcase grilling demos and free samples of quality meats and sides to event attendees. Each event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://kcbs.us/samstour.

About Sam’s Club
Sam’s Club®, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is the nation’s eighth largest retailer and a leading membership warehouse club offering savings and surprises to millions of members in 630 U.S. club locations and at SamsClub.com. Sam’s Club members averaged savings of 33 percent versus traditional retailers.1 To learn more about Savings Made Simple®, visit the Sam’s Club Newsroom, shop at SamsClub.com, and interact with Sam’s Club on Twitter and Facebook.

*Based on estimated annualized savings on items Members purchased in select categories derived from a survey conducted in 30 US markets between 2/25/2013 and 3/15/2013 comparing our regular unit prices to regular and shelf-visible sale and loyalty discount unit prices of selected non-Club competitors, including but not limited to grocery stores and mass retailers, but excluding Walmart®. Local savings for individual customers vary. For more information, please send requests to the attention of Sam’s Club Member Services, 2101 SE Simple Savings Drive., Bentonville, AR 72716-0745.

About Kansas City Barbeque Society
The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and enjoying barbeque, is the world's largest organization of barbeque and grilling enthusiasts with over 17,000 members worldwide.
KCBS sanctions over 400 barbeque contests throughout the United States and spanning the globe. From volunteering to actual event production, our members also offer assistance to civic and charitable organizations who organize events. For more information, visit: kcbs.us.

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