Official Barbecue Champions Registry

Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 13, 2026

This page describes, in plain language, how the Official BBQ Champions Registry actually works. It is not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by an attorney.

What We Collect When You Register

When you submit a registration, we collect the details of your win: champion or team name, event name, category, placement or award level, date, location, event type, state, and optional points or prize money. This information is the whole purpose of the registry. It is intentionally public and searchable, and it is displayed on your verification page along with your registry number.

We also collect the champion email address and, when someone submits a win for another person, an optional submitter name. We use that information for registration confirmation, review, and support. The champion email address is never displayed on any public page, and the submitter name is not included in the public registry.

Optional Supporting Images

You may add one JPG, PNG, or WebP event photo or event flyer to support a registration. The image is uploaded to private storage, checked by the server, converted to WebP, and stripped of source metadata such as EXIF and GPS data before it is retained for administrator review. An unfinished upload expires after a short period.

Providing an acceptable supporting image automatically marks the entry as verified. This automatic check confirms that an acceptable image was received; it does not independently prove that every fact in the registration is true. Administrators may still review, correct, or remove an entry.

Supporting images remain private by default. A flyer is never displayed publicly. An event photo may appear on the public Champion Page only when the submitter explicitly chooses that option and confirms that they have permission to share it.

To prevent upload abuse, we keep a privacy-preserving keyed hash of the submitting internet address for a limited upload-rate window. We do not place that value in the public registry.

Certificate Purchases

If you choose to buy a certificate, payment is processed by Stripe, our payment processor. We do not see or store your card number; Stripe handles that directly.

If physical certificate ordering is enabled and you order a printed or framed certificate, Stripe collects a US shipping address at checkout. We store that address to fulfill your order, and share it with Printful, our print-on-demand partner, solely so they can print and ship your certificate. Digital-only orders never collect a shipping address.

We keep a record of your order, including your email, name, item purchased, and amount, for receipts, support, and bookkeeping.

The Contact Form

A message you send through the Contact page is emailed directly to us. It is not added to the public registry and is not displayed anywhere on the site.

Cookies and Tracking

The public registry and registration pages do not use advertising or tracking cookies, and we do not run third-party analytics. A cookie is used only to keep a site administrator signed in after they log in to the admin dashboard.

How Long We Keep Information

Registry entries are kept as a permanent public record; that is the purpose of the registry. A sanitized supporting image connected to an entry may be kept with that entry for administrator review and, when the submitter opted in, display on the Champion Page. Order and contact records are kept as long as reasonably needed for support, bookkeeping, and tax purposes.

Other Companies Involved

Stripe (payment processing) and Printful (print fulfillment) each handle certain information on our behalf and have their own privacy practices. Visit stripe.com or printful.com for details.

Your Choices

To ask a question about your information, or to request a correction or removal of your registration, use the Contact page.

Changes to This Page

We may update this page as the registry changes. Check back occasionally.

Questions about this page? Send a note through our Contact page.