Competition Center

Interesting in organizing, registering, or entering a BJCP-sanctioned competition? This page is a collection of resources to help. 

Resources for Competition Organizers

New to organizing a competition or not sure where to start? Read the BJCP Competition Handbook. Still have questions that aren’t answered on this page? Contact the BJCP Competition Director or your regional BJCP rep. If you are looking for a list of judges, we only provide contacts to registered competitions. 

Competition Registration

If you would like to register your competition with the BJCP, please follow these steps: 

1. Read and understand the BJCP Sanctioned Competition rules. You agree to these rules when you register for your competition. 
2. Complete and submit the online competition registration form.
3. Pay the registration fee after submitting the form. Alternatively, use this registration payment form to submit payment.  
4. You will receive information from the BJCP Competition Director after your registration is received and processed. Please submit your registration as far in advance as possible to avoid delays (e.g. do not expect instant access to a judge contact list the moment you register a competition). 

Competition Reporting 

After a competition is over, organizers can use this online reporting tool to submit their required reporting. The Organizer Reports page lists competitions that have submitted reports, and the Delinquent Organizer Reports page shows competitions that are late in submitting their reports. 

Competition Documents 

We have collected a list of commonly used competition documents including scoresheets, cover sheets, flight summary sheets, and so forth on our supplies and reference materials page. 

Competition Software

We maintain a list of competition software that meet our requirements. 

Resources for Judges

If you are new to judging or stewarding, it’s a good idea to read the Judge Procedures Manual. You may also want to read the BJCP Style Guidelines to refresh your memory about the styles you are judging. 

Most competitions need more BJCP judges. If you’re interested in judging, please contact the organizer listed in the competition calendar for details. Participating in BJCP-sanctioned competitions is how to earn points required to advance in rank, depending on your exam score. 

Judging points

Judges earn points at a rate of 0.5 Judge Points per session*, but the following limitations apply:

• Judges earn a minimum of 1.0 Judge Point per competition.
• Judges earn a maximum of 1.5 Judge Points per day.
• Judges cannot earn more points than the competition organizer, as set by the table listed in the competition sanctioning rules. Currently, the maximum number of points that can be earned in a competition of 500 entries or more is 6.0. 

*A session is an uninterrupted time period when at least one panel of judges sits to judge one or more flights of entries. Typically, “morning”, “afternoon” and “evening” are considered sessions at most competitions.

Missing Points

If your judge record does not show points for a competition you judges, first check to see if the competition is listed on the Delinquent Organizer Reports page. If it is, please contact the competition organizer and encourage them to submit the report to the BJCP. 

Retroactive points

If you provided your name to BJCP-sanctioned competitions before becoming a judge, we will try to match your record and add the previously earned points to your account. Please wait until after you have received your exam score and BJCP rank to see if any retroactive points have been added to your judge record. If you feel that points are missing, please contact the BJCP IT Director with specific details about the points you are missing (competition name, date, sessions judged, etc.). If we do not have a record of you on the competition report, we may ask you to contact the competition organizer to verify your participation.

Resources for Competition Entrants

If you are looking for a competition to enter, search the competition calendar. 

Most of the questions we receive are on the topic of where to enter a beer, mead, or cider in a competition. Please refer to any directions provided by the competition you wish to enter, as competitions sometimes have unique requirements, rules, or use alternative guidelines. Read the BJCP Style Guidelines to determine what style and category to submit your entry. This is especially important when entering specialty-type beers with special ingredients such as fruit and spices. 

We have started a listing of style entry suggestions based on common questions we have received related to where to enter beers. 

This article in our newsletter provided clarifications and Q&A about what beers should be entered into Specialty IPA.

If you have a concern that a competition did not follow the BJCP competition rules, please contact the Competition Director.