Around Toomer's Corner

Cappy,
There are "rib" championships all over the country. There are two major sanctioning groups: Kansas City Barbecue Society and the Memphis Barbecue Network. Going along with this are many other more "localized" Barbecue Associations. New England, Florida, California and even Europe. Kansas City sponsors "the Jack" (Jack Daniels, in Lynchburg, TN) and "the Royal" (in KC) along with many other contests in many states throughout the Mid-west, South, Texas, Arizona, along with many other locations. Memphis Barbecue Network sponsors many contests in Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Maryland, DC, South Carolina and North Carolina; mainly.
Memphis in May has been known as the Super Bowl of Swine for many years. MBN provides most of the judges for this contest. You must take a course in both organizations to be a "qualified" judge.
About the only real difference between the two organizations is the following:
KCBS features only "blind box" (being only a numbered take out box the judges have no idea what team is represented) judging on several different categories.
MBN features two different types of judging in the main three categories": Ribs, Shoulder and Whole Hog. The two types of judging on the MBN circuit are "on site" and "blind box". Blind box is the same general judging as KCBS, but "on site" judging allows the judge to visit the cooking teams and sample the Barbecue at their booth or cooking location.
I am a "certified and qualified" MBN judge and pursuing a KCBS certification.
Yes, I am addicted to Barbecue. One note, if you are selecting a Barbecue Joint to dine, Pick the one that has a pig with the most clothes on, normally you can't go wrong.
Happy eating.