Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
2023-06-23 – 2023-06-24 · Sioux City, IA · 📍 111 3rd Street
Reps: ALFRED T BOWEN, FRAN BOWEN · Prize money: $1,750.00
Grand Champion: Hillbilly Smoke BBQ (351.4288) · 15 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Big Racks BBQ
Entries
15
2 judged meats
Top score
351.4288
Winning margin
5.7260
GC over RC
Field average
303.64
median 320.01
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
8.5828 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
311.9428
10th place overall
Field spread
202.2860
winner to last place
Prize money
$1,750.00
on the line
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 45%
beats 55% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
27%
of the 15 teams with a home region came from outside IA
Came back for more
46%
6 of 13 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.31 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1518
avg power rating going in · stronger than 23% of contests
Storylines
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 4–5: 2 B's BBQ edged BBQ Pit Bros by 0.0228. Chicken places 8–9: Melting Cow edged 7.62 BBQ by 0.0456.
🃏 An upset on the books
Hillbilly Smoke BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, Wrecking Crew BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 27-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
Where the field came from (home regions on file)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux City, IA | 111 3rd St | 14 | 331.4744 | Ferg A Que | — | |
| 2018-06-22 | 111 3rd st | 19 | 338.2972 | Hillbilly Smoke-IA | ROCK'N HOGS BBQ | |
| 2021-06-19 | Sioux City, IA | 111 3rd st | 22 | 344.5944 | Go Ham BBQ | — |
| 2022-06-17 | Sioux City, IA | 111 3rd Street | 13 | 345.0856 | Good Old Boys BBQ | — |
| 2023-06-23 ← this one | Sioux City, IA | 111 3rd Street | 15 | 351.4288 | Hillbilly Smoke BBQ | — |
| 2024-06-21 | Sioux City, IA | 111 3rd Street | 17 | 348.0228 | East Bow Que | — |
| 2025-06-20 | Sioux City, IA | 111 3rd Street | 20 | 354.9144 | BBQ Pit Bros | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7144 | 166.2972 | 156.5600 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4172 | 166.8344 | 153.7028 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
15 entries · top 351.4288 · median 320.0116
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hillbilly Smoke BBQ | |
| 2 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 3 | Good Ol Boys BBQ | |
| 4 | WRECKING CREW BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 6 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 7 | KICKIN BULL BBQ | |
| 8 | 2 B's BBQ | |
| 9 | 7.62 BBQ | |
| 10 | Diggers BBQ | |
| 11 | Louis Bros BBQ | |
| 12 | Melting Cow | |
| 13 | Rock'm Sock'mmm BBQ | |
| 14 | Patti's Pit Stop | |
| 15 | STF |
Chicken
14 entries · top 177.7144 · median 161.4342
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hillbilly Smoke BBQ | |
| 2 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 3 | Good Ol Boys BBQ | |
| 4 | 2 B's BBQ | |
| 5 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 6 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 7 | WRECKING CREW BBQ | |
| 8 | Melting Cow | |
| 9 | 7.62 BBQ | |
| 10 | KICKIN BULL BBQ | |
| 11 | Rock'm Sock'mmm BBQ | |
| 12 | Louis Bros BBQ | |
| 13 | Diggers BBQ | |
| 14 | Patti's Pit Stop |
Pork Ribs
15 entries · top 175.4172 · median 160.5028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WRECKING CREW BBQ | |
| 2 | Hillbilly Smoke BBQ | |
| 3 | Good Ol Boys BBQ | |
| 4 | Big Racks BBQ | |
| 5 | Diggers BBQ | |
| 6 | KICKIN BULL BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 8 | 7.62 BBQ | |
| 9 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 10 | Louis Bros BBQ | |
| 11 | 2 B's BBQ | |
| 12 | STF | |
| 13 | Melting Cow | |
| 14 | Patti's Pit Stop | |
| 15 | Rock'm Sock'mmm BBQ |