Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
2025-06-20 – 2025-06-21 · Sioux City, IA · 📍 111 3rd Street
Reps: EUGENE WICKHAM, SARAH WICKHAM · Prize money: $1,750.00
Grand Champion: BBQ Pit Bros (354.9144) · 20 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 East Bow Que
Entries
20
2 judged meats
Top score
354.9144
Winning margin
1.2000
GC over RC
Field average
306.34
median 310.47
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
6.2744 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
311.3028
10th place overall
Field spread
180.6060
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 27%
beats 73% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
5%
of the 20 teams with a home region came from outside IA
Came back for more
65%
11 of 17 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.51 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1511
avg power rating going in · stronger than 15% of contests
Storylines
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 5–6: DIGGERS BBQ and Hillbilly Smoke BBQ tied on 171.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: SMOKEY GQ edged East Bow Que by 0.0116. Pork Ribs places 1–2: East Bow Que edged Family Tradition BBQ by 0.0116.
🛡️ Back to defend
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Hillbilly Smoke BBQ (won 2023), East Bow Que (won 2024).
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 | 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 ← this one | 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 | 178.3200 | 171.4400 | 158.2400 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 171.4400 | 154.3084 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
20 entries · top 354.9144 · median 310.4686
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 2 | East Bow Que | |
| 3 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 4 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 5 | DIGGERS BBQ | |
| 6 | Three Casual Smokers | |
| 7 | Family Tradition BBQ | |
| 8 | Hillbilly Smoke BBQ | |
| 9 | ROCK'N HOGS BBQ | |
| 10 | 7.62 BBQ | |
| 11 | Patti's Pit Stop | |
| 12 | Smoked and Sassy BBQ | |
| 13 | STF | |
| 14 | 2 B's BBQ | |
| 15 | Sloppy Beaver BBQ | |
| 16 | Smokin With Spide | |
| 17 | Louis Bros BBQ | |
| 18 | Bankin Bites | |
| 19 | Moose Smokin BBQ | |
| 20 | Mr Rello Midwest & Southern Style BBQ |
Chicken
20 entries · top 178.3200 · median 157.3714
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 2 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 3 | East Bow Que | |
| 4 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 5 | DIGGERS BBQ | |
| 6 | Hillbilly Smoke BBQ | |
| 7 | Moose Smokin BBQ | |
| 8 | Three Casual Smokers | |
| 9 | 7.62 BBQ | |
| 10 | Patti's Pit Stop | |
| 11 | Family Tradition BBQ | |
| 12 | STF | |
| 13 | 2 B's BBQ | |
| 14 | Louis Bros BBQ | |
| 15 | ROCK'N HOGS BBQ | |
| 16 | Smokin With Spide | |
| 17 | Smoked and Sassy BBQ | |
| 18 | Sloppy Beaver BBQ | |
| 19 | Bankin Bites | |
| 20 | Mr Rello Midwest & Southern Style BBQ |
Pork Ribs
20 entries · top 177.7144 · median 154.2570
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Bow Que | |
| 2 | Family Tradition BBQ | |
| 3 | BBQ Pit Bros | |
| 4 | Chester's Twisted Que | |
| 5 | ROCK'N HOGS BBQ | |
| 6 | SMOKEY GQ | |
| 7 | Three Casual Smokers | |
| 8 | DIGGERS BBQ | |
| 9 | Hillbilly Smoke BBQ | |
| 10 | Mr Rello Midwest & Southern Style BBQ | |
| 11 | Smoked and Sassy BBQ | |
| 12 | Patti's Pit Stop | |
| 13 | 7.62 BBQ | |
| 14 | 2 B's BBQ | |
| 15 | STF | |
| 16 | Sloppy Beaver BBQ | |
| 17 | Bankin Bites | |
| 18 | Smokin With Spide | |
| 19 | Louis Bros BBQ | |
| 20 | Moose Smokin BBQ |