The heartbreaker
2.8340
points from the title
Came within 2.8340 points of the Grand Championship at Barbeque on the Bow Festival (Sep 2, 2023).
Northern Lights Barbecue Company
Northern Lights Barbecue Company is a competition barbecue team with 2 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2025. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Barbeque on the Bow Festival (2025), and finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They finished #181 in the 2025 Backyard Series Team of the Year standings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1530
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 2
Contests
2
in the data
First seen
Sep 2, 2023
latest Aug 30, 2025 · 2 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
1 reserve
Category wins
1
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 2 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 4%
overall standings
Walk rate
100%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 171.14 · weakest Chicken (168.27)
Road miles
0
across 2 mapped stops
Backyard avg
339.41 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 1 GC
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #181 (259 pts) | #200 (234 pts) | #207 (234 pts) | — | — |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 169.1428 | 167.3944 | 168.27 | top 9% |
| Pork Ribs | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 176 | 166.2744 | 171.14 | top 4% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbeque on the Bow Festival | 2 | 1 | 1 | top 4% | Aug 30, 2025 |
More numbers
First title
Aug 30, 2025
Barbeque on the Bow Festival
Opponents faced
73
finished ahead 91 times, behind 2
Longest layoff
2 yrs
Sep 2, 2023 → Aug 30, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20253 milestones
- First Grand Championship Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- Biggest field won (38 teams) Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- Most recent contest Barbeque on the Bow Festival
20239 milestones
- First tracked contest Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- First call Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- First overall top-10 Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- First overall podium Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- First Reserve Championship Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score343.3944 Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- Career-best overall score343.3944 Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176 Barbeque on the Bow Festival
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2025 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 1 / 38 (335.4172) | 2 (169.1428) | 2 (166.2744) | — | — |
| Sep 2, 2023 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 2 / 40 (343.3944) | 5 (167.3944) | 1 (176) | — | — |