OUR FOUNDING | National High School BBQ Association®

AMERICA’S CTE FOOD SPORT - WHERE DREAMS IGNITE!

A Message from the Founder

Chef Mike Erickson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
National High School BBQ Association® (NHSBBQA®)

Dear Educators, Students, Parents, and Community Partners,

When the National High School BBQ Association® was founded, it was built on a single, non-negotiable principle:

Barbecue is not just food. It is education, discipline, and a pathway to real careers, real credentials, and real opportunity.

NHSBBQA® exists to establish and govern high school and middle school barbecue as an official, school-sanctioned educational activity and competitive food sport across the United States.

We are not simply organizing contests.

We are building the institutional framework that allows barbecue to exist inside the American education system with the same legitimacy, structure, and authority as athletics, band, FFA, and culinary arts.

The Role of NHSBBQA®: Governance, Education, and Competition

The National High School BBQ Association® serves three critical functions:

1. Governing Body

NHSBBQA® establishes the official rules, safety standards, judging protocols, and operational procedures used by sanctioned school teams and events nationwide.

This ensures:

• Student safety
  Competitive fairness
  Educational alignment with Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways
  Institutional trust for school districts and state education agencies

Every sanctioned team, event, and championship operates under the NHSBBQA® governance framework.

2. Educational Credentialing Authority

Through Project BASTE Learning™ and the PITMSTR™ platform, NHSBBQA® provides students with structured, standards-based learning and verified skill credentialing in:

• Live fire cooking and barbecue
  Culinary arts and food science
  Meat science and agriculture
  Fire safety and equipment management
  Leadership, teamwork, and operational discipline

Students are not just competing.

They are building verifiable academic and career credentials.

3. Official Competition Sanctioning Body

NHSBBQA® sanctions and oversees the official competition pathway for student teams, including:

• Local and Regional Qualifiers
  State Championships
  National Qualifiers
  THE SLAB: High School BBQ National Championship

This pathway creates a structured, transparent progression system recognized by schools, educators, and partners nationwide.

Advancement is based on performance, compliance with official rules, and verified participation.

What We Are Building

Our mission is clear and long-term:

To establish high school barbecue as a permanent, recognized educational and competitive discipline within the American school system.

This includes:

• Expanding sanctioned school teams nationwide
  Supporting educators with curriculum, training, and safety protocols
  Providing students with real credentials and career pathways
  Establishing nationally recognized standards for student barbecue competition
  Creating structured pathways from middle school through college and beyond

This is institutional infrastructure—not a temporary event series.

Who This Serves

NHSBBQA® exists to serve:

• Students seeking meaningful, hands-on educational experiences
  Educators building Career and Technical Education programs
  School districts requiring structured, safe, and accountable programs
  Parents seeking positive, skill-building opportunities for their children
  Industry partners supporting workforce development

Every decision is guided by safety, education, and long-term student benefit.

Our Commitment

We are committed to operating with transparency, professionalism, and institutional rigor.

NHSBBQA® is not a social club.

It is the national governing and credentialing authority for scholastic barbecue education and competition.

And we are building it to last.

Respectfully,

Chef Mike Erickson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
National High School BBQ Association®

WHERE DREAMS IGNITE®

School & District Assurance

Governance l Register l State HSBBQ

Student Safety Standards l CTSO-Neutral Statement l Terms & Policies

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