SCAA Announces Details Regarding the 2016 USCC Qualifying Event
Earlier today, members received the following message regarding the 2016 regional qualifying event for USCC. The full text of the email can be found below.
Dear Specialty Coffee Professionals,A few months ago, we formed an Ad Hoc Committee to discuss the qualifying events for the United States Coffee Championships (USCC), empowered by you. This committee gave input and directives to both SCAA staff and the Competitions Committee on what a USCC Qualifying Event should look like for this year. I'm happy to say that they have been working tirelessly to fashion an event that is economically viable, fulfills the need for vetting USCC competitors, and adds value to us as members and competitors.
Today we are releasing the relevant information about the upcoming USCC Qualifying Event, including updated rules and score sheets, an FAQ to help answer questions, and more. I will take this time to remind you that we are also available to answer questions: the Barista Guild of America Executive Council, the Competitions Committee members, and SCAA staff. This year will be different from years past, something I'm sure you all were anticipating, and still different from years to come. It is through this exercise that we have an opportunity to create a better event, one that is reflective of the skill and passion of the professional barista as we look to the future of our competitions.
As Chair of the Barista Guild of America, I want to thank you for lending us your voice and thoughts to help imagine a new competition. I want to thank the members of our Ad Hoc Committee, the Competitions Committee, SCAA staff, and everyone else involved for putting in so much time to reimagine the competitions.
While we have accomplished much, there is still much to do. I look forward to seeing what our amazing community is truly capable of, and how great we can be when we work together. I'll see you all in February.
Cheers, Lorenzo Perkins Chair, Barista Guild of America
Dear Coffee Community,
Thank you, again, for making your voices heard. The overwhelming response was clear: Coffee competitions are an important part of our community. Because we think so too, it’s with a lot of excitement that the SCAA, the Competitions Committee, and the BGA Executive Council is pleased to release all of the official details for the United States Coffee Championship (USCC) Qualifying Event.
The USCC Qualifying Event will be held in Kansas City, MO from February 2-5, 2016 at the Kansas City Convention Center.
Registration to compete or judge in the barista competition or brewers cup will officially open on November 9, 2015 at 9 a.m. PST. On the USCC website, you’ll find all the important links for the updated Rules and Regulations, Scoresheets, Online Learning Sessions, and FAQs.
A few exciting changes to take note of for the USCC Qualifying Event, for the first time ever:
- Online Learning Sessions will be an opportunity for judges and competitors to ask questions (for both competitions).
- Scores for both competitions will be displayed on screens and updated at the BGA Cafe, so that competitors can see where they rank.
- All Brewers Cup competitors will have the opportunity to brew their open service coffee for the judges as well as the compulsory coffee. There has literally never been a better time to be a brewers cup competitor!
- The BGA has developed Prepfest, an event designed to boost the success of barista competitors by bringing together potential competitors, previous competitors, and seasoned judges in a series of exercises illuminating the rules and scoring of barista competition, as well as provide insight into the preparations of successful competitors. >> Learn More
Finally, a special word of thanks to the Ad Hoc Committee for their vision and to the Competitions Committee for their diligence in updating the rules, regulations, scoresheets, online learning sessions, and judges’ certification workshops.
See you all soon! (Really soon!)
Cheers, Jess Steffy Chair, USCC Competitions Committee
Please contact events@scaa.org with any questions, comments, or concerns.