Photo by Matthew Temple.
About the 2023 uscc registration process
In order to encourage a fair and diverse competition group that truly reflects our community, the SCA USA Chapter and US Competitions Committees have implemented an intentional structure to the 2023 USCC Registration process, consisting of a hybrid lottery registration for USBrC, USRC, USBC, and USCIGS and open registration for USLAC and USCTC. See the FAQ below for more information.
The Lottery Nominations period for Baltimore Qualifiers is November 30 - December 7! Open Registration for the Baltimore Qualifiers will be available December 15 at 9am PST.
The Lottery Nominations period for Denver Qualifiers is January 12-17! Open Registration for the Denver Qualifiers will be available January 21 at 12pm EST.
Q: Why a lottery:
A: For the 2021-22 USBC and USBrC in Boston, a weighted lottery was used to select competitors for the very limited number of registration slots available. This decision was made for a number of reasons: a lack of qualifying events for that season, a small number of spots available, and a desire to ensure equity across the registration system.
The event in Boston was considered to be a success. There was greater diversity at the two events than at previous years’ competitions, and the level of competition remained extremely high. The USCC Strategic group and the Barista and Brewers committees received positive feedback from competitors regarding their experience with the lottery. There was also some negative feedback from competitors who did not receive a spot at competition.
This year, to strike a balance and offer the best opportunity to all competitors, there will be a hybrid method of registration for competition spots at all qualifying events. For four events (USBrC, USRC, USBC, and USCIGS), 50% of the available registration spots will be selected by a weighted lottery and the remaining 50% of spots will be available during an open registration period.
Q: What are the benefits of a lottery selection?:
A: We know that there are generally more candidates who are interested in participating than there are slots available at these events. With a limited number of entries available for some competitions, a lottery is the fairest method of choosing the roster. The goal of lottery selection is to open up the competitions to the entire coffee community without restriction. That said, there will be a weight to the selection process in order to encourage diversity and have a competition group that truly reflects our community. Good luck and we look forward to seeing everyone at a competition this season!
Q: How does it work?
A: In order to encourage a fair and diverse competition group that truly reflects our community, the Lottery form collects optional demographic data for the purpose of determining how each lottery entry will be weighted. This information will be kept confidential and data will be removed after the lottery selection is complete.
The lottery selection uses a simple form hosted on Google to assign weights to participants and a random number generator to select entries.
Q: How do I participate?:
A: Competitors who are interested in competing in one of these events may select their preferred method of registration. If they wish to participate in the lottery, they may submit an application. Following the same protocol as last year, a random drawing will take place and the selected competitors will be notified by e-mail. Each competitor will be given a registration code following their selection. Lottery selection will take place 1-2 weeks prior to open registration. The remaining spots for each competition (including any spots that are left unclaimed by lottery recipients) will be available at a set time for online registration.
Q: Are all competitions utilizing the hybrid lottery system?
A: The US Latte Art and US Cup Tasters competitions will remain fully open registration events, with no lottery process available. This is because these events are still growing and do not face the same limitations to capacity as other competitions. We encourage anyone who is interested in participating in USLaC and USCtC to register.
Q: If I am nominated for the lottery and not selected, am I still eligible to register during Open Registration?
A: Yes. Following the lottery selection, all remaining and unclaimed competition spots will be available to everyone during Open Registration.
Q: I Ranked at my Prelim but have not received next steps, how do I register to compete in Qualifiers?
A: Please reach out to uscompetitions@sca.coffee as soon as possible.
Q: When will the registraton process be available for the Mountain Region Qualifier?
A: Date, Location and registration information for the Mountain Region Qualifying Event will be announced by end of 2022.
