When a press release comes along so good, why edit it. This straight from the SCAA:
LONG BEACH, Calif. U.S.A. (July 22, 2014) — The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) is pleased to announce that the U.S. Coffee Championships will be held February 19–22, 2015 in Long Beach, CA at the Long Beach Arena, which has recently undergone a $7 million dollar renovation. This dynamic space is part of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center Campus. To watch a video of the transformation of this space, please visit pacificballroomatthelongbeacharena.com.
This four-day event (Thursday – Sunday) will mark the first time the U.S. Coffee Championships have been held outside of The SCAA Event since 2009, when SCAA last hosted the World Barista Championship (WBC). This year, the WBC will be held at The SCAA Event in April 2015, organized and executed by World Coffee Events (WCE), an event management organization founded by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe and the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
The 2015 U.S. Coffee Championships will consist of the national events that lead up to the World Championships and are as follows: U.S. Barista Championship, U.S. Brewers Cup, U.S. Latte Art Championship, U.S. Cup Tasters Championship, and Roasters Choice Competition. Coffee professionals who are interested in competing are encouraged to review the Rules and Regulations for their respective competition.
For the 2015 Barista Competition and Brewers Cup, it will be required that competitors qualify in a regional competition to move on to the U.S. level. The dates for U.S. regional coffee competitions, which are the qualifying rounds for the national event, will be announced in the coming weeks.
If you are interested in competing or volunteering for one of these events, or have questions regarding the U.S. Coffee Championships, please email [email protected]. To learn more about supporting these events through sponsorship, please email [email protected]. More information about regional coffee competitions will be available atuscoffeechampionships.org.