Just heard from Marcus Boni about a few things concerning the 2011 Regional Barista Competitions schedule and new costs. Most important thing to note is that NO regionals will take place until 2011 — there’s been a rumor that the Northwest Regional Barista Competition will be taking place at Coffee Fest Seattle (October 28 “31) but IT AIN’T TRUE! Just try to be patient… the dates will be released soon, hopefully in a few weeks, so check back here for more details.
Meantime, you can set aside the registration cost for your 2011 regional competition. Prices go up this year to$150 if you’re a Barista Guild of America member. Not a member? Well, you can either pay $300 to register OR become a BGA member for just $45, then take advantage of the $150 registration price. Kind of a no brainer, n’est pas?
But if you’re itching for a barista competition fix, clear your schedule next week so you can tune in online to watch the 9th Annual Barista Championship of Mexico! As anyone in the barista competition community knows, Mexico continues to be more and more of a force to be reckoned with as the years go by; in London last June, 2010 Barista Champion of Mexico Fabrizio Sencion dazzled the judges and attendees alike by taking a coveted spot in the semifinal round with an outstanding performance.
Barista Magazine Publisher Ken Olson will be in Mexico City next week to cover the event ”he’s super excited about it! He’ll blog about it right here on Pasteboard. And be sure to catch the live action online!
Hey guys,
The BGA Membership thing aside, isn’t $150 pretty steep for an entry fee? If the idea is to encourage participation then isn’t it reasonable to keep the entry fee low (read: sub $100) certainly large companies pulling in millions per year that put up multiple USBC champions won’t blink an eye about the new fees, but how about the baristas from the small shops and independents?