The SCA USA Chapter National Committee and US Competitions Committee has asked the Specialty Coffee Association to consider postponing the annual conference being held later this month in New Orleans. In an open letter published on Instagram today, the leadership states it is their responsibility “to ensure that every event we hold is safe, enjoyable, and enriching for everyone who participates” and “as of today we are working closely with the Specialty Coffee Association and encouraging them to postpone the United States Coffee Championships scheduled to take place in New Orleans September 30 – October 3.”
Here is the letter in full:
To our US Coffee Community,
As leadership of the United States Competitions Committee and the United States Chapter of the Specialty Coffee Association, it is our responsibility to ensure that every event we hold is safe, enjoyable, and enriching for everyone who participates. We want you to have an extraordinary experience, so that you’re able to perform at your highest level with the full support of your community. We want the local community that hosts these competitions to have an opportunity to welcome and support these events in ways that highlight the unique role coffee plays in their businesses and neighborhoods.
We take this responsibility seriously-particularly as it relates to your safety, and as of today we are working closely with the Specialty Coffee Association and encouraging them to postpone the United States Coffee Championships scheduled to take place in New Orleans September 30 – October 3.
Within the context of the ongoing pandemic, we are thoughtfully considering the presence, health and safety of the entire group of participants of the USCC event. This includes competitors, judges, volunteers, sponsors and the support teams that surround each of you. We must take into account the dire situation that the residents and Coffee Workers of New Orleans are currently facing following Hurricane Ida. Holding a competition in a city that has been tremendously impacted less than 30 days prior by one of the most significant storms to hit the US coastline in modern times is simply not appropriate.
It has been a long time since we’ve been able to safely gather for a competition event, but we believe that it’s worth waiting a little bit longer, so that when we come back, we can all come back together for an event that we can be confident in, and proud of.
NOLA is a remarkable coffee city and we want to support the local coffee community in the best ways possible. We’re continuing our outreach to the local businesses and community, and will further share relief efforts to support NOLA. We sincerely can’t wait to return to the Crescent City for future coffee events, and we encourage you to review the ways to support the NOLA community today via resources available here.
You deserve an extraordinary competition, and we can’t wait to put one on for you. As always, we encourage your thoughts and feedback to us directly – uschapter@sca.coffee
Sincerely,
The National Committee of the US Chapter of the SCA
The US Coffee Competitions Committee
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