2023 Belgian Cup Tasters Official Rules

1. The 2023 Belgian cup tasters championship is not an official SCA event.
2. Competitors must hold a valid passport from the place they represent or documentation substantiating 24 months of residency, employment or scholastic enrolment, some portion of which must have been within 12 months preceding the qualifying Competition Body competition.
3. CCB encourages any potential conflicts of interest to be declared at the soonest opportunity, certainly prior to the commencement of any competition by competitor, and/or event organizer.
4. Failure to declare a potential conflict in advance of a sanctioned event could result in disqualification from events for an individual.
5. CCB will employ these Rules & Regulations throughout the competition. If a competitor violates one or more of these Rules & Regulations, they may be automatically disqualified from the competition.
6. The competition is organized as 8 triangular tests. In each triangular test, three cups of coffee are set up, two of which are identical, and one is unique. The aim of the competition is for the participants to use their gustatory and olfactory sense to identify the odd cup out of the three. Note that the competitors are tested on their ability to distinguish different coffees, not to identify their quality, process, origin, etc.
7. During the competition, 8 triangular tests are placed before each competitor. The coffees selected for all 8 tests will be the same for all cuppers but not necessarily in the same order.
8. The timekeeper will signal when competitors may begin triangulating. All competitors within each set will begin at the same time. The round is over when all competitors have stepped back from the table and signaled that they are finished by raising their hand and calling “time” or after a maximum of 8 minutes, whichever occurs first.
9. Each competitor should stand clear of the table prior to the start of competing.
10. Competitors must taste at least 2 of the 3 cups to determine the odd one out.
11. Competitors must identify the odd cup by pushing it over the line into a separate box from the other cups in the triangulation so that it is completely clear of its previous position.
12. The winner is the competitor who correctly identifies the highest number of odd cups. In the event of a tie (i.e., 2 or more competitors share the highest number of correctly identified triangulations), the competitor who completed the triangulations in the shortest amount of time will be declared the winner.
13. At no time is a competitor permitted to access the back of the stage or coffee preparation space. Any competitor found breaching this rule can be disqualified at the discretion of the event organizers.
14. Competitors must use the sponsored supplies provided.
15. Only the competitor’s water container may rest on the competition table.
16. Competitors spit cup must be held by competitors.
17. The competition will consist of 3 competition rounds: round one, semi-finals and finals with the top scoring competitors continuing to the following round.
18. The competitor’s scores from each round will not carry over to the next round.
19. Each competitor will be given 8 minutes to assess the 8 triangulations.
20. When cups are selected, they should be pushed across the table. If competitors lift a cup off the table, it is determined to be their final selection and must be moved across the line into the separate box. Once the cup has been pushed over the line, the cup must not be moved again.
21. The emcee will direct the competitors to lift their selected cups. No other cups can be lifted on stage apart from the ones selected.
22. Running order for the competition will be drawn randomly for each round.
23. At the conclusion of the semi-finals round there will be a ceremony where finalists are announced, and all competitors will be acknowledged.
24. Prior to the start of the competition a competitor’s orientation meeting will take place. This meeting is mandatory for all competitors. During this meeting, a CCB member will make announcements, explain the competition flow, and discuss the competition schedule. This will be an opportunity for competitors to ask questions ;
25. Competitors should be in the stage area a minimum of 30 minutes before their competition round. Any competitor who is not onsite at the start of their competition round may be disqualified.
26. All competitors must stand a minimum of 1 meter behind the competition table and not approach the table until their time has started.
27. The emcee will ask the competitors if the competitors are ready to begin. The designated competition timekeeper will begin a stopwatch the moment the emcee calls to start. Tracking time elapsed during the 8-minute competition time is the responsibility of the competitor, though they may ask for a time check at any point. The competition timekeeper will give the competitor a 4- minute, 3-minute, 2-minute, 1-minute, and 30-second warnings during the 8 minutes of competition time. The timekeeper is required to give these warnings as they occur.
28. Competition time will be stopped when the competitor raises their hand and calls “time”. The competitor must make a clear and audible signal to the official timekeeper and head judge. The maximum timeframe for the competition is 8 minutes.
29. The CCB official scorekeepers are responsible for keeping all scores.
30. If the tied competitors have the same number of correct triangulations, the competitor who completed their triangulations in the shortest time will be declared the winner. In the case where 2 or more competitors have achieved a tied score in the same amount of time, they will be ranked in the same position.