We are excited to announce, Crush the Rush 2 - Chicago. This year we are expanding the competition to 20 teams instead of the 8 from last year in order to allow more baristas to participate. The 20 teams will compete during the day in Time Trials with the top 8 teams moving on to the finals. There will also be a series of Learning Sessions for attendees that will focus on ergonomics, bar flow and the latest in coffee research and technology.

All of this will conclude in the Crush the Rush Finals, bringing back the bracketed competition from last year along with new side work challenges and a summer fun soundtrack to dance along with.

Here is an overview of all of the events, and ways we hope you can join.

Competitor/Team Sign-up: ticket required

Tickets go live through Eventbrite, on Thursday at 10 am Central Time 15 days before the event. Team slots will be first come, first serve with a cap of 20 teams. Teams need to consist of 3 competitors that have agreed to compete. Competitors will have a time trial-time slot held sometime between 9-3pm, and then are welcome to hang out througout the day, as other teams are competiting to get the fastest time.

The team captains will need to register with the following information:

•Team Name

•Team Captain Name, Company, Email, Cell

•Teammates Names, Company Email, Cell

Learning Sessions Update: all welcome

Originally, we had a full day of learning sessions planned in an off-site venue. But unfortunately, the venue didn't work out and we've decided to pull back and will just be bringing in a specialist to talk about barista ergonomics, from 11-12pm. We still hope you can join us for this talk, and stay for as long as you'd like. The coffee bar will sharing coffee drinks on the GS3 and Linea Mini all day and lunch will be provided at 12pm.

Here's the day's schedule:

9am-3pm: Time Trials for competitors

9-11am: Coffee & snacks at the La Marzocco Home coffee bar

11am-12pm: Barista Ergonomics talk: The Right Way to Stay Healthy Behind the Bar

12-1pm: Lunch (provided by La Marzocco)

7-10pm: Final event

----------------------------------------

Party Attendee: all welcome

The Crush the Rush 2 Finals will be open to all and go from 7-10pm. The event will feature a bracketed head to head tournament and be complete with great music, food/drink and a ridiculously large Crush the Rush trophy. No ticket needed, but feel free to click ‘attending’ on our Facebook event page. We hope you can join us!

-----

For more information about the day, head to La Marzocco USA's News: https://www.lamarzoccousa.com/blog/announcing-crush-the-rush-2/

Crush the Rush competitor rules: https://www.lamarzoccousa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CTR2-Rules-4.0.docx