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Recipe for Mixing Up a Competition in Your Community

Shayleigh Allen-Ward
Shayleigh Ward
December 23, 2025
uscc building a competition

Mixing up the perfect community competition is easier than you think—just follow this 4-step recipe! This is the perfect place to start, whether you’re serving up a recipe submission challenge, shaking things up with recorded video entries, or going all in with a live in-person showdown. 

build

The first phase in kicking off a community competition is to build the foundation. The initial Program Development phase is where you identify all the ingredients that will make your competition a success by defining goals, timelines, curriculum, and budget while locking in partners, resources, and a clear program framework. 

Check out an example USBG Program Plan for a jumping off point.

shake

Once you have loaded up your tins, your program is ready to shake! The Participant Selection Phase, kicks off the process: defining criteria, reviewing submissions, and selecting participants. Communications go out, and onboarding materials are ready to roll! 

Check out an example of a USBG Competition toolkit to share resources to your competitors. 

strain

This phase is where your program will come to life! The Participant Coordination Phase is go-time—where the program comes to life and participant engagement takes center stage: running sessions, handling logistics, and ensuring  smooth, impactful experience for participants. 

serve

The final phase wraps up the program. Program Close-out is for collecting feedback conducting evaluations, compiling results, and identifying lessons learned to inform future program cycles. This is where you will look back at the whole process to determine what went well and what you might like to change moving forward. 

Are you planning a competition in your community? We would love to know more and share your story with others! Email USBG Program Manager Shayleigh Allen-Ward to get connected. 

READ HERE, for more information on community competitions and the United States Cocktail Competition. 

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