USBG Presents World Class Sponsored By DIAGEO Terms & Conditions

USBG Presents World Class Sponsored By DIAGEO

Terms & Conditions

The USBG Presents World Class Sponsored By DIAGEO (the “Program” or “World Class U.S.”) is organized by United States Bartenders’ Guild, Inc (the “USBG” or “Organizer”) and sponsored by DIAGEO AMERICAS, INC (“DIAGEO” or “Sponsor”).

This Program is available to all residents of the United States and the District of Columbia. The Program is void wherever prohibited or restricted by law. NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

The individuals acting as Judges will be selected by USBG in its sole discretion. The number and identity of the individuals acting as Judges and deciding the Top 100 and Top 30 Finalists shall be determined, and may be changed at any time with or without notice, by USBG in its sole and absolute discretion.

The Program will involve an Entry to be completed and submitted as set forth below on or before October 16, 2023, as well as one (1) National Final in Spring 2024 to be held in person at a location to be determined. From the National Final, the top-scoring participant based on the Judges' scores will be named the World Class U.S. Bartender of the Year and move on to the Global Final.

Minimum Qualifications: Eligible individuals completing an application to the Program (each, an "Entrant") must meet the following minimum qualifications to be considered for the National Final:

• Be 21 years of age or older to participate;
• Comply with the USBG Member Code of Conduct;
• Must be a Hospitality Professional. The USBG defines a hospitality professional as someone who works primarily in the hospitality industry as an employee or principle of a bar, restaurant, hotel, or catering company including Bartenders, Sommeliers, Barbacks, Servers and Hosts, Restaurant/Bar Owners, Partners, Executive Management and Food/Beverage Directors;
• Not be currently employed or engaged by liquor companies or distributors as full-time employees or consultants;
• Employees, contractors, paid staff, and their immediate family members (parents, children, siblings or spouse, regardless of where they live, or persons living in same household, whether related or not) of USBG or DIAGEO, their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, consultants, legal counsel, public relations, sales representatives, advertising and promotional, and marketing agencies, and any others engaged in the development or distribution of this Program are not eligible to enter or win;
• Comply with the Program Terms & Conditions; and
• Entrants whose Entries are selected for the National Final will additionally need to travel to and participate in the relevant finals to continue to be eligible to win.

In order to be considered, Entrants must electronically submit a full-completed Entry by 11:59 PM PST on October 16, 2023 ("Entry Deadline") through the application link set forth below. No late submissions will be accepted. If the Program cannot be run as planned for any reason, including, but not limited to, computer viruses, pandemic or other local, state, or national restrictions, tampering, technical or other problems that damage its operation or integrity, USBG reserves the right to cancel, delay or modify the Program in its sole discretion. 

Program Entry - To qualify for the National Final, all applications will be evaluated anonymously by Evaluators based on the application detailed below:

a. Application Entry: Submit an original cocktail recipe via the application link which can be found on https://usbartendersguild.formstack.com/forms/2024_world_class_entry_application (the “Application Entry” or “Entry”). Follow the directions to enter the Program and provide your Entry. Entrants will be required to complete the entry form by providing certain information, such as name, address, contact information, and recipe. Judges will initially score recipes based exclusively on the written representation.

• The recipe must feature a minimum of 1 oz of at least one of the premium spirits from the following list including the DIAGEO Reserve portfolio and Seedlip:
  • KETEL ONE® Vodka (Base, Citroen,), KETEL ONE® BOTANICAL (Grapefruit & Rose, Cucumber & Mint, Peach & Orange Blossom), CIROC® Vodka, (Base, Apple, Peach), TANQUERAY® Gin (London Dry, No. TEN), RON ZACAPA® (no. 23, XO), BULLEIT® Bourbon (Bourbon, Rye), JOHNNIE WALKER® Blended Scotch Whisky (Black, High Rye Blue Label), DELEON® Tequila (Blanco, Reposado, Añejo), SEEDLIP (Garden 108, Grove 42, Spice 94), TALISKER (10 YR), THE SINGLETON (Glendullan 12), and DON JULIO® Tequila (Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, 1942);
• Recipes will be scored on challenge accuracy, craft, flavor analysis, and knowledge of the selected DIAGEO product;
• USBG & DIAGEO reserve the right to ensure/modify cocktail name and ingredients to comply with Diageo Marketing Code – Pocket Guide requirements; and
• USBG & DIAGEO reserve the right to feature the cocktail recipe in whole or part USBG & DIAGEO in any and all USBG & DIAGEO-owned properties without attribution or compensation.

Application Phase Two: All initial applications will be paper judged to determine the Top 100. Entrants that have been selected to proceed to the Top 100 judging will be notified by e-mail on or before January 31, 2024. The Top 100 will advance to phase two of the application process. Details surrounding the phase two challenge will be provided in a Challenge Toolkit following the Top 100 announcement. Phase two entries will be recreated to the specifications provided in the Entry, tasted and scored. The ten (10) highest-scoring Entrants per region will be identified as the Top 30 (“National Finalists”) and will advance to compete in the live National Final to be held in Spring 2024. 

All National Finalists must adhere to the minimum qualifications:

• Attend a 60-minute telephone screening & debrief with USBG and DIAGEO;
• Subject to DUI/background check completed before December 16, 2023. Entrants with DUI or criminal conviction since January 1, 2019, will be disqualified from participation; and
• Must possess a valid and current U.S. passport that has an expiration date no earlier than December 31, 2024.

Conditions of Entry: Restricted to one Entry per Entrant. Multiple Entries may result in disqualification. The first and last name provided by Entrants will be the identity of the Entrant and, if selected and qualified for a prize, the identity of the winner. The use of a fake name or email address will disqualify an Entrant. Use of agencies or robotic, repetitive, programmed, or similar entry methods is prohibited. All Entrants agree to abide by these Terms & Conditions and waive any right to claim ambiguity in this Program or these Terms & Conditions. Uploading of an Entry is not an indication that the Entrant has won a prize or is otherwise eligible for a prize. By entering the Program, Entrants represent and warrant that their Entry is their sole, original work and that it does not infringe upon the rights of any other party, including, but not limited to any intellectual property, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any other party. All Entries become the property of USBG and will not be acknowledged or returned. All Entries must be completed, including uploading of the World Class U.S. recipe, during the Entry Period to be eligible for the Program. All federal, state, municipal, and local laws and regulations apply. USBG reserves the right to verify all eligibility qualifications. Void where prohibited by law.

Void Program Entries: Entries that are deemed by the Sponsor, USBG, or Judges, in their sole discretion, to be offensive, immoral, obscene, profane, defamatory, not in keeping with the image of the Sponsor or USBG, or in violation of these Terms & Conditions will be void. Further, all Entries that contain copyrighted or other proprietary materials for which the Entrant has not obtained appropriate assignment of rights, as well as any content which disparages or portrays the Sponsor or USBG in a negative light, or otherwise violates these Terms & Conditions will be void. Furthermore, neither Sponsor nor USBG is responsible for lost, incomplete, stolen, damaged, garbled, corrupt, illegible, late, or unintelligible entries, or other errors appearing in these rules or other Program materials, misprints or errors in other Program-related information, garbled communications, failures or malfunctions of internet connections, phones, phone lines, telephone systems, technical or mechanical malfunctions, or other malfunctions, problems or errors, whether caused by equipment, programming used in this Program, processing errors, human errors or otherwise. USBG, Sponsor, and/or Judges reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to void any Entries from Entrants whom Sponsor are believed to have attempted to tamper or have tampered with the administration, security, or fairness of this Program. Sponsor Entries must be unpublished and must be the work solely of the Entrant. 

National Final: Valid Entries will be evaluated by Judges upon the criteria described in these Terms & Conditions in the exercise of their own judgment. Ten (10) Entrants in each region will be selected as National Finalists (for a total of 30 "National Finalists") and will advance to the National Final. Entrants that have been selected to proceed to the National Final will be notified by e-mail by March 19, 2024. National Final location, dates, and venues to be determined. The USBG will arrange roundtrip coach airfare for each National Finalist from the airport closest to each National Finalist's primary residence to the National Final location and will provide a travel allowance of $150 upon arrival. The USBG will arrange for and pay the cost of hotel accommodations for the National Finalist during those dates at the hotel selected by USBG. If a National Finalist lives within 150 miles of the host city, ground transportation may be substituted for airfare. 

National Finalists will be asked to compete in at least three (3) separate bartending and mixology challenges, as determined by USBG, and judged by USBG & Program Judges. National Finalists will be judged on presentation, accuracy, craft, flavor analysis, spirit and brand knowledge throughout the challenges. All National Finalists must adhere to the minimum qualifications: which will be provided in the National Final Challenge Toolkit.

All scores from the first three (3) challenges will be tallied and the Top 10 Competitors will advance to the Final Challenge. The Top 10 will be comprised of three (3) top-scoring competitors from each region and one (1) additional overall top scorer regardless of region.

Final Challenge: The Top 10 will be asked to compete in at least one (1) separate bartending and/or mixology challenge, as determined by USBG, and judged by USBG & Program Judges. All decisions by the Judges are final. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified or ineligible for any reason, the potential winner forfeits the Prize and USBG will award the Prize to the next highest-scoring Top 10 Finalist.

The highest-scoring one (1) Top 10 Finalist will be selected as the World Class U.S. Bartender of the Year. Duties of the World Class U.S. Bartender of the Year (or “Winner) announced at the event include representation of the USBG & the U.S. at the World Class Global Competition, location, and dates TBA.

The following are the general requirements for the World Class U.S. Finalist:

• Must have a valid and current Passport and immediately work with DIAGEO AMERICAS, INC. to apply for a work visa by July 1, 2024 (if needed dependent on location);
• Represent the U.S. and compete at the World Class Global event;
• Must be DMC (Diageo Marketing Code – Pocket Guide) certified before June 30, 2024; and
• Serve as a spokesperson for World Class U.S. for a minimum of 20 days at a $800/day pay rate not inclusive of travel & expenses. Work may include but is not limited to:
  • Participating in local, regional, and national USBG training and/or PR efforts throughout the year;
  • Opportunity to travel to other participating countries around the world to educate bartenders; and
  • Participating in the World Class U.S. National Final each year, acting as a mentor to future participants.

Disability Accommodation: If you are an Entrant with a communicative disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in the National Final, USBG will make reasonable accommodations. Please contact Marcela Rudershausen at mrudershausen@usbg.org at least seven (7) days before your schedule final, or immediately upon receiving notification of selection for the finals process if the time before the scheduled final is less than seven (7) days away.  

Prize and Approximate Retail Value: The estimated retail value of the Prize is $5,000. A Prize may not be upgraded, and no substitutions by the Winner will be allowed; except USBG reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute a Prize for one of equal or greater value if the designated Prize should become unavailable for any reason. The Winner may waive their right to receive the Prize. All federal, state and local taxes on the Prize are Winner's sole responsibility. By accepting the Prize, Winner waives the right to assert as a cost of winning said Prize, any and all costs of redemption or travel to redeem said Prize and any and all liability that might arise from redeeming or seeking said Prize.

Winner Restriction on Future Competitions: Entrants who have won the World Class U.S. or Global Bartender of the Year as the Winner are not permitted to compete in the program in successive years but may act as mentors, trainers, or judges for the program. Former Winners are allowed to compete in subsequent years (i.e., the Winner in 2023 may compete again in 2025). 

Entrant Representations and Warranties: By submitting an Entry, Entrant further represents and warrants that: (a) the Entry has not been previously licensed or transferred, and that Entrant unconditionally assigns and transfers to USBG all worldwide rights, title, interest and claim, which Entrant now has or may in the future have to their Entry or any element(s) thereof including, but not limited to, all intellectual property rights and each Entrant hereby waives all rights Entrant has or may have in their Entry or any element(s) thereof; and (b) any person(s) referenced has given his or her express written consent to the reference and use as contemplated by these Terms & Conditions and that Entrant has obtained written permission for such use from any such person. Submission of an Entry grants USBG the right to use, publish, adapt, edit and/or modify the Entry in any way, in whole or in part, and to use such Entry, and any ideas or concepts contained therein, in commerce and in any and all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide, including but not limited to USBG's website, without limitation or compensation to the Entrant and without right of notice, review or approval of any such use of the Entry. 

Ownership of Program Entry: Submission of an Entry further constitutes the Entrant irrevocable assignment and transfer to the USBG any and all rights, title, and interest in and to the Entry, including but not limited to all intellectual property rights and proprietary rights worldwide. Any content, material, or information included in the Entry shall not be confidential, proprietary, or trade secret. By submitting a Program Entry, Entrant consents to USBG's use, reproduction, and disclosure of the Entry, and ideas, concepts, or other materials contained therein, for any purpose, including any commercial purpose. 

Publicity: By entering this program, Entrants grant USBG and Sponsor and their affiliates permission to use their name, voice and/or likeness, and Entry for advertising, merchandising, promotion and/or publicity purposes in any and all media now known or hereinafter invented without territorial or time limitations and without additional compensation. 

Acceptance of Terms & Conditions: Entry in the Program constitutes an Entrant's full and unconditional agreement to abide by and accept the terms and conditions of these Terms & Conditions. USBG reserves the right to conduct a background check of any criminal records of the Winner and travel companions. To the extent necessary and permitted by law, Winner shall authorize this background check. USBG reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify Winner from any Prize element, based on the background check. Winner also accepts sole responsibility for any miscellaneous costs relating to acceptance of Prize. 

Entrant Dismissals: If an Entrant violates these Terms & Conditions, including without limitation the USBG Code of Conduct, acts in a dangerous or disruptive manner, or attempts to purposely sabotage any part of the Program (including any recording or photography in connection with the Program), Entrant may be disqualified from the Program by USBG or Sponsor, and USBG and Sponsor may exercise any and all rights and remedies they may have against you.

Limitations of Liability: Neither USBG, Sponsor, or each of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, parent corporations, and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees or agents, shall be liable to the Winner or any other person for failure to supply the Prize or any part thereof, by reason of any acts of God, any action(s), regulation(s), order(s) or request(s) by any governmental or quasi-governmental entity (whether or not the action(s), regulation(s), order(s) or request(s) prove(s) to be invalid), terrorist acts, earthquake, war, fire, flood, explosion, unusually severe weather, hurricane, embargo, labor dispute or strike (whether legal or illegal), transportation interruption of any kind, work slow-down, civil disturbance, health emergency, insurrection, riot, or any other cause beyond such party's sole control. USBG, Sponsor and each of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, parent corporations, and their respective officers, directors, members shareholders, employees, and agents, are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate Entry information, theft, tampering, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of Entries; printing or other errors; and any Entries which are late, lost, delayed, incomplete, misdirected, stolen, mutilated, illegible, or any combination thereof. In the event the Program is terminated early, finalists and the Winner may be selected from all eligible Entries at the time of termination.

Release and Indemnification: BY ENTERING THE PROGRAM, ENTRANT RELEASES, DISCHARGES AND HOLDS USBG, SPONSOR AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, PARENT CORPORATIONS, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL LOSSES (WHETHER ALLEGED, THREATENED OR ACTUAL), DAMAGES, RIGHTS, CLAIMS, AND ACTIONS OF ANY KIND ARISING IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM THE PROGRAM OR PARTICIPATION IN ANY PROGRAM-RELATED ACTIVITY (INCLUDING ATTENDANCE AT THE NATIONAL FINAL), OR RESULTING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE OR MISUSE OF THE PRIZE (INCLUDING ANY TRAVEL OR ACTIVITY RELATED TO ACCEPTANCE OF THE PRIZE) AWARDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, AS WELL AS CLAIMS BASED ON PUBLICITY RIGHTS, DEFAMATION, AND/OR INVASION OF PRIVACY. Entrant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold USBG, Sponsor, and their respective affiliates and agents harmless from and against any third-party claims, actions, or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including attorney fees and court costs, arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties and representations set forth above.

Privacy: Information submitted in connection with the Program will be treated in accordance with these Terms & Conditions and USBG's Privacy Policy (as may be amended from time to time), currently available at USBG Privacy Policy. By entering the Program, each Entrant agrees that USBG may share Entrant's personal information with its affiliates, contractors and Sponsor for the purpose of Program administration and Prize fulfillment in the event Entrant is chosen as a potential Winner. Entrants whose e-mail address is submitted as part of this Program agree that USBG or Sponsor may contact them by e-mail to make Entrant aware of information pertinent to the Program, and to distribute information regarding products, special events, promotional offers, or purchase incentives. Entrants may choose to opt-out of future e-mail notifications by clicking the link in the e-mail and following the opt-out instructions. Opting in to specific offers does not improve an Entrant's chances of winning.

Applicable Law: The Program, and any disputes that may arise hereunder, shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Nevada without regard to the conflicts of laws principles of any jurisdiction. Venue with respect to any such disputes shall be had in the state and federal courts for Las Vegas, Nevada. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Terms & Conditions shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision so long as the general intent of these Terms & Conditions remains in effect. In the event that any such provision is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, these Terms & Conditions shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained herein.

Copy of Terms & Conditions: Terms & Conditions are available during the Entry Period and until the completion of the National Final and will be posted HERE. 

Winner List: For the winner list, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: USBG, 2654 West Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite B5, PMB 252, Henderson, NV 89052.