State Finals Host/Sponsor Venues - State Steinholding Championship Tournaments

We're looking for a great venue in each state to sponsor and host our spectacular State Championship Tournament Finale! Pre-qualified Steinholders from across the state (and their adoring fans, friends and family) all flock to the State Championship venue where the competitors will go head to head and stein to stein for the glory of being crowned State Champion. These events are amazing displays of determination and athletic prowess, and we are looking for a special venue in each state to partner with us as host.

Here are some of the benefits that you can expect as a State Championship Hosting Venue:

• Steinholding is great programming and a sanctioned State Championship will draw bigger crowds and keep people talking about your venue all year long.
• You'll receive all of the benefits of being a State Championship Qualifying Venue:
• We'll waive the Qualifying Venue program registration fee for you if you choose to host qualifying rounds, and you will be able to send a men's and women's competitor to represent you in the finals.
• Participation in the State Tournament provides a great cross-promotion opportunity for your venue - we'll be promoting the State Finals event and the Qualifying Venue competitions, so you'll be getting more eyes on your location and new patrons arriving for the State Finals from all across your state.
• We'll work with you to figure out the logistics and on-site competition setup details in advance. Our expert assistance means less guess work for you.
• We provide USSA State Champion Stein Trophies for the men's and women's State Champions, as well as USSA merch gift cards.
• We provide co-branded and USSA logo vinyl banners for you to display in your competition space.
• We'll provide remote training and Q&A sessions, as well as USSA Judging Certifications for your team to make sure you're comfortable going into your competition events.
• You can use our logo and name in your event advertising and we can collaborate on co-branded materials and merchandise.
• You get a significant discount on any USSA stein and merch purchases.
• We're looking to establish long-term partnerships with the best venues, so if things go well, we can keep things going in future years if you want to host the State Championship finals again.

What are your responsibilities as State Championship Sponsor and Host?

Don't worry if you've never hosted a Steinholding competition before- we'll work through the details with you. If you have a great venue, a great team, a passion for Steinholding, and you can handle the following requirements, we can easily help you figure out the rest:

• Host a festival or special event to coincide with date of the State Championship, occurring on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, preferably in mid- to late October as a finale for the Oktoberfest season.
• Your event space must be able to accommodate a minimum of 25 simultaneous competitors at a time.
• Contribute the State Championship prizes: we ask that you provide a $1300 cash commitment to USSA which will be put toward the travel and lodging for your State Champions to move on to our National Championship Finals. If you're part of an organization like a brewers guild, or you have other sponsors or partners that are willing to help cover some of the prize expenses, that's great- we're happy to work with you to find a good option that benefits everyone.
• Purchase the 1L dimpled glass steins to be used for the State Championship Finals- we require that USSA branded (or co-branded) logo steins be used for the Championship Finals. We want the best Steinholders in your state to be competing in style and you'll get the steins at our lowest possible price, based on the current cost of materials. NOTE that while the cost may vary, as an example, in previous seasons this was ~$7 per stein plus shipping costs.
• Provide the beer to fill the Championship Round competition steins. If you have a brewery or beer distributor working with you for your event, it shouldn't be too difficult to secure an extra couple kegs as part of a sponsorship for your competition. While water can be used to fill the competition steins during Qualifying Round competitions, we encourage the use of beer during the State Championship Finals to give the competitors the most authentic experience.
• If the State Finals will be hosted as part of a ticketed event at your venue, provide free entry to each pre-qualified Steinholding competitor and one guest.
• A stage and/or outdoor space is preferred for the State Championship Finals competition, but an indoor or covered back-up space is required in case of inclement weather. Once we agree on a date for the State Finals and start advertising it, we're locked in, so there's no option for a rain date as competitors from across the state will be making arrangements to travel to your venue.
• Help us promote the qualifying rounds and Championship Finals event on site at your event, on your website, social media, etc. We promote all of our competition events, but we see the best results and biggest turnout by far when our State Finals host is really engaged and shows their commitment and passion for the sport.
• When the best Steinholders from across your state descend on your venue for the State Finals, treat them like the VIPs they are, and help them have an awesome experience at your event!

As our State Championship Tournaments continue to grow, we're trying to make each Steinholding season even bigger than the last. So if you have a great venue for hosting a State Championship and you think we can find 10-15 venues in your state to get set up as qualifiers (10 qualifying venues is our minimum target for setting up a state-wide event), let us know! We're excited to expand into more states if there's enough Steinholding interest. If you're part of a brewers' guild, restaurant group, or similar collective, that can provide a great head start, so let us know and we can work on recruiting venues together!

If you're interested and think you can meet the criteria above, contact the USSA Commissioner's office at jbanko@ussteinholding.com to learn more or to apply to become one of our State Championship host venues.

Don't want to host a State Championship but you do want to get involved as a qualifying round host venue? We would love to have you! Check out this link for Qualifying Venue information.