The Cup Isn’t the Point.

Cannabis doesn’t move forward because of trends alone. It moves forward because people show up, share their work, test ideas in public, and allow their results to be questioned, discussed, and improved. That is the real function of the American Autoflower Cup.

The event exists as a working space for the autoflower community and the wider cannabis industry to observe progress as it happens. Autoflowers are already reshaping cultivation timelines, access, and genetic strategy. What is still evolving is how they are understood, evaluated, and integrated into broader industry standards. That is where participation becomes meaningful.

Why You Should Enter (Seriously)

If you grow autoflowers, entering is the best way to benchmark your work against the best in the business. If you’ve never grown autos, this is your chance to see what they can really do and why more growers are pivoting toward them.

Here’s what’s in it for you:

• Real Recognition: Winners get prizes that will actually help future grows. Tools, tech, and resources that empower your next season.
• Sponsor Support: Previous winners have gone on to secure sponsorships and industry collaborations. This year’s sponsors - Elements x RAW, AC Infinity, Grove Bags, Dr. Dabber, Rosin Tech Labs, Neptune’s Harvest, Dr. Zymes, and Haggard Extracts - are invested in pushing winners forward, not just handing out trophies.
• Industry Spotlight: Winning gives you exposure. Press releases amplify your name, your brand, and your work. That’s credibility you can’t buy.
• Community Access: At the Awards Ceremony, you’ll get time with your idols and peers. From Fast Buds ( past edition Best Autoflower Breeder winners, Mephisto Genetics, Twenty20 ( double podium last year with Love Bomb Auto and Grape Gas ), Humboldt Seed Co. and Z Autoflower Genetics whom recently a quite are topic in the community environment. Conversations here can lead to collaborations, friendships, and new direction for your craft.

Why This Moment Counts

The American Autoflower Cup is not positioned as an endpoint. It is a checkpoint. 

This edition is particularly significant because the judging environment brings together individuals deeply rooted in cannabis history alongside voices who are newer to the autoflower movement. That balance matters. It places autos in front of eyes that have seen decades of photoperiod dominance and invites honest comparison. The outcome is not predetermined praise. It is scrutiny, curiosity, and dialogue.

This year’s judging roster includes names with real weight across the cannabis world:

• Jenn Doe: multi-award-winning grower and hash maker whose attention to detail and dedication to craft have earned her respect across the community.
• Danny Danko: writer and cannabis advocate known for his decades of work chronicling cannabis culture and cultivation. He was Senior Cultivation Editor at High Times and authored The Official High Times Field Guide to Marijuana Strains.
• Kyle Kushman: acclaimed cultivator and educator with deep roots in organic cannabis growing and a reputation for pushing genetic boundaries.
• Maxwell Pharms: two-time award-winning autoflower farmer whose work demonstrates the potential of autos to rival traditional photoperiod strains.
• Austin Kress (Stoney McBlaze): Cultural storyteller whose voice bridges community and craft. Catch him also with a stand up moment at the Awards ceremony.

• IcanTHC: influential grower, educator, and media personality who brings clarity and experience to judging.
• David Downs: journalist documenting cannabis science, culture, and policy, bringing a critical eye to modern cultivation trends.
• MadMan Plant: cultivator, educator, and host of the Cup’s Mental Health Panel. His work promotes self-care alongside cultivation excellence.

Entry Submission Is a Form of Contribution

When a grower submits an entry, they are not simply competing for a result. They are contributing data, expression, and lived cultivation experience to a shared benchmark. Each submission reflects choices. Genetics, environment, technique, timing. Taken together, those entries form a snapshot of where autoflowers stand at this moment. This matters not only to the growers entering, but to breeders, journalists, extractors, and cultivators watching closely.

Competitions like this create reference points. They allow the industry to move away from assumptions and toward comparison. Not marketing claims, but outcomes. Not reputation, but performance.

Learning and Exchange as Part of the Structure

Participation is not limited to submitting or spectating. The last Saturday of January will also function as a time for structured exchange.

An Educational Panel led by Cup Curator Jeremy Norrie creates room for discussion around autoflowers, quality standards, cultivation decisions, and future directions. It is designed as a dialogue rather than a presentation. Speakers interested in contributing can register directly through Jeremy, reinforcing the idea that knowledge within this community is shared, not centralized.

Alongside this, MadMan Plant will host the second Mental Health Panel during the Awards Ceremony. This panel acknowledges that progress in cannabis is tied not only to innovation, but to sustainability of the people involved. Participation in the panel is open through MadMan Plant, keeping the conversation accessible and grounded in real experience. 

A Platform, Not a Shortcut

Winning is not the only outcome that matters.

The American Autoflower Cup is not positioned as an exclusive event for insiders only. It welcomes seasoned cultivators, first-time competitors, and those who have not yet worked with autoflowers but are curious about their potential. Participation at any level contributes to a clearer picture of what autos can achieve and how they are reshaping cultivation norms.

There’ll be comedy with Stoney McBlaze and with the community. There’ll be live rosin pressing. There’s also a rosin-related surprise by Adam Hill. If you want deeper context on that, or conversations around the event, autos, and the wider cannabis industry, there are already episodes out on the 2Be Blunt podcast on YouTube, featuring insights from Jenn Doe and Adam.

With registration closing and last tickets available here, this is a moment of convergence for genetics, community, and culture. Competing, attending, or simply engaging with the Cup means taking part in a measurable step forward for autoflowers and for cannabis as a whole.

This is an opportunity to take part in the conversation, not just follow it. 

See you at Be True Los Angeles, January 31, 2026.