For all of you who aren't members of a CrossFit box, I thought I would explain to you what the games are all about since they have become a huge deal worldwide. They were even aired on ESPN last year! Now that Reebok is a corporate sponsor, the 2011 winners went home with $1 million between them.
The basic principal of the CrossFit Games is to find the most fit man and woman in the world. This is done in a 3 stage process: opens, regionals, and the CrossFit games. The workouts aren't announced until a couple of days before they are to be completed, so there is no way to specifically train...you just have to be fit and prepared for anything.
" In order to identify the Fittest, we invite everyone in the world to compete in the Open. Each week from February 22-March 25, an Open workout is posted and everyone does it. They have the choice to have their performance validated at a CrossFit affiliate, or submit a videotape of their performance to the Games website. The Open will consist of five workouts over five weeks.
The Open’s top 60 athletes in each region move on to the second stage of the competition, Regionals. Each Regional will be a three-day competition. Seventeen Regional competitions, covering the entire world will take place each weekend from April 27 to May 27. At the Regional level, individuals are judged, reps are counted for each workout. No more than three men and three women will advance to the third and final stage of the competition – the CrossFit Games at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The 2012 Games will run from July 13-15."
There is also a team competition:
"Team athletes will complete the five Open workouts like individual competitors. If an athlete chooses to register with a team, the athlete can still compete in the individual competition at the Regional level, if they qualify. A team’s top three male and female scores in the week’s workout will contribute to the team’s standings.
At the conclusion of the Open, the top 30 teams in each Region will advance to Regionals. A team’s Regional roster must draw from the group of athletes that represented it during the Open. Teams are comprised of three men and three women.
Over the course of three days, six team members will complete workouts together. Sometimes, only two members will do the workout, sometimes four, sometimes all six. No more than three teams will advance to the CrossFit Games Affiliate Cup."
I personally did not sign up for the opens. Without a doubt, I am not the fittest woman in the world, the country, the state, the city, or probably even my block. But the energy in our box is contagious; I am soaking up the glory of some amazing athletes I have seen put up ridiculous numbers. (I have, actually, completed the first 2 open workouts, because they have been our Friday WOD's.)
After the first two workouts, our box (CrossFit Lake Charles) has 3 of the top 50 females in the south-central region and is currently ranked 25th out of 151 teams.
The next workout is announced tonight at 7:00 PM. I can't wait to see what it is and watch our team crush it and move up the ranks!
For more info on the CrossFit Games, check out their website.
Have you ever seen the CrossFit games on ESPN? They have rerun it a few times, and I find myself watching it over and over.
Do you think this is an accurate way to crown "the fittest man & woman in the world"?
wow, sounds intense! I had no idea about all this!
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