The Games are Upon Us

The Crossfit Games.  What they are, some thoughts, and why you should do them.

In the ongoing evolution of Crossfit it appears that we have settled on a competition season beginning in late February.  The initial round of competition called the Open takes place in dispersed locations.  Workouts get announced weekly for 5 weeks and anyone with a video camera or Crossfit affiliate nearby can participate.  The top 30 or so from each region move through to the Regionals in May which for our region (covering AK, ID, MT, WA, OR) are held at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  Those that qualify (last year it was 3 men and 3 women) go to the Games in San Diego in July.

A few years ago the Games were a casual tournament on a Crossfit employee’s family ranch.  But Crossfit has exploded since then and the Games quickly became a massive event involving qualifiers just to limit the logistical challenges of the main thing.  Last year included two firsts.  The first was the Open which is managed online and done, as I said earlier, in gyms and garages.  The other was Reebok’s involvement.  In 2010 Reebok signed a sponsorship deal with the Crossfit Games.  Notice I said the Crossfit Games, Reebok doesn’t have a deal with Crossfit or it’s affiliate gyms.  The end result of this deal has been that the Games last year were much better produced than any previous, and the Games have been running and rerunning on ESPN ever since.  Reebok upped the first place prize for individuals to $1 million, which is a lot of money for burpees and pull-ups.  Who would’ve thought it’d come to this?

I like the Games because they show us just how incredible the body can be.  The athletes who are successful at the Games will be doing things that we do on a daily basis.   The Games are a reality-check, a purpose to train for, a source of inspiration,  and a way to have fun sharing in the drama that is competition.

Even if you expect to come in dead last, I think everybody should register and compete.   Seriously, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain from it.  Worst-case scenario is that a workout comes up that you are unable to do prescribed.  So we’ll modify it and you do what you can.  You won’t be able to qualify, but that wasn’t your purpose anyway.  In the end, it’s just another workout, but one with a little added something.  A little fire, a little more intensity and focus, with more people to cheer you on.

To register go to http://games.crossfit.com/.  It’s $20.  Sign up for the Crossfit Tacoma team.

The deadline to do so is by Wednesday when workouts will be released.  We’ll be doing these workouts at the gym throughout the week, but on Saturdays at 11am, we’ll run competitive heats for anyone who wants the extra push from coaches and other competitors.