US Army Warrior Fitness Team Holding Tryouts for 2021 Season
The United States Army Warrior Fitness Team is reloading their roster for the upcoming 2021 CrossFit season. The team will be holding an online tryout for members of the US Army that are interested in joining.
One big thing: The Army Warrior Fitness Team is looking to fill 5-6 slots on the full-time, active duty team, with the possibility of more slots being created depending on the quality of athletes that try out. The ultimate goal of the team is to bring together the most competitive group of soldiers to compete against elite athletes in the sport of fitness.
The details: CPT Rachel Schreiber and SGT Jacob Pfaff, current members of the team, will be handling the selection process for the new roster of athletes. To be considered for the full-time team, soldiers must currently be in an active duty status in the Army.
- All interested soldiers must send an email to the selection board that includes a resume that outlines fitness achievements and showcases why they should be a member of the team. Examples of fitness achievements include CrossFit Open placements, Sanctional and/or regionals experience.
- Soldiers interested in competing on the CrossFit team must sign up for the free online qualifier on Competition Corner. The online qualifier is open from Dec. 1-15. The password to access the qualifier is NobleDefender.
- The online qualifier will consist of four workouts. The first two workouts will be released on Dec. 1; the final two workouts will be released on Dec. 8.
- Scores and video for workouts 1 and 2 must be submitted by 5pm ET on Dec. 8. Workouts 3 and 4 scores and video must be submitted by 5pm ET on Dec. 15.
- The workouts will include classic Open workouts, tests of strength and other workouts from various other 2020 online qualifiers. CPT Schreiber said to expect twists to some of the workouts that will test certain aspects of fitness that the team is looking for specifically.
- The selection committee will then invite a group of soldiers, based on their submitted resume and workout scores, to the in-person tryout at Fort Knox, KY at a later date.
- Soldiers selected for the in-person tryout will be put on Temporary Duty (TDY) orders.
- Soldiers interested in being a strongman/woman and power/olympic lifting athlete for the team, lifting videos may be requested to confirm statistics listed on fitness resumes.
- Soldiers who are selected to the full-time team will be reassigned to the US Army Recruiting Command. For officers it’s a two-year assignment, for enlisted soldiers it ranges from three to five years. Assignments can be shortened to less based on soldiers not reaching performance objectives.
- The final team will consist of eight functional fitness/CrossFit athletes (four males, four females) and 4-5 other fitness athletes (strongmen/women/power/olympic lifters/etc).
For the first time ever, the team will open selection to their “At-Large” team to US Army Reservists and National Guard soldiers. Members of the “At-Large” team are not assigned to full-time duty and train on their own. However they will represent and be supported by the team at various local, national and international fitness competitions.
- LTC Tony Kurz is the most well-known member of the “At-Large” team. LTC Kurz, an active duty officer, is assigned to another command but competes regularly as a member of the team as a masters division athlete. A 2019 CrossFit Games masters athlete, this year alone he has competed at Wodapalooza, Strength in Depth, the Masters Fitness Collective Championships, the International Functional Fitness World Championships and plans to compete at the upcoming Legends Masters Competition.
Remind me: The team was created two years ago with the specific goal of expanding the Army’s recruiting efforts into the ever-growing functional fitness world while highlighting the different job and lifestyle opportunities the United States Army provides.
- The team was immediately successful as they gathered many athletes within their ranks that competed at the highest level of functional fitness at various competitions worldwide.
- CPT Chandler Smith made two-straight CrossFit Games appearances during his time with the team highlighted by his sixth place finish at this year’s Games.
The bottom line: The team looks to continue the success its experienced in its first two years, not only on the competition floor but also in its recruitment efforts. The team will lose CPT Smith as well as a number of other top athletes who made the team successful but are hoping the legacy and notoriety those athletes left will encourage other soldiers within their ranks to look for the same if not exceed their successes.
- “We have some pretty big shoes to fill with some of the top athletes leaving,” said CPT Schreiber. “But we already have over 100 applicants signed up and can’t wait to see what kind of talent is out there to make the most competitive team the Army has to offer!”
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