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CrossFit Announces New Online Competition, More Community Events Going Forward

May 6, 2021 by and
Image Credit: Rob Wilson (instagram.com/robcwilson/)
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Members of the community looking for more CrossFit competition opportunities in the future just got some good news Wednesday as CrossFit announced the formation of a new pairs competition called the CrossFit PairUP ThrowDOWN.

The details: The competition will run from Thursday, May 20 through Monday, May 24 and feature one workout, with options for same gender or mixed gender pairs. The competition will include Rx and scaled divisions as well as four age groups: Open, 35-44, 45-54, and 55+. 

  • The cost to compete is $20 per pair with registration opening May 12, and there will be a bevvy of prizes awarded including “CrossFit Games tickets and other sponsored prizes valued at over $100,000,” for the top competitors and affiliates. 
  • The workout will be designed to fit within a one hour affiliate class structure, and CrossFit’s team will be providing lesson plans and instructional material to help support coaches running the workout inside their affiliates. 

One big thing: The announcement harkens back to comments made by Eric Roza and Dave Castro about providing more competition opportunities throughout the year for the broader community. 

  • In Castro’s interview with the Talking Elite Fitness podcast, he teased building out a more robust competition schedule for the community that could act as an amatuer/developmental system for potential athletes complete with rankings that would help filter accordingly into the CrossFit Games season.

Remind me: In 2019, CrossFit announced a new program that would allow CrossFit competitions to have official licensing. Not only would this further build the push for community engagement, but also give competitions the legitimacy of having the CrossFit brand.

  • CrossFit-licensed events can use the CrossFit name for marketing, promotions, and merchandise.
  • The event will be held to CrossFit-approved standards for safety and programming.
  • Competition information can be found on the Official CrossFit Licensed Event Calendar.

Along with the CrossFit PairUP ThrowDOWN, we’ve seen others move towards becoming official CrossFit events.

  • Most recently, the 2021 Masters Fitness Collective Championship was announced as one of the first officially licensed CrossFit masters competitions.
  • Back in 2019, The Reebok Butchers Classic, CrossFit Sand Clash and CrossFit Collegiate Championship also became official licensed competitions.

Keep in mind: This may change up how athletes train throughout the year. With the new format of the season adding in Quarterfinals, those who were in the top 10% most likely followed a program to peak for that weekend. If they’re planning to compete in multiple CrossFit-licensed competitions during the year, they may go through multiple cycles of tapering and peaking before hitting the competition floor. 

  • Official CrossFit events may also conflict with local and regional competitions, many of which have grown up over the past few seasons while CrossFit, under the previous CEO, shifted focus away from the CrossFit Games and competitive season.

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