Competition

DETAILS: 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship is a Go, Inviting 20 Athletes This Week

September 15, 2021 by
Photo Credit: Dubai CrossFit Championship
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The Dubai CrossFit Championships have always been unique, challenging, and in many ways at the forefront of change in the competitive landscape for CrossFit. After skipping 2020 due to COVID-19, the event is scheduled for December 16-18, 2021 in Dubai, UAE. 

One big thing: For the 2021 event, Dubai is making three big changes to the format: a reduction from four competition days to three, limiting the field to 20 male and 20 female athletes, and athletes will qualify for the event via invite only. There will no longer be an online qualifier. 

  • Event directors believe that by reducing the size of the field and increasing the quality of each athlete in the field, the consumption of the events, and competition as a whole, should be more enjoyable for fans on site and tuning in around the world. 
  • There will not be any cuts to the field. 

Athlete invites will be going out shortly. An initial wave of 20 men and 20 women will have a limited amount of time to commit. Following their responses, a second wave, as needed, will be sent out to fill out each pool. 

The Prize Pool: Dubai has always been known for their prize purse and for taking care of athletes. All athletes will receive at least some money, similar to Rogue Invitational. The top three in each event will receive $3000, $2000 and $1000, respectively.

  • First place overall: $50,000
  • Second place overall: $30,000
  • Third place overall: $20,000

The Big Picture: We know have a fairly complete picture of the off-season schedule with the big three — Dubai, Rogue, and Wodapalooza — all revealed. The question the best athletes will have to answer is how many of those three events does it make sense for them to compete in. With Rogue’s roster all but set, Wodaplaooza’s Online Qualifier coming up, and invites for Dubai getting sent out soon, athletes will be weighing the significant financial opportunity these events offer with the stress on the body and interruption of their training cycles which are the costs of participating in major events like these. At this point there are enough high-level athletes to fill out each of these rosters even with very little overlap, however, don’t be surprised if you see at least a few athletes who choose to double up and participate in at least two of these three competitions this off-season.

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