News

Eric Roza Starts Talks in Post Dave Castro Landscape

January 6, 2022 by
Photo Credit: Athlete's Eye Photography
Enjoying Morning Chalk Up? Access additional exclusive interviews, analyses, and stories with an Rx membership.

The day after news broke that Eric Roza had fired its long-time general manager of Sport Dave Castro, CrossFit’s CEO held various calls with key decision makers across the CrossFit industry including Games athletes to discuss various topics and address concerns related to the sport of CrossFit. 

One big thing: The biggest unanswered question at this stage is who will program the CrossFit Games, a topic which was discussed.

  • Andrew Weinstein, CrossFit’s head of communications and public policy told Morning Chalk Up: “Eric has been having conversations with various athletes, stakeholders and affiliate members to gauge their input, advice and reaction.”
  • CrossFit underscored Roza was casting a wide net but that decisions like that would ultimately be left to incoming general manager of Sport Justin Bergh. 

The big picture: Based on numerous conversations with athletes and stakeholders over the past several seasons, Games athletes, in particular, expressed frustration at feeling like their concerns for more consistency, communication and structure are not being heard. It was that sentiment that ultimately led to the founding of the Professional Fitness Athletes Association (PFAA), a quasi athlete union/representative body. 

  • When Roza took over CrossFit in June of 2020, he reached out to athletes to discuss the future of the sport.
  • Roza has demonstrated a willingness to listen to athletes as can be seen in their recent inclusion of several recommendations from the PFAA for the 2022 CrossFit Games rulebook. 

Reading between the lines: Based on recent conversations from inside and outside of CrossFit Home Office, it seems unlikely CrossFit would replace Castro with a singular figure. Bergh will now be responsible for the lion’s share of the logistical, planning and developments elements for the entire season, a role he was already filling in-part. Castro, however, filled an important entertainment aspect of the Games season especially in teasing workout announcements from the Open through to the Games. 

Get the Newsletter

For a daily digest of all things CrossFit. Community, Competitions, Athletes, Tips, Recipes, Deals and more.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.