Competition

Wodapalooza Makes Major Branding Change With TYR as First-Ever Title Sponsor

July 8, 2022 by
Photo Credit: Victoria Costello for TYR Sport
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When the top CrossFit athletes head to Miami, FL., in January, they will see a significant change at the Wodapalooza Fitness Festival. The four-day event will have a new title sponsor in TYR Sport.

The details: Loud and Live announced the news on July 7 and revealed that this is a multi-year deal. TYR Sport will serve as the title sponsor of Wodapalooza through the 2025 event as the company continues its move into the world of CrossFit.

  • The purpose of this deal is to support the more than 2,000 competitors that show up and test themselves in the South Florida heat and humidity. The 2023 event will feature a prize purse of more than $400,000.
  • The 2022 iteration featured $375,000 in prize money split between the top-10 athletes in the individual male and female divisions. WZA ultimately paid out $480,000 after accounting for event wins and the money that went to the top five teams.
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Named for TYR the Norse god of valor and sacrifice, TYR Sport has a list of 30 top-tier athletes spread across multiple sports. Olympians Ryan Lochte, Lilly King, Michael Andrew, and Katie Ledecky stand out atop this list due to their combined 22 Olympic medals, as well as TYR’s deep ties to competitive swimming.

  • TYR has partnered with top-shelf CrossFit athletes, including newer additions in Pat Vellner, Annie Thorisdottir, and Guiherme Malheiros.
  • The list of CrossFit athletes also includes Noah Ohlsen, Travis Mayer, Bethany Shadburne, Ricky Garard, Amanda Barnhart, Emma Cary, Will Moorad, Meg Reardon, Saxon Panchik, Kristine Best, and Lazar Dukic.

Wodapalooza has been in existence since 2012 when the first athletes tested themselves in a grassroots environment. The annual event has since grown into one of the biggest on the calendar, to the point that more than 40,000 fans attended in 2022.

Matt DiLorenzo, TYR Sport CEO: “As the title sponsor of Wodapalooza, TYR will be able to take an athlete-first approach to interacting with the CrossFit community. Bringing our technical products in apparel, footwear, eyewear and swim to competitors and spectators of the event speaks directly to our goal of enhancing athlete performance with product technology.”

Photo Credit: TYR

An intriguing twist: The field is not yet set for the 2023 trip to Miami. The thousands of interested athletes still have to take part in the TYR WZA Online Challenge where they will earn the right to compete at Bayfront Park. However, there are multiple athletes making it known that they will be at WZA.

  • “Ah, two of my favorite things come together!” Vellner wrote on Instagram. “Introducing the TYR WZA 2023 in Miami! @wodapalooza had been a big part of my season for the last few years and I’m pumped to have @tyrsport take the reins in 2023!”
  • “Join me This year as the party returns to Bayfront Park, and we celebrate the 11th year of fitness, community, and life January 12-15, 2023!”
  • Mayer, Cary, and Shadburne all made similar comments about how they will be in Miami for the first-ever TYR WZA. Cary, in particular, said that the partnership is “extra special” in that it makes her “comeback even better.”

Why this matters: Wodapalooza has a history of delivering big paydays for the CrossFit athletes, something that is crucial in a sport where the top names have secured the proverbial bag at the CrossFit Games while those outside of the top-10 have dealt with some financial hurdles. Securing a new title partner only provides more security for Loud and Live and WZA moving into the future, and it opens up the opportunity to potentially further aid the competitors in Miami.

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