Dave Castro Shares Additional Details on 2026 CrossFit Games Season
Dave Castro, General Manager of Sport for CrossFit LLC, has shared more details on how the stages of the 2026 CrossFit Games season will function.
- Although the company announced the season schedule last week, several key questions still remain unanswered.
Remind me: CrossFit has announced key dates and details for 2026, including the highly anticipated return of Quarterfinals.
- The Quarterfinals stage of competition was eliminated in 2025, and instead, athletes moved directly from the CrossFit Open to the In-Affiliate Semifinal.
However, the 2026 season will feature the return of Quarterfinals, with the top 25% of men and women worldwide in the Open earning spots.
Castro admitted in his Week in Review on Monday, September 22, that the removal of this stage of competition was “incredibly unpopular” among affiliate owners and athletes.
- “I thought specifically the Community Cup, because it included everybody, would kind of accomplish the same thing [as Quarterfinals], but the aspirational nature of the 25% and having that group advance to another level was really missed,” Castro said.
Key Takeaways
One of the main points Castro clarified was that the Semifinals stage of competition is not determined by an athlete’s location. Once the athlete completes the Quarterfinals and their placement qualifies them to move on to the Semifinals, they will need to participate in a third-party qualifying event.
- Think of events like the Syndicate Crown, French Throwdown, and Torian Pro. These, among others, will probably be the 2026 Semifinals.
“Basically, we’re bringing Semifinals back in a format similar to how we did the season last year, where there’s multiple events you can go to and there’s still the online competition, which is now at the very end of the season,” Castro added.
The other major takeaway from Castro’s video was that the online Semifinals will function as a Last Chance Qualifier and will take place at the end of the Semifinals stage of competition.
- “The remaining spots will lead to the 30 spots we have at the Games,” said Castro.
It remains unclear how many qualifying spots will be available at each Semifinal, whether in-person or online.
The final update he provided was that there will be in-person events for age-group athletes and teams to compete in at the Semifinal stage. However, the majority of those athletes who advance to the Games will do so through the online Semis.
2026 CrossFit Games Season Dates
Here’s what the original announcement revealed in terms of the 2026 season dates:
- Open Registration: TBD
- CrossFit Open: Feb. 26–March 16
- Open Workout 26.1: Feb. 26–March 2
- Open Workout 26.2: March 5–9
- Open Workout 26.3: March 12–16
- Individual Quarterfinals: March 26–30
- Age-Group Quarterfinals: March 26–30
- Semifinals: April- June
- Adaptive Semifinals: TBA
- Age-Group Online Semifinals: May 7–11
- Team Online Semifinals: June 4–8
- Individual Online Semifinals: June 11–15
- CrossFit Games: July
- Community Cup: TBA
- Masters CrossFit Games by Legends: TBA
- Teenage CrossFit Games by Pit Teen Throwdown: TBA
- Adaptive CrossFit Games by WheelWOD: TBA
One last thing: While we have the general structure and details for 2026, the community should expect more details from HQ in the coming weeks and months. “Some exciting ones,” according to Castro.
Featured image: CrossFit Games
