2019 Open Registration Numbers are In

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by RXBAR.

Spread it. Spoon it. Go wild. Your favorite nut butters just got bigger.

“Every time you do something a certain way, you increase the probability of doing it that way again. Practice makes permanent. Do what you do on purpose, with purpose.” — Justin Su’a

A CrossFit Affiliate was Invited to Facebook

The story.

A few months ago, Nikole Gessler, owner of CrossFit Recursive in Madison, WI got a notification in her Facebook feed inviting her to apply to the 2019 Facebook Communities Summit. She filled out the questionnaire and promptly forgot about it. Then one month later Gessler got an email requesting a phone interview with several of Facebook’s staff.

That’s pretty legit. 

In the interview, Gessler told Facebook about CrossFit, it’s unbelievable community of support and fitness, and the CrossFit Recursive was playing in it. By the end of the call, Gessler had been invited to the Summit.

Full disclosure: our Editor-in-Chief is a proud alumni of CrossFit Recursive from his days living in Mad Town. 

Thousands had been interviewed but in the end only about 300 community leaders were selected to represent themselves at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park, CA.

And Nicole Gessler and CrossFit Recursive were one of them.

So what happened at the event?

Throughout the two day Summit, Gessler heard from speakers like Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, who made a point to reassure everyone that they’ been chosen for a reason. Gessler told us, “She said ‘We deserved to be there. We had proven to be leaders in our communities. Many of us still didn’t believe it yet though.”

She also got to hear from Mark Zuckerberg himself, who made an appearance to welcome everyone to Facebook and thank them for the important work of leading communities.

But for Gessler, the main take-away over the next couple of days is how to build stronger communities and ways Facebook can do that through their platform.

“We can now format posts, enhance and enforce group rules (you know how that Affiliate Owners Group can get!), connecting people with mentors, simplifying messages with one spot for both Facebook and Instagram messages, and other ways for small businesses to use Facebook to grow their communities,” wrote Gessler. “There is also now a feature on Facebook where people can book appointments, which is great as a CrossFit gym!”

Why is Facebok interested in CrossFit? 

“Facebook has a greater mission to connect people through communities. In this massive world where the Internet connects everyone instantaneously, we are simultaneously more and less connected than ever before,” said Gessler. “Facebook wants to connect like-minded people into these smaller groups, which in my humble opinion, is also my goal as a CrossFit Affiliate owner.”

It was an eye-opening experience for Gessler and she’s excited to take it back to CrossFit Recursive and the CrossFit community at large.

“It’s awe-inspiring to see what the power of community can do. My gym may be small in the grand scheme of 200 members, but to those 200 people, our community is significant and important. Each person has a story to tell, and it’s an important one.”

DATA TIME.

Surge in Open Registration Not Enough to Eclipse 2018

Last night, we pulled the 2019 CrossFit Open registration numbers at the close of 19.1 at 5:00 PM PT. CrossFit confirmed that just shy of 357,000 athletes were registered.

Despite a surge of 77,000 registrations since we published our preliminary numbers on Thursday night, total registration is still down 14% from its peak of 416,000 in 2018. There are also less participants than in the 2017 Open.

While CrossFit affiliate numbers at an all-time high with more than 15,000 affiliates worldwide, 59,000 fewer athletes chose to participate in the Open this year. This translates to around $1.18 million less in registration revenue.

While athletes technically are still able to register until the end of the Open, they won’t be able to submit scores for past workouts, providing less incentive to register. At the end of the Open, we will analyze participation across the five weeks and final registration numbers.

Coffee Break Conversations

The next time you’re heading into a 20 minute AMRAP…

Let Google search be your partner…in time, that is. Running a 20 minute timer for you is just one of the 40 commonly overlooked things Google search can do. (Starts typing in “how to get a muscle-up by Friday…”)

And while you have that web browser open…

Get some of your grocery shopping done on Amazon for less than your “Whole Paycheck” with Amazon’s new limited line of groceries, Happy Belly.

Things To…

WATCH: Buttery Bros at Strength in Depth 

In Buttery Bros Episode 5, Marston Sawyers and Heber Cannon kick off their 19.1 Open tour in London with Sam Briggs. They headed to Royal Docks CrossFit for the 19.1 live Open announcement. They also follow Sara Sigmundsdottir and Jessica Griffith for their Fittest documentary series at Strength in Depth.

THE START OF THE TOUR.

HEAR: Adee Cazayoux on the West Coast Advantage

On this episode of the West Coast Advantage podcast Adee Cazayoux, founder and CEO of Working Against Gravity, discusses leading a team and creating the type of culture you want, developing meaningful relationships with the people you’re close with, and of course, nutrition coaching.

EVERYONE SHOULD TRY IT ONCE.

GET: Invictus Athlete Online Program

Want to train for the Sport of Fitness properly? Get the Invictus athlete online program and train with one of the most consistently successful “CrossFit OG” coaches, C.J. Martin. 

PUT ME IN, COACH.

EAT: Easy Cheesy Socca Breakfast Pizza

A breakfast pizza recipe you can make for any meal with pizza crust made from just three ingredients. Topped with sliced pineapple, uncured bacon, egg, onion, and creamy cheese this is a breakfast pizza that’s quick to make, grain free, and deliciously nutritious. 

PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST.

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is fueled by

Chalk Up Community

• CROSSFIT FOR CANCER SURVIVORS — Cancer survivors can take free CrossFit classes at CrossFit Amis in Lafayette, LA thanks to a program started by Dr. Jonathan Thompson. “In medicine,” he explained, “there’s nothing better than diet and exercise…and I was working on some way to combine fitness and wellness for cancer survivors.”
• NEW AFFILIATE — There is a new CrossFit affiliate in Roseville, CA. TGP CrossFit has opened their doors for business. 
• FUNDRAISER EVENT — Over the weekend, CrossFit Iron Boot in Alexandria, VA held a fundraiser WOD to raise money for the Ezernack/Carruth Criminal Justice Scholarship Fund. It’s named in honor of David Ezernack and Jay Carruth, two officers who were killed in an ambush
  in 2003.
• USA WEIGHTLIFTING COURSE — CrossFit Apogee in Apollo Beach, FL is hosting a US Weightlifting Level 1 Course April 6 – 7. 

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES (a highlight reel around social media of CrossFit pros and average joes)

These three teens did 19.1 together with their mom, Kathy Kurtz • Five members of Omnis CrossFit presented at a marketing conference • Katherine Reynolds gets a wall walk PR • Theo Gergen gets his first muscle-up • Cody Anderson clean and jerked 365 pounds •
Elijah “EZ” Muhammad snatched 295 pounds • Happy birthday Lauren Brooks • Dave Castro did 19.1 and Annie Sakamoto judged him • And this flashback photo of Cole Sager reminds us that 19.1 could have been worse.

…and Brooke Wells needs some camera help. 

As part of our spotlight coverage of three CrossFit Games athletes competing in the 2019 Open, here are three headlines to check out:

— “Ohlsen on 19.1: ‘This is tough, but I’m tougher.'” by Armen Hammer

— “Week 1 Dani Speegle is Absolutely Savage” by Tommy Marquez

— “19.1 “F*&ked My World Up:” Pat Vellner Survives Week 1 of the Open” by Armen Hammer

Early Leaderboarding…as of 8:30 PM PT last night:

1. Lazar Dukic – 411 | Olivia Leeper – 371

2. Alex Wertheim – 409 | Nimaela Norman – 366

3. Niklas Hecht – 403 | Annie Thorisdottir – 358

4. Travis Mead – 400 | Karin Freyova – 358

5. Jason Carroll – 400 | Samantha Briggs – 355

6. BK Gudmundsson – 399 | Sara Sigmundsdottir – 350

7. Lukas Hogberg – 399 | Lotte Heemstra – 349

8 Jean-Simon Roy-Lemaire – 399 | Amanda Barnhart – 348

9. Zachery Buntin – 399 | Alison Stall – 346

Travis Mayer – 399 | Melissa Doll – 346

— Speaking of leaerboarding, bookmark this page, which displays the current fittest in country.

Exactly three years ago today…The Morning Chalk Up sent out its very first edition from his parent’s couch. The 29-year-old former political staffer in Washington, D.C. moved home with mom and dad with a new idea. 

— Here’s the first edition. 

Ben Smith Did the Open After Knee Surgery — Ben Smith posted his 19.1 score to Instagram yesterday. He wrote “Had a bunch of excuses and reasons not to do this, but you can’t just talk about it you gotta be about it. Practice what you preach. I don’t care what you say you’re gonna do, I care what you do. Four weeks out from surgery and 10 weeks out from PRP. I haven’t done a weighted squat or full squat in 10+ weeks, had to think about every squat and every pull on the rower and make sure they were quality reps and I was in the right position. This was what I had… TODAY. If you got me today, I’ll
see you again in a few months and you better believe I’ll be better than today.”

“Sigmundsdottir, Olenkowicz, and Central Beasts Earn Games Invites in London,” by Tommy Marquez, Morning Chalk Up

The first year of sanctioned event competition has just come to a close for the CrossFit Strength in Depth. After two exciting days of action at the ExCel London in the United Kingdom, Sara Sigmundsdottir, Bronislaw Olenkowicz, and the Central Beasts team have been crowned champions and earned themselves an invite to the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games.

If Sara Sigmundsdottir’s primary goal this weekend at Strength in Depth was to get her competitive mojo back, well then mission accomplished.

Sigmundsdottir led the women’s competition wire-to-wire en route to a dominant performance reminiscent of the Icelandic sensation who burst onto the scene with back-to-back podium finishes at the Games a few years ago.

Sigmundsdottir has now podiumed at all three sanctioned events she’s taken part in, including 3rd place finishes in Dubai and Wodapalooza. More importantly, she’s earned herself the confidence that comes with winning, and can focus on the Open knowing she’s got an invite to the CrossFit Games in hand.

Bronislaw Olenkowicz was the big story for the men in day one after he closed the day with back-to-back wins to grab the overall lead. The final day wasn’t looking good however, as Olenkowicz finished 10th and 14th in the first two workouts, dropping him into 4th place overall going into the finale.

Instead, it was Drew Wayman who clung to the overall lead behind a pair of consistent finishes, but the margins were close. Just 22 points separated Wayman in 1st, and Olenkowicz in 4th. Sandwiched in between were Brits David Shorunke, and Elliot Simmonds.

3/7: Open Announcement 19.3 (Online) 

3/14: Open Announcement 19.4 (Online)

3/21: Open Announcement 19.5 (Online)

3/24: The Rockwell Championships Series Team Qualifiers (Online)

3/30: Game of Barbells (Houston, TX)

4/6: Feed, Clothe, Love and Lift (Amarillo, TX) 

4/6: Powerstroke Partner Throwdown 2019 (Fallon, NV)

4/6: Metcon Meltdown (Flemington, NJ)

4/6: Two Peas in a POD Competition (Burlington, MA)

4/10 – 4/24: Granite Games Online Qualifier (Online)

4/11 – 4/14: CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown Online Qualifier (Online)

4/12 – 4/13: Capstone Caveman Clash and Cook Off (Lubbock, TX)

4/12 – 4/14: Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge (Washington, D.C.)

4/13: Capacidad De Dos Amigos (San Antonio, TX)

4/13: The Craic Throwdown (Norwood, MA)

4/13: Warrior Affiliate League Deuces Wild (Chino, CA)

4/13: Battle of the Ages (Pineville, NC)

4/13: 5th Annual Battle for the Mountain (Dawsonville, GA)

4/19 – 5/1: CrossFit French Throwdown Individual Online Qualifier (Online)

4/20: The Wodfather VII 2019 (Keller, TX)

4/26 – 4/27: Gameday Competition (Mankato, MN) 

4/26 – 4/28: CrossFit Italian Showdown (Milan, Italy)

4/27: 4th Annual Spring Fever Partner Masters Comp (Souderton PA)

4/27: Festivus Games (Worldwide)

4/27: Raising the Bar for Charlotte (Medina, OH)

4/27 – 4/29: Asia CrossFit Championship (Shanghai, China)