“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”- Rosalynn Carter, Former First Lady of the United States
CROSSFIT GAMES
2023 CrossFit Games Preview: Adaptive Divisions
The season for most adaptive athletes ended after the Open, however three divisions and 30 athletes will compete at the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games in Madison, WI.
Similar to last year, there will be three adaptive categories, with the top five men and women from each division competing. The divisions include Upper Multi-Extremity (previously Neuromuscular), Lower Extremity, and Upper Extremity.
The adaptive athletes will compete from Tuesday, August 1 through Thursday, August 3. Below is a list of the top 3 athletes from each division.
Multi-Extremity
Men: This will be Chris Rhyme’s first year competing at the Games and in this division. He came in first place for Open workouts 23.1, 23.2B, and 23.3. James Brown will also be making his first appearance at the Games after placing 22nd in 2022. Uruguayan athlete Mijail Pedrini is making a return to the Games after missing out last year. He last went in 2021 and placed fourth.
Top 3 in the Open:
Chris Rhyme
James Brown
Mijail Pedrini
Women: Noelle Henderson will be making her first run at the Games after placing seventh at Semifinals in 2022. Jordan Ingalsbe will also be going to the Games for her first time. Shannon Ogar is making her second appearance at the Games this year after missing the cut by just a few spots in 2022.
TIROBAR is made with just 5 ingredients (all of which are whole, real foods) and has 15-17 grams of plant-based protein per bar, with zero added sugar.
Healthy can taste good! TIROBARS come in three delicious flavors:
Dark Chocolate Chip: smooth and savory dark chocolate taste
Almond Coconut: creamy with a little crunch
Salted Peanut: creamy peanut butter taste with a dash of pink salt
The countdown is on! There are only four days left to register for the ELFIT CrossFit Championship online qualifier, which begins today with the announcement of OQ 23.1 and 23.2. This year the Crossfit-licensed event is being programmed by new Technical partner, Underdogs Athletics.
Check out this moving and vulnerable story from the Morning Chalk Up’s own, Kelly Sekulovski on the Femme Fit Society blog. In it, Sekulovski opens up about her miscarriages in the hopes that telling her and her husband’s story can help others cope with the feelings of loss and pain that follow.
From the blog: “So for the Mom who is grieving: I have continued on through a pain that was almost unbearable, and you will too. Even when you think you can’t get through another day, you will. You are stronger than you ever thought you could be and you will survive this. Honor your child’s memory by living your life to the fullest and honor them by sharing their story. They deserve to be remembered and cherished, no matter how small.”
🚨 🚨Online Qualifier Alert: The Crash Crucible Online Qualifier is now open for registration. The qualifier takes place August 10-14 and the finals are in-person in Spartenburg, SC, October 13-October 15.
ICYMI: Our spectator’s guides series started yesterday. First up was a list of outdoor activities to enjoy in Madison.
CROSSFIT GAMES
“Girls” at the Games: A Short History
In an Instagram post this week, the CrossFit Games team announced that “all Individual, Age Group and Adaptive athletes will do a version of the benchmark workout Helen at the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games.”
So, we decided to review all of the “Girl” workouts that have been featured at the Games in the past.
First let’s take a quick look at “Helen,” the standard version:
Remind me: If you’re unfamiliar with “Girl WODs” they are measurable benchmark CrossFit workouts that are performed every so often in order to evaluate the progress of an athlete’s fitness. Each Girl WOD is associated with the name of a woman.
How Many Nations Will Be Represented at the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games?
Every year, the CrossFit Games athletes line up in the North Park during the Opening Ceremonies for the Parade of Nations, showcasing the global scale of the sport. While the tradition has seen a few iterations of the Games qualification process (like in 2019, when National Champions from every country came to compete) the event continues to display the best of the best from across the world.
So, who is representing their home nation this year at the Games?
Reebok Introduces Madison Travel Fund Program for the 2023 Games
New for the 2023 CrossFit Games, Reebok has just announced the Madison Travel Funds Program. This is the brand’s most inclusive program yet, and offers athletes the chance to win monetary travel funds via an Instagram sweepstakes-style program.
The details: At a grand total of $100K, Reebok will give $2,000 to 50 total winners across all competition divisions, with everyone eligible for equal earnings. Additionally, the 50 winners will be given 10 pairs of Nano X3 to give to their local box.
This year’s program will also extend beyond those competing in Madison by providing opportunities for local boxes to win new Nano X3s for their members. In total, 200 pairs of Reebok’s new Nano X3 Training Shoes will be gifted to the wider training community in celebration of this year’s competition.
Participating athletes in the Reebok Travel Fund Program will be given early gifting access to Reebok’s latest Nano X3 colorway pack, Nano X3 Bold.
Battle Cancer to Provide Free Cancer Certifications and Free Workouts at the CrossFit Games
Since 2021, Battle Cancer has raised over a million dollars and attracted the support of top-level athletes like Brooke Wells and Patrick Vellner to help support cancer patients and raise money for cancer-focused charities.
Early last year, they revealed their partnership with Nike, which continued to allow their organization to grow and expand and this year, they will continue that partnership at the CrossFit Games.
One big thing: This year, Battle Cancer will partner with Nike at the CrossFit Games to take over CrossFit Mojo and create the Battle Cancer Madison Metcon Gym.
Battle Cancer wants to celebrate the launch of their free post-cancer certifications for US CrossFit Affiliate Owners and L1 trainers and to share more about the 600+ athletes they have directly supported with their funded classes around the world.
The Battle Cancer Certification: The Battle Cancer certification is a 13-hour online certification that breaks down what cancer and cancer treatment does to the body.
It also provides ways to scale movement, testing protocols on recovery journeys, and access to Battle Cancer’s full 12-week post-treatment program.
The program includes informational PDFs, medical onboarding protocols, and videos demonstrating all the sessions.
Recently, Battle Cancer began offering the program for free to all affiliate owners and L1 trainers.
Any Level 1 coach or affiliate owner will be able to register with Battle Cancer to have 12 months of free access to the Cancer Certification, which is accredited by UK Active, Euro Active, and Cimpsa in the United Kingdom.*
Interested attendees can email [email protected] for a code to register for free.
The details: Throughout the week, Battle Cancer will be hosting free classes and offering free drop-ins for athletes looking to get a sweat on during the Games.
Athletes will also be able to demo the brand-new Nike Metcon 9s through the Nike partnership (and potentially win a pair).
Battle Cancer and Nike will also be giving away a number of prizes throughout the week, as well as offering a free protein pancake breakfast after their 7:30 am Metcon Mash-Up Classes.
The week will also end with a scavenger hunt to find the Battle Cancer Team, where the winner will win a pair of brand-new Metcon 9s.
Momentous Partners with Invictus for the 2023 Games
Supplement and health solution innovator, Momentous, is sponsoring Invictus athletes for the 2023 CrossFit Games by providing full financial support, including travel and accommodations for all 12 athletes.
One big thing: This partnership is significant for all the Invictus athletes, but for none more so than rookies Tyler Saderback, Sean Early and Kelsey Shulte.
The three have found a home and family with Invictus and with that has come massive support from the gym, coaches, and community. The gym quite literally opened its doors to the young competitors, as Shulte and Saderback are roommates, living with owner C.J. Martin’s mother, “Mama Karen.” And now with Momentous added into the fold, the three are all the more supported as they live out their dreams of making it to the Games.
On top of Momentous sponsoring the three as they travel to and compete in Madison, they will also be signing athlete agreements with the company.
Team member of Invictus Unconquerable, college baseball player Tyler Saderback, moved to San Diego and joined Invictus in October of 2022, and has since put his career aspirations of becoming a firefighter on hold as he pursues CrossFit full time, amidst financial stress.
You can earn exclusive rewards like stickers, patches, and mugs (all the way up to a barbell) by simply referring people to subscribe to our free daily newsletter. Grab your exclusive link and start sharing the Morning Chalk Up with your friends, family, and people you met one time on a saturday morning WOD to get started.
UNBROKEN. Their unique and powerful ingredient: hydrolyzed salmon protein for body and mind. Rapid and easy digestion for faster recovery with 9EAAs (BCAA), Vitamin B12 for energy, Zinc and Selenium for immunity. Perfect for during and post-workout. Try their new mango and lemon lime flavors today!
Staying healthy and taking care of ourselves becomes more and more important as we get older. But contrary to popular belief, you can be at your fittest later on in life. Here’s how!
Ready to learn helpful information about yourself and your training? Whoop helps you monitor your recovery, sleep, training and health and gives recommendations to become a more efficient and healthy human. And don’t worry, for new members we’re hooking you up with a free Whoop 4.0 and a month of membership on us!
Congratulations to Tayla Howe and Harry Lightfoot, elite female and male winners of the Strength in Depth UK Championships 2023.
Congratulations to Games athlete Lauren Fisher on completing her first Olympic distance triathalon this past weekend in Hamburg, Germany with a time of 2 hours and 53 minutes.
💃🏼 Congratulations to former Games athlete and current iF3 President Gretchen Kittelberger on taking first place in her division of the Virginia State Dancesport Championships.
Current WWE Raw World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins dropped in at 12 Labours CrossFit Annapolis this past weekend.
This email may contain affiliate links. We make a small commision off of purchases made via our affiliate links to help support this newsletter. If you no longer wish to receive the Morning Chalk Up newsletter, unsubscribe here.
