“I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand.”- Confucius
CROSSFIT GAMES
OPINION: Asking Judges to Be Better Isn’t Enough
I recently read Patrick Clark’s Op-Ed in the Morning Chalk Up suggesting that judges need to take more accountability for their actions when judging athletes in online qualifiers. He is not wrong. Intrinsic integrity and accountability is a must to be a successful judge, referee, umpire, or adjudicator in any sport, but he is being far too lenient on the sports organizations in charge of running functional fitness events. Organizations in charge of leading our sport are, across the board, failing our judges and not putting them in a position to perform at their best.
I have long been a proponent of the view that the responsibility of ensuring fair and unbiased competition falls squarely on the shoulders of the sports governing body or sports organization in charge of the competition. This naturally begs the question, what should the expectation be on our sport’s leaders when it comes to adequately preparing judges for their role?
This question is both simple and difficult to answer at the same time. Simple, in that there are some very basic actions that could be taken to empower our judges, but difficult because our sport is suffering an identity crisis and doesn’t know what it wants to be, or maybe more accurately, isn’t willing to accept the reality of what it takes to get there.
Though I would love to debate the difficult question, that’s not what you came here to read about, so I’m going to punt on that question for the moment and select an answer to it so we can have some basic premises to work off of for the rest of this article.
For purposes of moving this article forward, I’m going to make the assumption that what our sport wants to be is a sport that (1) is seen as legitimate not just within our own community but by the global sporting community at large and (2) gives the athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators at the highest levels of the sport the opportunity to make a sustainable living doing their job in the sport.
With those premises in hand, let’s examine further the top three things our sports organizations need to be doing in the field of judging and officiating in order to move our sport towards that goal. Our judges need access to three basic things to be successful:
The specific rules and standards that need to be enforced
Opportunities to practice enforcing the rules and standards
Feedback on how well they did enforcing those standards
These top three points are not dissimilar to what Clark expands upon in his Op-Ed, but I am placing the first line of responsibility not in the hands of the judges but in the hands of the sports organizations.
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In case you missed it, Morning Chalk Up’s Patrick Clark spoke to PGA golfer Scott Stallings about how CrossFit has made him better at his sport. Stallings spoke about how he manages a hectic schedule that sees him traveling on a weekly basis.
“There’s definitely an ebb and flow, and the travel and I have two young kids and I want to be as attentive father and I can be and be there for my wife as well, so it’s definitely a juggling act sometimes.”
Volunteer registration for the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games is now live. What are some of the perks? Well, we’re glad you asked, how about free swag, food, drinks, and of course, the chance to be behind the scenes at the Alliant Energy Center.
The Fittest Women in the US, Haley Adams, has officially joined Ripple Sports. Some fun facts about Adams: she loves kittens, animal cookies, rice cakes, besties Tasia Percevecz & Mal O’Brien, plus North Carolina is home. She also loves Billie Eilish, Nessa Barrett and believes unicorns are real 🦄
The 2022 Granite Games is officially partnering with TYR for eyewear. 😎
PROFILE
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
22 Questions with BKG: Michael Jordan, Liverpool, Peaky Blinders and Snowmobiling
He is the elite CrossFit athlete best known by his three initials: BKG. Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson has been a CrossFit staple since 2015 when he climbed onto the podium and took third at the CrossFit Games, and has since turned out to be one of the most decorated male competitors of an entire generation of athletes.
Guðmundsson is known for his high level of consistency, and there is basically only one title that has eluded him: CrossFit Games champion. The 29-year-old is set for another run at immortality, once again looking primed to gun for the top spot. So who is the quiet man from Iceland who tends to let his workouts do the talking? Well, we found out, 22-questions-style, uncovering the man behind the icy stare that’s colder than a Reykjavik snow storm.
Sleep More and Win: Morning Chalk Up and WHOOP Team Up for Sleep May-Nia
Over the next month, Morning Chalk Up is partnering up with WHOOP, CrossFit Mayhem, The Buttery Bros and Talking Elite Fitness to focus on getting a few more Z’s for the month of May. Our WHOOP communities will be competing against one another for who can average the most sleep this month with special prizes for the team with the most shuteye.
P.S. No passing your WHOOP band off to your dog. 🐶
Why it matters: Statistically speaking, May and June are the two worst months on average for sleep. Sleep isn’t about just feeling rested. Getting the right amount of sleep is a key component of recovery so we’re setting aside May to refocus and educate you on the importance of sleep.
After all, your sleep improves your ability to train, your training improves your performance, and your performance is what prepares you for life outside the box.
Here’s what prizes are up for grabs:
The top 25 in sleep performance on the Morning Chalk Up team will win a free WHOOP kit.
Top five will win three free months.
Five members from the winning team will win six-month WHOOP memberships.
How to join and compete:
If you’re already a WHOOP user, open your mobile app and click on community, click “Enter Invite Code” then enter “COMM-MCHALK” to join our team.
Toes-to-Bar not feeling so hot? Try these two quick tips that you can implement immediately to improve your technique and feel smooth and effortless swinging from the bar.
Calling all business owners in the CrossFit community! Yerbae Naturally Caffeinated Energy is offering $100 of free product to qualifying businesses, no strings attached. Yerbae drinks provide good energy made with only clean plant based ingredients and no sugar or calories so you can feel good about what you put in your body.
Why Winnie The Pooh Would Have Made a Great CrossFit Trainer
While he may not be the first name on your lips when asked about prospective CrossFit trainers...Winnie The Pooh may be the coach that we all need. Check out the reasons why, and see how you can learn to be more like him when you coach.
Mother's Day weekend is coming fast, and if anyone deserves a treat, it's your long-suffering mom. Luckily, Reebok agrees and are offering 40% off sitewide this using code "MOM40". So go ahead and get your mom something nice, and maybe something for yourself as well.
Why do chicken breasts get all the love when it comes to meal prep? Leave the breasts in the freezer for a while longer and give the thighs a little bit of love with this unbelievably good chicken thigh recipe that cooks in with the rice making for a perfect meal prep recipe.
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