CrossFit Clamps Down on Open Scores

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

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“People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

QUICK BRIEF.

CrossFit Clamps Down on the Open Leaderboard

When the announcement was made of having the Open as a direct qualifier to the CrossFit Games, many presumed correctly that there would be, in the very least, a step up in programming to match.

What no one has talked about, at least so far, is how newly added implications of the Open would affect the administrative side of the Open as far as score verification, video validation, and the judging of top performances.

“We’re reviewing video from more athletes, and further down the leaderboard than in previous years,” confirmed General Manager of the CrossFit Games Justin Bergh. “It’s more time consuming but necessary. This is what top athletes should expect going forward.”

Fans used to the 48-hour turnaround in announcing weekly winners perhaps have noticed a considerably longer delay in publishing official scores. Worldwide winners for 19.1 and 19.2 weren’t announced until more than a week after the score submission deadlines.

We spoke to several top athletes worldwide who all confirmed that CrossFit HQ has requested several of their videos thus far for further verification.

Continue reading…

Coffee Break Conversations

So you finally told your S.O. that you hate their corned beef…

Glad that’s out of the way. If you’re planning on just trudging through 19.4 to get that out of the way too, don’t. Instead, walk right up to the best athlete in the gym and ask if you can be their judge. Turns out, good vibes are 100% contagious and a recent study shows that we mirror the behavior we just recently saw exhibited. So judge away, then have at it yourself.

Oh, and about last night…

Turns out, that maybe sitting at home and mowing a pint of healthy ice cream might not actually get you on the gainz train. Whoops…

Things To…

WATCH: Episode 14 of On The Minute

On this Episode of On the Minute, Armen Hammer and Justin LoFranco discuss whether the sport of CrossFit should have an Olympic-style committee, the case of top athletes not recording their Open videos and they make their 19.4 and 19.5 predictions.

WERE THEY RIGHT?

HEAR: Optimize Me Nutrition with Girls Gone WOD

Joy and Claire of Girls Gone WOD welcome on EC Synkowski, founder of Optimize Me Nutrition. EC discusses her new two-hour e-course about the basics of food and diet, her own nutrition habits and what type of advice she gives to her clients.

BUILD GOOD HABITS.

GET: Free Ground Beef For Life

This month all new customers who sign up for ButcherBox will receive two pounds of ground beef in every order for the lifetime of your subscription. ButcherBox ground beef is 100% grass-fed and grass-finished and raised free from antibiotics and hormones.

ALL THE PROTEIN PLEASE.

EAT: Almond Cream Cheese Pancakes

Start your weekend off right with these easy to make, light and fluffy low-carb pancakes. Gluten-free, these almond cream cheese pancakes are a healthy sugar-free breakfast choice for the whole family.

GO FULL STACK ALWAYS.

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

Chalk Up Community

• POLICE HERO WOD — CrossFit Brigade in Chattanooga, TN is hosting a Hero WOD for Chattanooga police officer Nick Galinger who was killed in February by a hit and run driver one month after graduating the academy. The event is March 30 and all proceeds go to his family.
• A BOX OWNER IN NEED — Nathan Dowling, owner of CrossFit Balata in North Berwick, ME recently discovered he has a heart condition that needs repair. The CrossFit Balata community has set up a GoFundMe to help with Nathan’s medical expenses. 
• TACA CLASSES IN HAWAII — CrossFit HTF in Honolulu, HI has teamed up with Easter Seals and Talking About Curing Autism to offer another round of classes for children with autism. With 16 kids, this is their largest group yet and CrossFit HTF is actively recruiting volunteers to assist with the class. 
• AFFILIATE REVIEW — Cameron Bucek, the CrossFit Nomad, dropped in at CrossFit Vitality and wrote a complete review. 

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

Cayla Harper took first place at a Strongwomen competition last weekend • Happy birthday Aidan Malody • Kathleen Winters Harris deadlifts
305 pounds • Happy birthday Matt O’Keefe • Congratulations to Drew on his first muscle-up just two months after starting CrossFit • Kim Davids power cleans 215 pounds for a PR • Stefi Cohen back squat 501 pounds • Stefi Cohen gets a 501 pound back squat
PR. 

…and this is how you make one heck of a memorable introduction for your 19.4 Live Open Announcement appearance. 

19.4 + Strategy Guides:

For time:

3 Rounds:

10 Snatches (95/65 pounds)

12 bar facing burpees

Rest 3 minutes, then:

3 Rounds:

10 Bar Muscle-ups

12 bar facing burpees

Time Cap: 12 minutes

The Burpee Standard Has Changed…Again — Step down and step-up burpees are now allowed again, but you still have to jump over the barbell with two feet and land with two feet. Full standards.

Early Leaderboarding…Unofficial as of 9:00 PM PT last night:

1. Pat Vellner – 8:34 | Kaley Norris – 11:46

2. Paul Tremblay – 9:22 | Allison Brager – 11:46 (Tied for second)

3. Pete Shaw – 9:38 | Allison McKail – 11:48

4. Tim Paulson – 10:07 | Kayla Schmidt – 116 Reps

5. Craig Kenney – 10:09 | Nicki Erickson – 104 Reps

6. Guilherme Malheiros – 10:33 | Erika Steenburg – 90 Reps

7. Elijah EZ Muhammad – 11:03 | Meghan Grimm – 90 Reps

8. Darren Marks – 11:30 | Ilyse Palomo – 88 Reps

9. Alex Ruggiere – 11:30 | Raquel Michelon – 74 Reps

10. John Joseph – 118 Reps | Kayla Dietsch – 74 Reps

Kara Saunders did 19.3 Pregnant — Kara Saunders vlogged about her experience doing 19.3 in her third trimester. Kara and the She Bear modified the WOD with bear crawls, which seems perfect.

Wodify Headquarters Expands and Relocates — Wodify, the developer of an all-in-one software solution for fitness gym owners, coaches, and athletes is crossing the bridge from Cherry Hill, NJ to a larger office in Philadelphia, PA. 

— CEO and founder, Ameet Shah, on the move: “We may be exercise junkies, but we’re also software nerds and innovators. Our growing product line is pushing the boundaries of technology and fitness, and we’re eager to do that within the exciting Philadelphia tech ecosystem.”

What Does a Weekend at CrossFit Health HQ Look Like — Heather Hartmann of Box Pro Magazine got to spend a weekend at CrossFit HQ during the last CrossFit MDL 1 Seminar that also included the Derelict Doctors group. 

— Greg Glassman on the new instructional videos, “Your mom who is sedentary doesn’t want a fucking Olympic lifting set in her house, but we might get away with a water jug.”

— CrossFit, Inc. has been trying reach the underserved of CrossFit, which are the morbidly obese and bent over and old. That’s who they are working on figuring out how to serve now. “If you’d consider yourself the last person to workout, we want you,” said Glassman.

“From Boyfriend to Teamate to Coach, Speegle and Gordon More Than Make it Work,” by Tommy Marquez, Morning Chalk Up 

Three weeks of the Open are all wrapped up, and Dani Speegle is on the path towards earning her first trip to the CrossFit Games.

She currently sits third overall, and if she qualifies there will be an added bonus of getting to share the accomplishment with her coach, training partner and boyfriend Alex Gordon.

The dynamic of having a significant other for a coach in sports can be complicated, but it hasn’t swayed Speegle and Gordon in the midst of a spectacular 2019 season.

“Obviously dancing around the boyfriend-coach dynamic can be difficult at times, like mixing business with pleasure but we’ve gotten into a good groove,” Speegle said.

Their relationship began years prior on the competition floor and in the gym, which is about as organic as you can get in CrossFit.

“We were on the same regionals team in 2017, which is how we met,” Speegle said. “We started working out a lot together which is where our relationship started, we trained together leading up to 2018 Regionals.”

3/14: Open Announcement 19.4 (Online)

3/16: 2019 Shamrock Showdown (Pittsburgh, PA)

3/16 – 3/17: The Tactical Games (Burnet, TX)

3/17: St. Patrick’s Day Row (Fishers, IN)

3/21: Open Announcement 19.5 (Online)

3/23: Down for Donuts (Ocala, FL)

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

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

3/30: Row for a Reason 2019 (Nashville, TN)

3/30: Reps For Rescues at CrossFit Hanover (Hanover, PA)

3/30: Crossfit Redoubt Open Competition (Slovakia)

3/30: Cru’s Crusaders Fundraiser WOD (San Clemente, CA)

3/30: Burritt Built Throwdown (Port St. Lucie, FL)

4/5 – 4/7: Iron Sharpens Iron Camp (Nashville, TN)

4/1 – 4/8: Northern California Classic Online Qualifiers (Online)

4/1 – 4/11: The Liege Throwdown Online Qualifiers (Herstal, Belgium)

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

4/6: St. Peters CrossFit Fitness Awards (Saint Peters, MO)

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

4/6: Metcon Meltdown (Flemington, NJ)

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

4/6: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit Diversion (Williamstown, NJ)

4/6: Rise of the Machines IV (Austin, TX)

4/6: Bay Area Beatdown 2 (Webster, TX)

4/6: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit Cornerstone (Cincinnati, OH)

4/6: WOD 4 Trent (Phoenix, AZ)

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)

4/12 – 4/14: Athens Throwdown (Athens, Greece)

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)

4/13: The Requisite Masters Classic (Philadelphia, PA)

4/13: HandSTANDUP for Haiti (Smyrna, TN)

4/13: WOD Wars Fit Fest (Dunedin, FL)

4/13: CFL Loganville Lockdown (Loganville, GA)

4/13: CrossFit Katy Team Classic (Katy, TX)

4/13: Rescue Road: Obstacle Course Event (Alpharetta, GA)

4/13: Quad Wars at CrossFit Adversary (Williamstown, NJ)

4/14: To Hill and Back 2019 (Albemarle, NC)

4/15 – 4/27: Top Of The Box Online Qualifier (Clarksville, TN)

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

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

4/20: Rookie Rumble at Bucktown CrossFit (Chicago, IL)

4/20: Barnyard Throwdown (Ohatchee, AL)

4/26: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit Nashua (Nashua, NH)

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

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

4/26 – 4/28: The Sun Coast Fitness Festival (Kwa-Zulu Natal, AUS)

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

4/27: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit KOA (Cranford, NJ)

4/27: The Gnardog Challenge (Reedley, CA)

4/27: Festivus Games (Worldwide)

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

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

4/27: Autism Rocks and Rows (San Clemente, CA)

4/27: Garage Games Xs and Ys (Hiram, GA)

4/27: The Explode Individual Classic (West Chester, PA)

4/27: Fast Times at West Tech High (Las Vegas, NV)

4/27: Tyler’s Voice CrossFit Competition (Jefferson City, TN)

4/27: SWFL Sharks Semi-Pro Grid Combine (Cape Coral, FL)

4/27: Explode’s Independent Classic (West Chester, FL)

4/27: Festivus Games at Crossfit Sav-up (Petaluma, CA)

4/27: 4th annual Apple Town Throwdown (Cornelia,GA)

4/27: Kettlebells for Cojones (Montgomery, TX)