Four new athletes qualify to the Games

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“Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” — Mike Singletary

These are Not the Guns You are Looking For

The story. 

In Tuesday’s 3:30 class at CrossFit ENG in Cape Coral, FL coach Dwane Eckes was leading his athletes through a WOD of plate carries and heavy jerks from the blocks when the Cape Coral police department pulled up to the building.

What happened?

Someone had called the police to report hearing “seven to ten shots” that “sounded like a rifle” from the area. 

Cape Coral Charter School and Bill Auste Youth Center, both located just blocks from the gym, were immediately placed on lockdown. The dispatch report reads you “could hear it from the playground” so the children were “brought inside and locked into classrooms.”

Eckes was worried, as they had a CrossFit Kids class in session, but also told the police he hadn’t heard anything out of the ordinary.

But then it hit him.

Eckes realized it was not actually gunshots. It was the 225 pound jerks, crashing back down onto the wooden blocks. Eckes demonstrated the lift for the police, who laughed when they realized that had been it after all.

Both schools were removed from lockdown and the police department stayed until the CrossFit kids had all been picked up, just to be safe.

What a relief. 

At the end of the day everyone was fine, thank goodness, and able to laugh a little bit at the misunderstanding. 

Coach Misti Hollingsworth told Morning Chalk Up, “We are happy to report that the Guns at CrossFit ENG are not loaded with bullets and that no one was hurt. We are extremely proud of our local police department who responded quickly and appropriately. We are in the process of building a new state of the art facility and should move in the next few months. Until then, we hope that we will not create any more undue fear related to our workout routine.”

ROSTER CHANGE.

Top 20 Female Invites Leap Six Spots on Leaderboard

It seems like every couple of days, there is another shakeup to the CrossFit Games roster. At this point, it only takes one athlete qualifying through a Sanctional or declining an invitation to cause a ripple effect across the leaderboard. 

• Add these names to the Games roster: Colleen Fotsch (33), Courtney Haley (35), Thuri Helgadottir (36) and Cheryl Nasso (38). 

How we got there. Four spots opened up on the leaderboard over the past few days.

• Tasia Percevecz declined to compete on Mayhem Freedom.
• Kristi Eramo declined her invite. 
• Chantelle Loehner will probably lose her spot after her B sample comes back. We’re not ones to put the cart before the horse, but to our knowledge, no B sample has ever come back negative in CrossFit. Invictus recognizes this reality which is why they’re fielding Hayley Murillo and heading to Brazil CrossFit Championship to earn another spot. 
• Alexis Johnson will probably decline her invite to compete on Team MisFit especially now that they’ll likely receive the invite from their second place finish at MACC if Invictus X is disqualified. 

The ladies’ blue line cut off right at Haley Adams in 32nd. Now it drops all the way down to 38th. 

• 33: Colleen Fotsch (top 20)
• 34: Jule Nielsen (Fittest in Denmark)
• 35: Courtney Haley (top 20)
• 36: Thuri Helgadottir (top 20)
• 37: Jessica Coughlan (Team with Project X)
• 38: Cheryl Nasso (top 20)

How this will affect Sanctionals invites:

• Strength in Depth: Should go to 8th place Emma Tall. This assumes that Jessica Griffith (5th) will remain with team ROMWOD/WIT. We expect this to happen.
• Wodapalooza: Will go to 9th placed Taylor Streid.

Things To…

WATCH: Cole Sager’s Spring Update 

In his latest vlog, Cole Sager discusses his dreams of being the “lawn guy” in his neighborhood, what his plans are now that he has no spring training for Regionals, how he is training for the Games now that he has qualified and why he and Genasee love spring so much.

TIME TO FOCUS.

HEAR: From the Farm to the World Stage

Alyssa Ritchey started out as a hyperactive farm girl, then traveled through all the sports before becoming a record-setting weightlifter. She shares her story and her blow-by-blow account of her most triumphant lifts on the Bodybuilding.com podcast.

BITTY STRONG.

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EAT: Blackened Salmon Tacos with Mango Guacamole

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AN ALL-STAR MEAL.

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is brought to you by

Chalk Up Community

• ANNIVERSARY FUNDRAISER — CrossFit Simpsonville in Simpsonville, SC is celebrating their first anniversary with a fundraiser WOD on June 1. All funds raised will go to SWITCH, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation in SC.
• 2019 HAMMY — On June 1, CrossFit Cadre in Hudson, OH will host the 2019 Hammy, named after Adam Hamilton who died while serving as a US Army Specialist. All funds raised will support the Adam S. Hamilton Memorial Academic and Athletic Scholarship Fund. Each year, two $10,000 scholarships are awarded to
  worthy Roosevelt High School seniors who have shown leadership in the classroom, on the playing fields and in the community.
• BLACK RIFLE COFFEE GIVEAWAY — Enter to win two all-access Coliseum tickets to the 2019 CrossFit Games and a Black Rifle Coffee Company fit kit now through May 26.
• WODBOM VEST GIVEAWAY — WODBOM and the Buttery Bros are giving away three tactical vests. You’ve got three ways to enter before May 21.

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

Congratulations to Kathleen on her fifteen pounds lost since starting CrossFit • Jared Wayne Stevens and NOBULL are coming out with a new floral line • Jordan Cantrell snatches 300 pounds for five • Ryan Grimsland back squats 400 pounds for five • Chase Knight gets a 495 pound 2RM deadlift PR • Congratulations to Sheena Shaw-Hammer on the birth of her daughter, Roxie • Taylor Deering deadlifts 360 pounds for a PR • Mat Fraser has a #HWPO patch available for the new Nike Metcon 4 XD • Have a look at what Tia-Clair Toomey eats in a day • Danyele hits a 200 pound deadlift PR • Chase Long deadlifts 600 pounds for a PR • Congratulations to Jeremy
Jouette on his 150 pound weightloss with CrossFit and RP • Happy ninth anniversary to Crossfit de L’ouest • 

…and Jenn Dancer did a ropes course at Power Monkey Camp with one foot, which is pretty badass if you ask us.

Bronson Lovell on CrossFit in His Driveway — Bronson Lovell, who moved CrossFit Anahola to his driveway after having to shut down due to permit issues, on why he decided to keep the box going, even if that meant moving it to his home.

— “We believe in the therapeutic value of what working out together can do, and we didn’t want to shut it down,” Kai Lovell said.

— “It’s so big, I can’t even control this thing. It’s that big. An overnight success, literally.”

Joe Rogan Wants Rich Froning to be a Guest on His Show — CT Flectcher was recently a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience. The two discuss whether CrossFit is good for you or not when it comes to long-term health benefits, casually mentioning that he’d love to have Rich Froning weigh in.

— Rogan: “I need to get one of those top level CrossFit guys. I’ve gone back and forth with Rich Froning online but I never got him on the show, I should reach out to him again.”

— Fletcher: “I’m sure Jason (Khalipa) would die to be on here. He is exceptionally fit and you know, the long term I don’t know because he’s still a pretty young guy.”

“CrossFit Horsepower Decides to Shut Their Doors,” by Jessica Danger, Morning Chalk Up

In May of 2018, CrossFit Horsepower was deemed a public nuisance by the Hermosa Beach, CA City Council who claimed that neighbors and residents had been “greatly and adversely affected” by music, use of sidewalks for exercise and dropping of weights.

CrossFit Horsepower had 90 days to meet nearly impossible terms such as not being able to hear the music outside, no running outside and soundproofing the entire building.

Horsepower sued the city in November, asking a judge to set aside the city’s earlier decision that Horsepower is a public nuisance, and to compensate the gym’s owners for the lost value of the business, as well as attorney’s fees and litigation costs.

But it’s all proven to be too much, as Horsepower announced yesterday that they are closing their doors.

“We are extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and work with so many of our Hermosa Beach neighbors in their journey to improve their lives. We thank all of them for their years of dedication and support and are sorry we were forced to close our doors,” their Facebook page reads.

5/10: Beast Mode Games 2019 (Greenville, SC)

5/11: 2019 Moco Throwdown (Bethesda, MD)

5/11: Butchertown Cleaver Classic (Louisville, KY)

5/11: Girls on Girls X (Bridgeport, PA)

5/11: Battle of the Gulf Coast (Port Neches, TX)

5/11: Femme Royale So Cal (Orange, CA)

5/11: Squat for Guate (Hickory, NC)

5/11: Southside Showdown (Jenks, OK)

5/17 – 5/19: ACA Throwdown 2019 (Johannesburg, SA)

5/17 – 5/19: Down Under CrossFit Championship (Wollongong NSW)

5/17 – 5/19: Brazil CrossFit Challennge (São Paulo, Brazil)

5/18 – 5/19: Big Impact Games (Kaukauna, WI)

5/18: 2019 Barbells in the Burbs Team Comp (Carol Stream, IL)

5/18: 2019 Tough Temple CrossFit Super Total (Bethseda, MD)

5/18: Mad Hatter Games (Danbury, CT)

5/18: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit Chester Springs (Chester Springs, PA)

5/18: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit PTV (Redmond, WA)

5/18 – 5/19: Shred Fest (Orlando, FL)

5/18: Cindy-a-Thon (San Leandro, CA)

5/18: Fallout in the Falls (Wichita Falls, TX)

5/18: East Coast Battle ( Hanover, MD) 

5/18: Meshugge CrossFit Summer Melee 2019 (Overland Park, KS)

5/18: Backstreet Brawl 3 (West Bend, WI)

5/18: Flower City Throwdown Women’s Division (Rochester, NY)

5/18: Warriors Hope (Greenwood, IN)

5/18: WODding to Hear (Elizabethton, TN)

5/18: Fifth Annual Guns N Hoses Competition (Anaheim, CA)

5/18: Barbells and Beers (Berkeley Heights, NJ)

5/18: OUTWOD Morristown (Morristown, NJ)

5/18: 2019 Triton Spring Throwdown (Wallingford, CT)

5/18: 6th Annual Murph for Mutts (Peachtree Corners, GA)

5/18: Fire & Ice Competition at WildFire CrossFit (Phoenix, AZ)

5/18: Battle of the Ages (Bensenville, IL)

5/18 – 5/19: Rogue Invitational (Columbus, OH)

5/18 – 5/19: Beach Town Throwdown (Myrtle Beach, SC)

5/19: Heroes and Heroines Team Throwdown (Pawtucket, RI)

5/21: Brady’s Border2Border Ruck March (Beach, ND)

5/24: 24 Heroes in 24 Hours (Ardmore, PA)

5/26: 24 Heroes in 24 Hours 2019 (Southborough, MA)

5/27: ValorFit Community Murph (Urbandale, IA)

5/30 – 6/2: Granite Games (St. Cloud, MN)

5/31: OUTWOD at Roy CrossFit (Roy, UT)

5/31 – 6/1: The Rockwell Championship Series Main Event (Woods Cross, UT)

6/1: Warrior Affiliate League Terrible Two (Murrietta, CA)

6/1: Warrior Affiliate League Terrible Two (Victorville, CA)

6/1: The Burn Out 4 Person Team Competition (New Bern, NC)

6/1: Battle of the Vikings (Frederick, MD)

6/1: The Hound and The Mountain Team Competition (Sudbury, MA)

6/1: 2019 Hammy (Hudson, OH)

6/7 – 6/8: Bricktown Throwdown 2019 (Bricktown, OK)

6/8: The Mountain Meltdown (Park City, UT)

6/8: Battle In The Basin 2 2019 (Joshua Tree, CA)

6/8: Battle on the Creek (John’s Creek, GA) 

6/8: Supergiant Meltdown (Westerville, OH)

6/8: Double Down Skylands Showdown (Sparta, NJ)

6/8: CFE’s Summer Sizzler 2 Masters Competition (Burlington, MA)

6/8: The Charlotte Throwdown for Mental Health Awareness (Charlotte, NC)

6/8: 3rd Annual WODing for SuperTy (Pawling, NY)

6/8: OUTWOD Showdown at Brick (West Hollywood, CA)

6/8 – 6/9: CFCC Triple Threat (Denver, CO)