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Teams Smash Records at West Coast Classic

 
Morning Chalk Up

June 24   |   POWERED BY

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

We love seeing your story tips, quotes and PRs roll in. Keep sending them to [email protected].

 
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“Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” - Benjamin Franklin

 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  West Coast Classic Takes a Trip Down Team Competition Memory Lane  

West Coast Classic Takes a Trip Down Team Competition Memory Lane

Earlier this week, we looked at the many individual records that were broken at last weekend’s West Coast Classic in Las Vegas, NV, a Semifinal that featured events that have previously been tested at Regionals competitions, the CrossFit Invitationals, or the Games between 2013 and 2019. Across the board, the individual performances crushed scores of the past, not just at the regional level, but also at the Games.

  • Turning our attention to the teams who competed in Las Vegas shows a similar story: The level of performance on the field was head-and-shoulders higher than even just a couple years ago.

Two notable improvements: Arguably the two biggest areas of improvement spectators witnessed at the West Coast Classic in the team competition were the athletes’ worm proficiency — a piece of equipment that was introduced to the community at the Games in 2013 — and their clean and jerk numbers.

The Worm: Two events in Las Vegas featured the worm — the Squat Burpee event from both the 2013 and 2014 CrossFit Games — and Event 6 from the 2018 Regionals, an event that featured 144 handstand push-ups while a second athlete holds the top of a handstand, followed by a 144-foot team walking lunge with the worm.

  • Backcountry Black topped the Squat Burpee event in 10:20.87, smashing the winning times from both the 2013 and 2014 Games (13:43.6 and 14:02.0 respectively). In fact, the top 15 teams last weekend beat CrossFit Fort Vancouver’s 2013 winning time of 13:46.6.
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SPEED READS

  • Book Release: Sam Briggs’ Memoir Start Your Engines is being released in a paperback edition today. This edition includes a new chapter on the 2020 CrossFit Games season.
  • MUST HEAR: On a recent episode of the SimpliFinance with Shaun White podcast, five-time Fittest Man on Earth, Mat Fraser dropped by to talk about all of his post-competitive career ventures, including the supplement company, Podium, he founded with Heber Cannon and Marston Sawyers, and HWPO Training, his online training company.
    • Fraser on how he planned his retirement: “I knew the day I retired from competing, I wanted to make sure I’m busy. I don’t want to be just sitting at home, I don’t do well with free time. So, I wanted to make sure I was occupied and still had something to work towards.”
  • Rich Froning answered some of the most common questions he’s been asked about the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece he was seen using throughout the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge.
  • The UK-based team, The Athlete Program, qualified for the 2021 CrossFit Games out of the German Throwdown. The team produced a three-part, behind-the-scenes, mini-series to document their experience with the online Semifinal.
  • Reach for the Rings, the documentary film that tells the story of the 2019 International Functional Fitness Federation’s World Championships, held in Malmo, Sweden, is now available to rent or buy.
  • Fundraiser for CrossFit Out of the Box: A week ago, CrossFit Out of the Box in Pompano Beach, FL flooded due to a burst pipe. The damage was extensive and expensive and the community is rallying to help owner Leigh Filewich Lopez make repairs. Learn more and donate to help.
  • MUST READ: M4G CrossFit member, Sydney, shares his story as a transgender athlete who found an inclusive and supportive community in CrossFit.
  • Hong Kong-based apparel brand, Earned Athletic, just released a new line of women’s activewear designed by Tammi Robinson. Learn more about the line and shop now.
 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  Six Notable Affiliates from the Semifinals  

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Six Notable Affiliates from the Semifinals

The sport of Crossfit has always been about the power of community. Behind nearly every Games superstar is a community of people supporting them and sometimes training right alongside them.

This year, the four weekends of Semifinals highlighted the power of some of these communities in a notable way. Here are six affiliates that proved the power of community these last four weeks with some impressive appearances at the Semifinal events.

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PROFILE
  CrossFit: A Secret Weapon in Kari Averill’s Fight Against Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia  

CrossFit: A Secret Weapon in Kari Averill’s Fight Against Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

When she was first diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, a rare genetic disease that weakens muscles below the hips, Kari Averill didn’t tell many people.

  • “I was embarrassed that something was wrong with me. I didn’t tell many people about it,” said 47 year-old Averill.

The details: For years, doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Averill, who started “walking funny” and eventually needed to use a cane to get around.

  •  “I thought something was wrong with my knees,” said Averill, whose balance had also become severely impaired. “They kept trying to diagnose me with MS, but everything kept coming back negative.”
  • In 2002, when Averill came across a cousin with the disease, doctors were finally able to diagnose her with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, a condition that is considered a cousin to the deadly ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Since then, Averill has learned that a number of other relatives also suffer, or suffered, from the disease.
  • In January 2020, tired of letting the muscles of her lower body atrophy before her eyes, Averill put a post up on social media asking for recommendations for possible fitness coaches. “I had been doing physical therapy for years and got to a point where there wasn’t anything else they could teach me, so that’s why I put the post out,” she explained.
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VIDEO
  CrossFit: A Secret Weapon in Kari Averill’s Fight Against Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia  

History Relived! Comparing Scores Performed and Repeated Workouts at the WCC | The Bottom Line

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...KNOW

The Top Five Supplements for Overall Health

We know, supplements don't replace a healthy diet. But there is nothing wrong with offering your body a helping hand to ensure it's got everything it needs. Check out these five supplements that you should consider adding to your daily routine to keep your body running smoothly.

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...MASTER

The Sumo Deadlift

Why learn to sumo deadlift? By reducing the range of motion, sumo deadlifts help you lift a ton more weight. Dr. Stefi Cohen goes through common mistakes and how to fix them so you can start hitting some heavy barbells.

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HIGHLIGHTS...

Chalk Up Highlights is our section dedicated to celebrating our community’s wins in the gym. Follow @ChalkUpHighlights and submit your highlight to [email protected] to be featured.

 
LOCAL COMPETITIONS + Submit an Event
3/23: Masters Distinguished Games (Fort Wright, KY)
3/23: CFL Teen Take Over (Lorton, VA)
3/23: The Phoenix hosts Hero WOD “Dork” (Boston, MA)
3/23 - 3/24: Beach Brawl (Spring) (Pensacola Beach, FL)
4/6: Two Peas in a Pod: Mixed Gender Partner Comp (Burlington, MA)
4/6 - 4/7: SeaDog Summer Showdown (Jupiter, Florida)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Minnesota (Austin, Minnesota)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Kentucky (Richmond, Kentucky)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Ohio (Lancaster, Ohio)
4/6: Best Babes Decatur (Decatur, Alabama)
4/6: Best Babes 608 (Janesville, Wisconsin)
4/6: Best Babes South Carolina (Beufort, South Carolina)
4/6: Best Babes Houston (Houston, Texas)
4/6: Best Babes Wyoming (Cheyene, Wyoming)
4/6: War Off I-4 (Deland, FL)
4/6 - 4/7: No Pain No Game (Legnano, Italy)
4/6 - 4/7: Shack Team Edition (Rome, Italy)
4/6: Best Babes South Carolina (Beaufort, SC)
4/6: Best Babes Decatur (Decatur, AL)
4/6 - 4/7: Landifornian Battle (Seignosse, France)
4/6: Best Babes Tampa (Tampa, Florida)
4/13: Queens of Oly East Tennessee (Bulls Gap, TN)
4/13: Queens of Oly Rockledge (Rockledge, FL)
4/13: Fittest on Main (Boaz, AL)
4/19 - 4/21: Crash Crescendo (Spartanburg, SC)
4/20: Barbells For Bullies: Community Workout Savannah (Savnnah, Georgia, US)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Plattsburgh (Plattsburgh, NY)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Masiphumelele (Kommetjie, Cape Town, South Africa)
4/20: Festivus Games (Goderich, Canada)
4/20: Festivus Games (Clermont, FL)
4/20: Festivus Games @ The Gym – CrossFit Kilo (Cedar Falls, IA)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CBM Sirens (Caledonia, MS)
4/20: Festivus Games @ Coyote Valley (San Jose, CA)
4/20: The Fittest 4 (Sunshine Coast, Australia)
4/20: Embrace the Challenge (Mentor, Ohio)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Pagosa (Pagosa Springs, CO)
4/20: First EVER Adaptive Festivus Games Competition (Waterford, United States)
4/20: Festivus Games (WAUKESHA, WI)
4/20 - 4/21: BGR Contest Spring Edition (Bergerac, France)
4/20 - 4/21: Okanagan Valley Throwdown (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada)
4/20 - 4/21: Okanagan Valley Throwdown (Penticton, British Columbia)
4/25 - 5/12: Raised by Grace (Virtual, )
4/26 - 4/28: Crash Crescendo (Spartanburg, SC)
4/27: Cap Crown Throwdown (Gladstone, Australia)
4/28: 249 Spring Throwdown (Sittingbourne, Kent, England)
5/4: CHLKDUP Classic (Nashville, TN)
5/4: Masters Equalizer Co-Ed Team of 4 Comp (Oceanport, United States)
5/4: The Battle on Bedford (Lynchburg, VA)
5/4 - 5/5: Pavia Spring Challenge ’24 (Pavia, Italy)
5/4 - 5/5: Italian Bulls Games (Lido di Ostia, Italy)
5/4: Team Challenge Texas (San Antonio, Texas)
5/4: The Strong and Courageous (Cullman, Alabama)
5/11 - 5/12: Finest City Weightlifting Open – Presented by The Strength Tank (San Diego, CA)
5/11: True Fitness Trials (Cherry Hill, NJ)
5/11: Queens of Oly Hawaii (Wailuku, Hawaii)
5/11: Queens of Oly Hudson (Hudson, NY)
5/11: Queens of Oly Philadelphia (West Chester, Philadelphia)
5/18: Thrive Throwdown (Lynchburg, VA)
5/18: Imperial CrossFit’s Spring Fit Fest (Kent, WA)
5/18 - 5/19: The Rainhill Spring Trials (Manchester, UK)
5/18: Luminate the Day (Nonprofit comp for Windy Willow Foundation) (Grand Rapids, MI)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx Chicago (Alsip, Illinois)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx Wilmington (Wilmington, North Carolina)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas)
5/18: Girls Gone RX Wilmington (Wilmington, NC)
5/18: Code 3 Clash (Eagle, ID)

See all upcoming events

 
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