The 2019 CrossFit Games Season Global Leaderboard is Here

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is sponsored by Kettlebell Kitchen.

Want abs like Kari Pearce? Then you have to eat like Kari Pearce. Take advantage of this special offer from Kettlebell Kitchen and you’ll get $25 off your first two orders of meals, plus Kari’s new Power Abs Course for free.

Four days until Wodapalooza kicks off.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” — Thomas Edison

A Different Kind of CrossFit Dog

Some background.

Levi Vernon is eight-years-old and has Down Syndrome. He is mostly non-verbal and doesn’t have a strong sense of awareness. He gets lost often in public places so his mom, April, reached out to get Levi a service dog.

A great help for Levi.

They were approved for a service dog through 4 Paws for Ability in Xenia, OH. Levi’s dog will train for search and rescue in case he ever gets lost and in many other helpful duties to make sure Levi stays out of harm’s way.

The full cost of the dog is between $40,000 and $60,000, and Levi’s family is responsible for $17,000 of this cost. April started a fundraiser to get the funds for her son’s service dog.

That’s where CrossFit comes in.

CrossFit Strode Station Founder Josh Tackett said he saw Levi’s fundraiser on Facebook and knew he had to help in some way. “We saw this fundraiser for Levi online, and it really moved us. This little boy is in desperate need of a service dog, but even with help, the family is still responsible for $17,000 of the cost. Help us get Levi the help he needs, and have fun while doing it.”

Serving their own community.

On top of a fundraiser WOD, CrossFit Strode Station also held a silent auction with a minimum bid of $25 on each for items like a three-month CrossFit membership and other local vendors that donated their time and services.

“We want to build a healthier community and help people who need it,” Tackett said. “I saw an opportunity to do something and wanted to take advantage.”

THE GAMES.

The 2019 CrossFit Games Season Global Leaderboard is Here

The CrossFit Games competition season has expanded to now include 15 new global events, each with their own qualification process.

In order to help fans of the Sport of Fitness track the athletes competing for a coveted ticket to the CrossFit Games, the Morning Chalk Up team has built a global leaderboard to track how each athlete is performing across the entire season.

Access the global season leaderboard.

The Highlights

• You can sort, filter or search the global leaderboard by event, athlete and overall finish.
• Data on qualifier events has been filtered to only include athletes who accepted their invitation to compete. It also notes which athletes received special invitations to bypass the qualifier.
• The leaderboard will also include data on athletes who have withdrawn from competition.
• Coming Soon: Athlete profiles linked directly from the leaderboard.

If you think we missed something or there’s a feature we should consider for the future, drop us a note.

Coffee Break Conversations

What to say the next time someone asks how the ole resolutions are coming along…

We don’t speak of those here. We kind of sort of maybe a little bit hate new year resolutions at Morning Chalk Up. But what we do love is people getting healthier, wherever they are right now, in whatever form they can. So, if you fully intended to start the new year with a fitness goal and haven’t quite gotten to the starting part yet, we got you Boo. Here are seven tips to help you make fitness a new habit, one that you can make a lifestyle instead of just giving up by Valentine’s Day. 

Things To…

WATCH: Stefi Cohen Opens Up About Life

In this episode, the first in Omar Isuf’s new series, record holding powerlifter and doctor Stefi Cohen opens up to talk about some of the barriers she’s encountered throughout her life, how lifting has helped her to build up her confidence, and how her athletic journey has translated into her professional and personal life.

ALWAYS AN OUTLIER.

HEAR: Humans Over Double Taps 

In this episode of the Girls Gone WOD podcast, Joy and Claire discuss balancing the expectations of running a social media account as influencers, while having an honest desire for connection and authenticity. They also talk about the difference between diet as a noun vs. a verb and why hosting their 300th episode party is going to be therapeutic for Joy.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA TRAP IS STRONG.

BUY: 15% Off RP Diet Templates

The industry’s leading easy-to-use templates, the RP Diet Template has helped thousands of athletes reach their health and fitness goals. Get started on your new year goals with 15% off with code “JAN15”.

GET RP.

EAT: Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy

You don’t have to ditch all the comfort foods when you start to eat healthier. This take on the classic salisbury steak is delicous and it’s dairy, gluten, and grain free, and super easy to mix together. Caramelizing the onions takes that extra few minutes, but it’s so worth it for that rich onion flavor in the gravy!

BETTER THAN A TV DINNER FOR SURE.

DO: Morning Chalk Up CrossFit Trivia Night

If you’re going to be in Miami next week, make sure you join us for the first ever CrossFit-Themed Trivia Night at Sweet Caroline’s Thursday at 6:00 PM. Grab some friends and let us assign a celebrity captain to your team. 100% of all donations will go to support Reps 4 Rescue, a nonprofit fighting to end human trafficking. There is no donation minimum but we ask that you give as generously as you’re able.

WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU.

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

Chalk Up Community

• MEMORIAL WOD — Birmingham, AL police sergeant Wytasha Carter was killed in the line of duty in the early morning hours of the 13th. To honor him Mark Mehringer, owner of CrossFit Eleven and a Birmingham police officer himself, is holding memorial WODs all day on Tuesday, January 15.
• ROOKIE RUMBLE — Rookie Rumble Competitions are designed with the newbie athlete in mind who understand the basic movements and are still learning and growing in the sport. The emphasis is on fun with a high-energy environment with low intimidation. The first event kicks off in April in New Jersey.
• FUNDRAISER FOR BEN MILLARD — On Sunday, February 3, CrossFit Bath is hosting a fundraiser for CrossFit Bath member Ben Millard who was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 terminal Bowel Cancer at the age of 33.
• BIG BEN POKER RUN — CrossFit Koda is hosting a fundraiser with a twist for four-month-old Ben Hymer, who is currently undergoing a series of medical procedures for ventriculomegaly and a heart condition. Participants will travel to five local CrossFit gyms, do a short workout, and draw a card. One card at each locations makes a hand. The goal of the fundraiser is to finish with the best hand. 
• FEES WAIVED FOR FEDERAL WORKERS — CrossFit9 in St. Petersburg, FL is waiving fees for all members affected by the Federal Government’s current shut down. Also, CrossFit9 members took it a step further and are donating gift cards for necessities like groceries.

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

James Townsend, who has been in ICU since December 31, is finally home and recovering • Seventy-five-year-old Rosemary  Matossian, also known as mom to Sevan Matossian, set a PR on Grace Sunday • Jordan Cantrell gets a 407 pound clean and jerk PR • Michelle Basnett gets a 195 pound snatch PR • Aysha Haley deadlifts 500 pounds for two • Mia Edgar gets a 240 pound jerk PR • Lauren Fisher snatches 170 pounds as she prepares for Wodapalooza • Sara Sigmundsdottir PR’d her strict muscle-ups.

…and we hope you are as stoked about the upcoming Open WODs as this kid is about his birthday present. 

2019 Open Judges Course — CrossFit announced that the 2019 Open judges course will be available in six different languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese and Italian.

Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Scores Due — The Mid-Atlantic CrossFIt Challenge online qualifier scores are due today by 5:00 PM PT. After all scores have been reviewed, the top 20 Individual Men, top 20 Individual Women and top 40 Elite Teams will go on to the main event in April in Washington, D.C.

Reykjavik CrossFit Championship Registration Open — Registration for the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship is now open. Three individual workouts will be posted on February 8th at 2:00 AM PT and registered athletes will have until Sunday, February 17th to submit their scores. 

Rogue Invitational Confirms Two More — Over the weekend the Rogue Invitational announced it has confirmed Margaux Alvarez to their womens roster and confirmed Tanya Wagner to their Legends roster.

“Fighting Cowden’s with the Best Box in Britain,” by Jessica Danger, Morning Chalk Up 

In November of 2016, Samantha Kelly got the devastating news that her then eleven-year-old daughter Charlotte had Cowden Syndrome, a rare disorder that causes the body to develop tumor-like growths and with a high probability of further developing certain cancers.

Samantha and Charlotte’s days were filled with doctor’s appointments, surgeries, radioactive iodine treatment, and recovery. One day Samantha saw an ad for a local CrossFit box, Real Fitness, and she decided CrossFit would be a great way to spend quality one-on-one time with her son, James, through this trying time.

“I am far from a natural at it found it really helped me cope with the difficulties we were facing as a family,” Samantha told us. Charlotte loved her time in the box, and with her son, and the community. It gave her an idea.

Cowdens affects an estimated 1 in 250,000 people so Charlotte did the math. That meant around 260 people in the UK, where she lives. She decided to do a workout for each of them in order to raise money in aid of the PTEN Research Foundation, which was founded to find treatments or therapies for PTEN Syndromes. She logs every single workout on her Cure for Cowden’s page. She’s enjoying the process so much that she’s taken it a step further.

She started the Best Box in Britain Throwdown, a charity CrossFit contest that brings the entire box together for one cause over six weeks.

1/10 – 2/4: Row’d Royalty (Online)

1/17 – 1/20: Wodapalooza (Miami, FL)

1/19: New Year New Throwdown Event (El Mirage, AZ)

1/19: Battle For The Axe (Baxter, MN)

1/19: Warrior Affiliate League Fantastic Four (La Puente, CA)

1/19: Battle for the Axe (Baxter, MN)

1/19: Great Lakes Games 2018 (Detroit, MI)

1/19 – 1/20: Chiang Mai Throwdown (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

1/20: Det. Deidre Mengedoht Hero WOD (Louisville, KY)

1/21: Helen for Hounds at CrossFit Pretoria (Pretoria, South Africa)

1/25 – 1/27: Australian CrossFit Championships (Queensland, AUS)

1/25 – 1/27: Judgment Day Hawkes Bay (Napier, NZ)

1/26: The Force Wars 2 (Pembroke Pines, FL)

1/26: Lost River Rumble (Bowling Green, KY)

1/26: The Blizzard Bowl (Little Canada, MN)

1/26: 2019 IceBreather Classic (Springfield, IL)

1/26: ATCF Cancer Crackdown: Revival of The Fittest (Pasco, WA)

1/26: Hung Like Coff at PFC CrossFit (Las Vegas, NV)

1/26: Steel Rail Shootout 2019 (McComb, MS)

1/26: Woid Beast Fitness Challenge (Cham, Germany)

1/26: Brick NY Midtown Throwdown (New York, NY)

1/26: Fifth Annual Cold Steel Classic (Oswego, IL) 

1/26: New Year’s Revolution (Seminole, FL)

1/26: Three Rivers Throwdown (Rome, GA)

1/26 – 1/27: Cougars and Cradle Robbers (Salem, MA)

1/26 – 1/27: Game Day Eau Claire (Eau Claire, WI)

1/26 – 1/27: NorCal Masters (San Rafael, CA)

1/27: Big Dawgs Athlete Development Camp (Letchworth, England)

1/29 – 2/2: Fittest in Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa)

2/1 – 2/2: Battle of the Brave III (North Kansas City, MO)

2/2: Golden State Games (Stockton, CA)

2/2: Left Coast Classic Competition (Laguna Niguel, CA)

2/2: Golden State Games (Stockton, CA)

2/2: A League of Their Own (San Antonio, TX)

2/3: Coffland Hero WOD (Norwalk, CT) 

2/9: Valentine’s Day Crush (North Hollywood, CA)

2/9: The Garage Games Master of the Masters (Suwanee, GA)

2/9: Cupid’s Roar Partner Competition (Melbourne, Australia)

2/9: 3rd Annual Black Ops Partner Competition (Wheaton, IL)

2/9: Bedrock Heart Breaker (Calgary, AB)

2/9: Battle of the Ages (Jacksonville, FL) 

2/9: Battle for Bae 2019 (San Mateo, CA)

2/9: Battle of the Fittest 6: NYC Throwdown (New York, NY)

2/9: My Bloody Valentine (Vidalia, OH)

2/9 – 2/10: The CrossFit Circus (Des Moines, IA)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Kilgore, TX)

2/16: The Garage Games Xs & Ys (Valdosta, GA)

2/16: Couples Clash 2019 (Pensacola, FL)

2/16: Tuff Love (Boulder, CO)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Selma, TX)