Unofficial Top 20 Games Qualifiers

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

Laura’s Lean is a protein company that offers all-natural, organic and natural grass fed meat! All their products are raised with no added hormones, or antibiotics, ever! They have chicken, ground beef, jerky, and their new 100% grass-fed and finished steaks! You can find all of their products online, delivered straight to your door!

Hit up @lauras_lean, go to their Morning Chalk Up post and share your favorite emoji in the comments for a chance to win a month’s worth of free meat!

“The habit of persistence is the habit of victory.” — Herbert Kaufman 

Changing High Schoolers Lives for Time

Hartford High School in Hartford, VT has incorporated CrossFit into their school PE program.

Pete Driscoll, a high school PE teacher and CrossFit coach, is in his first year of teaching and knew just what he wanted when he came on staff. “I wanted to start a program that uses fitness to help students become the very best version of themselves,” he said.

Sounds like CrossFit.

CrossFit S.W.I.R.L. is the official box of Hartford High School. S.W.I.R.L. stands for strength, work, integrity, respect, and leadership. 

“Where the power of this program really lies is that everybody can use this CrossFit methodology to become the very best version of themselves whether it’s socially, cognitively, emotionally or physically all these components are addressed through our conversations,” said Driscoll. 

A regular box.

Their motto is “Better Than Yesterday” and the classes focus on the areas of life the students control: Exercise, nutrition, sleep, relationships, and mindset. Driscoll calls these the five pillars of health. 

Every day, students walk in to a whiteboard, write down goals and PR’s and look to coach to demo movements like front squats, thrusters and wall balls. The kids even get to bench and row.

Jeff Moreno, assistant vice principal and athletic director, said ”CrossFit is actually a method to show people their potential that it’s not actually about the working out, it’s about pushing themselves in any form within their life, and the thing with kids is they’re willing to push themselves in anything if they have a reason to. “

It’s working.

One student reports “I took a lot of the motivation that Mr. Driscoll gave me and focused it into school and even outside, his voice has helped me a lot.” 

GAMES NEWS.

Who’s Qualified for the Games Unofficially in the Top 20

The 2019 CrossFit Open officially wrapped up on Monday. Now CrossFit will undergo a lengthy review process to verify all qualifiers. We will have more in-depth explanation on that process coming out tomorrow. So as of right now everything is UNOFFICIAL.

Consider This: At this point, there are only around 14 more CrossFit Games invites remaining (10 for the Sanctionals events and four at-large invites). The rulebook isn’t clear on whether it’s four per gender or four total.

Some fun facts, unofficially of course:

• 18 veteran females from the 2018 Games will be returning; 14 veterans on the mens side.
• Scott Panchik will be heading to his eighth consecutive CrossFit Games.
• Annie Thorisdottir will become only the third athlete in history to reach 10 individual CrossFit Games appearances, joining Ben Smith and Becca Voigt. The current streak is 10 consecutive individual appearances held by Ben Smith. He had surgery earlier this year and still has a chance to qualify through a Sanctional. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet holds the second longest streak at nine and has the opportunity to tie Smith if she wins a Sanctional.
• There are five potential individual rookies in the top 10 for the men: Lefteris Theofanidis (2), Jean-Simon Roy-Lemaire (5), Uldis Upenieks (7), George Sterner (8), and Samuel Cournoyer (9).
• There is only one potential rookie in the top 10 for women: Dani Speegle, who took 5th.

The cutoff for the men currently sits at 28th place, and 31st for women, but these athletes are expected to decline their individual invite and compete on a team:

Men: Rich Froning, which moves the line to 29th (more on that in the article).

Women: Alexis Johnson and Tasia Percevecz, which moves the line to 34th because 32nd place Camilla Salomonsson Hellman is the unofficial national champion of Sweden.

Continue Reading.

Coffee Break Conversations

What to do when there’s a new member in the gym…

Make sure they feel at ease, just like twelve-year-old Isabella Ciriello does for the hospital that saved her as a premie.

The next time you slack your boss that you’re headed in…

Expect a welcome this on point. 

Things To…

WATCH: 19.5 in Ireland, Part One with Armen Hammer

It’s day one with Armen Hammer in Dublin for the 19.5 live open announcement. Sean Sweeney, Travis Williams, Justin LoFranco and Armen Hammer drop in at CrossFit Bua, go for a whiskey tour, and grab some late night burgers.

ARMEN MAKES A PROMISE.

SUPPORT: Inside Elite Fitness

Inside Elite FItness with Tommy Marquez and Sean Woodland need your support to keep putting out the high quality media the CrossFit community loves so much. For the price of a cup of coffee, the equivalent of a high-five, or a contribution to the light bill, we can support two of the faces we’ve all come to trust.

SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY.

GET: Good Clean Protein with Xwerks

Xwerks Grow is made with 100% whey protein isolate from naturally raised grass-fed cows, with no hormones, antibiotics or pesticides. Each tasty serving has 25 grams of almost totally pure protein and six grams of BCAA’s and you can take your pick of chocolate, vanilla or peanut butter.

GROW THEM GAINZ.

EAT: Paleo Lemon Blueberry Bread

This healthy paleo lemon blueberry bread made with a mix of almond and coconut flour is bursting with juicy blueberries and fresh lemon zest in every bite. It’s light, perfectly sweet and ready for your oven. You could even add a tablespoon or two of poppy seeds to make it a lemon poppy seed loaf.

SPRING AND LEMONS.

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

Chalk Up Community

• PRO-TIP: YOUR ROW IQ — Dark Horse Rowing gives you ten questions about rowing. See how many you can get right to reveal how much you know about rowing. 
• BATTLE FOR THE MOUNTAIN — Dawson CrossFit in Dawson, GA is holding their fifth annual competition, Battle for the Mountain, on April 13. This is the last week to register. 

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

Cody Mooney does a snatch complex at 225 pounds • Michael Crespo gets a 280 pound overhead squat PR • Chase Long back squats 390 pounds for six • Congratulations to Beth Coke on her thirty pound transformation with RP • Lauren Fisher does a clean complex at 205 pounds for a PR • Congratulations to Mason Alderman for qualifying for USA Weightlifting Youth Nationals • Sean Hutchinson gets a 265 pound split jerk PR • Alyssa Ritchey power cleans 214 pounds.

All Things 2019 CrossFit Games Ticket Sales — Yesterday, CrossFit release all the details regarding  2019 CrossFit Games tickets.

— Notable notes: This year wristbands will be replaced with Ticketmaster Mobile Tickets.

— Affiliate Pre-sale: Affiliate pre-sales will take place April 4 – 8. Remember that affiliates that had 12 or more athletes sign up for the 2019 Open will get early access to ticket sales.

Confirmed for Rogue Invitational — Lukas Hogberg announced he is confirmed for the Rogue Invitational May 17 – 19.

Added to Reykjavik CrossFit Championship Roster…are Paul Tremblay and Thuri Helgadottir. 

Asia CrossFit Championship — Spectator tickets are now for sale for the Asia CrossFit Championship April 27 – 29.

…also, Team Invictus just confirmed to compete in Asia. 

Wodapalooza Returns — Yesterday, Wodapalooza announced their 2020 dates are February 20 – 23 at Bayfront Park in Miami, FL.

–– Why the date change: Super Bowl is in Miami in 2020 and Bayfront Park, where Wodapalooza is held, is locked up for that. Thanks a lot, football, or “foosball” as Momma Boucher would say. LOL if you get it. 

LAST CALL…This is your last chance to get the super limited Morning Chalk Up shamrock shirt and muscle tank. 

‘I’m good. I think I found home.’ How a Combat Vet Found Home in CrossFit,” by Jessica Danger, Morning Chalk Up Team 

Jake Worthington joined the United States Marine Corps in June of 2000. On March 23, 2003, Worthington was right in the middle of the Battle of Nasiriyah. While under fire, Worthington ran to rescue another Marine that had been shot. Worthington was unable to carry him to safety alone. Two other Marines had to came to help.

By 2004, Worthington was home and drinking heavily. “I was a combat veteran,” he says. “I can do whatever I want and nobody can say shit to me because…I had honorably earned the ability to live the rest of my life however I wanted to, which included a lot of drinking.”

But in 2009 Jordan Gravatt, Jake’s brother and owner of CrossFit by Overload invited his brother to watch the CrossFit Games with him at the Ranch. Jake loved the atmosphere and the camaraderie. So, later that year when Worthington moved in with his brother, he agreed to start going to CrossFit with him.

“It didn’t go over very well in the beginning,” said Gravatt. “It was ugly.”

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)

3/30: Earn Your Doughnut (Washington, D.C.)

3/30: Rowing for a Cure (Grovetown, GA)

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)

4/3 – 4/8: 2019 Rogue Invitational Qualifier (Online)

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.)

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

4/13: The Craic Throwdown (Norwood, MA)

4/13: Capacidad De Dos Amigos (San Antonio, TX)

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)

4/13: First Annual McClaren Cup (Rio Rancho, NM)

4/13: Garage Girls 2019 Tour at CrossFit Grit (St. Simons Island, GA)

4/13 – 4/14: Freakin Throwdown 6 (Miramar, FL)

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)

4/27: Spring Fever Partner Master Competition (Souderton, PA)

4/27: Best of the Midwest Team Series Part 1 (Westfield, IN)

4/27: Officer Christopher Goddell Memorial WOD (Walkdwick, NJ)

4/27: Pose Method Run RX Course (Lake Havasu City, AZ)

4/27: Battle of the Boxes (Newport,KY)

4/27: 2019 Pensacola Beach Brawl (Pensacola, FL)