“Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.”- Franz Kafka
COMPETITION
Madeline Sturt, Jay Crouch, Men at Work and LSKD Gold win Down Under Championship in Australia
On a beautiful spring November morning in Wollongong, athletes took the floor to kick off Australia’s major off-season event of the year: the Down Under Championship. It was a tough fight at the top of the leaderboard across the elite men, women and team divisions all weekend long, and there was no shortage of surprises with last minute roster changes. We’re breaking down the need-to-know action you may have missed from the coastal Australian city.
Day One: Friday, November 18
CrossFit Games athlete Rob Forte programmed the competition at WIN Entertainment Centre, with each event being a prior Regionals workout — a nod to the fact that Regionals used to be held at the venue. The first event–hero workout “Randy”–was first programmed on CrossFit’s mainsite in 2008, and made its competition debut at Regionals in 2015. Event 1 for athletes was the same across the board, with teams doing their 75 snatches synchronized.
Men at Work (Noah Ohlsen, Chandler Smith and Saxon Panchik) took the top time in the men’s Elite Team division, with Down Under Dogs (Khan Porter, Matt Dlugos and Ricky Garard) finishing just nine seconds behind. These two scores were over 30 seconds ahead of the following finishes, which set the tone for the fight between these two teams the rest of the competition.
The second and final workout of the day was “Nasty Gals V3”: Three rounds for time with a 14-minute cap of 50 single-leg squats, 10 ring muscle-ups and 10 hang cleans (176lb/80kg, 115.5lb/52.5kg). For the Individual Men, Peter Ellis took the event win, followed closely by Jay Crouch and Zeke Grove, who all separated themselves from the rest of the pack to close out day one.
Maddie Sturt, who narrowly missed qualifying for the Games in 2022, ended the day in 1st place for the Elite Women followed closely behind Katelin van Zyl, who’s moved from team to individual this year.
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In case you missed it: Lauren Kalil, the host of The Bottom Line, spoke to Dex Hopkins and Joey Adduci about how big of a margin a champion can have with their weaknesses and how changing the standard of a movement like the handstand push-up impacts an athlete when trying to narrow that margin.
Yes yes: Girl gang training session at HWPO with perennial contenders Mal O’Brien, Katrin Davidsdottir and Amanda Barnhart. 🤩
And another: Yet another amazing team for the TYR Wodapalooza. This time it’s the Canucks, Brent Fikowski, Jeffrey Adler and Patrick Vellner. 🇨🇦
Is Zelos Games the Future for Offseason CrossFit Competitions?
When it comes to offseason fitness, the Rogue Invitational, Dubai Fitness Championship and Wodapalooza are the events attracting the biggest names in our sport. The strong foundation of resources, partnerships, and the ability to deliver a positive athlete experience has separated these three juggernauts from the rest of offseason events.
In order for the sport of fitness to continue growing, there needs to be opportunities outside of the season and these major events for athletes to earn money and showcase themselves for potential sponsors. Several competitions have emerged and attracted big names, but had challenges with delayed pay-outs causing athletes to lose trust in attending smaller competitions.
How Changes to the CrossFit Games Rulebook Impact the Season
CrossFit has released the Games rulebook earlier than ever, and we’re diving into what’s new and what could impact athletes in the 2023 season. Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil sits down with Dex Hopkins and Joey Adduci to talk about how the change in the residency rule could shift where athletes compete in Semifinals, the introduction of the two-appeal rule, and which athletes might benefit from having best practices in place ahead of time.
Tasia Percevecz on Pivoting Careers: “It was one of the easiest decisions of my life!”
As a former three-time Games athlete, Haley Adam’s right-hand woman, CrossFit coach and a key component of the philanthropist effort at CrossFit Mayhem, Tasia Percevecz has worn many hats in the functional fitness industry. Her most recent endeavor kicked off this month, although it’s been a seemingly long time coming to step into such alignment.
Growing up as a gymnast, Percevecz didn’t feel empowered when it came to her nutrition choices, and “all I knew was trying to not eat and be small.” she said. Later in her athletic career she connected with the founder of M2 Performance, Mike Molloy, who changed the game for how she viewed food and fueling her body, and would ultimately spark her goal of becoming a full-time nutrition coach.
“I had spent a lot of my life under-eating and so I was finally starting to understand protein and carbs and fat and all these things. And just seeing how it really helped me in my CrossFit career was something that was a pivotal moment of really just recognizing the power of nutrition that we have in our lives,” she said.
CrossFit to Partner with Spartan Race for San Francisco Event in December
CrossFit has announced a major partnership with Spartan Race for the latter company’s Oracle Park Spartan Stadium Event Weekend, which will take place Dec. 3 in San Francisco.
Dave Castro, the former mastermind behind the CrossFit Games, who is now an advisor to new CEO Don Faul, announced the partnership on a video with founder Joe Desena and Obstacle Racing Media.
Remind me: Spartan Race – part of the Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) world – was founded back in 2007 and is one the major players in the space. Their 2023 schedule features dozens of races all over the country with the World Championships to take place in December.
Many notable CrossFit athletes have participated in Spartan Races over the years including Rich Froning and Sam Briggs, just to name a few.
Castro: “I think this really cool, we’re experimenting with doing a partnership around the event (in San Francisco, December 3rd)…and we are giving away tickets to affiliates and their members to rally the community.”
He also noted that he was asked to add an obstacle, which he did–ring muscle-ups.
Castro also said that he would run the race and “called up Don Faul and said hey, we’re gonna race against each other and I’m gonna crush you.”
“He’s fit though and I’m excited to race against him and all the other CrossFitters and affiliates,” Castro concluded.
Worth noting: Obstacle courses have been a mainstay of the CrossFit Games for many years.
The first time an obstacle course race was featured in the CrossFit Games was 2012 at Camp Pendleton. That year, Spencer Hendel took first for the men, while Talayna Fortunato took first for the women.
The 2017 Games, the first in Madison, Wi, also featured an obstacle course. Dubbed the “Sprint O-Course,” competitors raced head-to-head and Patrick Vellner and Tennil Reed-Beuerlein won respectively.
Elements of OCR have been infused in Games events ever since, including ruck runs, odd object carries in the middle of longer running events, tests lik “Happy Star” and the Ranch Loop in 2020, The Capitol in 2022, and more.
One big thing: This could be seen as the first real partnership between CrossFit and what could be called a quasi-competitor such as Spartan Race, and begs the question, is this a one-off, or part of a bigger partnership to come in the future?
INDUSTRY
Toe Spacer Rebrands as Spacer Mobility, CrossFit Games Athletes Reap all of The Company’s Foot Health Benefits
If you’re on social media, you have probably seen all the cool people—CrossFit Games athletes like Danielle Brandon, Sara Sigmundsdottir, Emma Lawson, Emily Rolfe, and Jeff Adler to name a few—posting pictures of themselves wearing the Toe Spacer, a device that quite literally separates your toes, all the while improving foot mobility and stability and reducing any foot pain.
Though the Canadian company The Toe Spacer is best known for its toe spacer tool, they’re about so much more than just toe spacing, which is why it’s in the process of turning itself into Spacer Mobility.
“The intent from Day 1 was just to share foot health content, and then it turned into sharing toe spacers, but then as we have grown we have realized there is a lot more to foot health and there are so many other products that can help with stability and mobility,” said the Toe Spacer co-founder Mick Baker.
“So we think that dropping the Toe in our name and going with Spacer Mobility is a really good way to encompass the tools that we are going to be releasing and the tools that we already have.”
Putting all your weight on your head can be uncomfy, especially if you don’t find the right spot. Using this test, you can find the crown of your head for handstand push ups to get the best stability.
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When we think of movements that involve our lats, we don’t often think of deadlifts. But, using your lats can be the difference between hitting a big weight or hitting a big wall. Try this cue and see what you can pull from the ground!
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