“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.”- Harry S. Truman
COMPETITION
2022 Legends Championship Crowns Multiple Winners
The 2022 Legends Championship wrapped up Sunday evening and 14 champions were crowned in a field of over 300 athletes. After four days of competition, this year’s winners emerged in their respective divisions to set the stage for the 2023 Age Group season.
Female champions:
Amy Morton (35-39): Morton won six of the nine events (one tie for first). In a field of 30 competitors, her worst finish was sixth place, showing consistency and dominance finishing the weekend with 850 points.
Julia Kenyon (40-44): Kenyon won four of the nine events (one tie for first), with eight of her nine finishes being inside the top five. She finished the weekend with 802 points.
Carol Mezen (45-49): Mezen took the championship by eight points, edging out Angie Penney in a back-and-forth race, finishing the weekend with 666 points overall.
Tea Gebbie (50-54): Gebbie had eight event wins (one tie for first), finishing off her dominant weekend with 794 points.
Shanna Bunce (55-59): Bunce had two event wins on the weekend, taking a 16 point victory over Kristi Lunny to bring home the gold with 680 total points on the weekend.
Patricia McGill (60-64): McGill dominated her division, with four event wins and three second place finishes. Her worst placement was fourth place, showing consistency across the entire weekend and finishing with 766 points.
Julie Holt (65+): Holt had five event wins and only finished outside the top two once the entire weekend (4th in the final event). She finished the weekend with 772 points.
Male champions:
Ryan Smith (35-39): Smith had two event wins (one tie for first), and finished the weekend strong with 798 points.
Jonathan Varela (40-44): Varella won a tight race in the men’s 40-44 division, taking the championship by eight points over Rudy Berger. He finished the weekend with two event wins and 744 points.
Jason Grubb (45-49): The three time CrossFit Games champ finished the weekend with three event wins, two of which came in the final two workouts. He finished the weekend with 790 points.
Cory Dague (50-54): Dague won the closest race of the weekend, beating Roan Low by just two points for the overall victory with 708 total points.
Guy Cravatta (55-59): Cravatta battled to victory in another tight race on the men’s side, winning by just four points over John Donjoian. Cravatta finished the weekend with 640 total points.
Brian Wilson (60-64): Wilson put on a dominating performance, only finishing outside the top three in one event. He finished the weekend with 736 total points to win the championship in the men’s 60-64 division.
Cal Cherrington (65+): The 2022 CrossFit Games champ in the men’s 65+ division continued his reign this weekend at the Legends Championship. He had six event wins on the weekend, finishing with 788 total points.
The bottom line: The organization and execution of such a large event is no small feat. The event team and CrossFit Mayhem hosted over 300 competitors for a four day, nine event competition. The on-site logistics would be impressive enough, but they were able to provide a live stream for the final two days, bringing some of the biggest names in the CrossFit media to be a part of the event. It’s great to see the Age Group divisions getting the coverage and attention that they deserve. The longevity and incredible levels of fitness these athletes showcased should be inspiring and motivating to us all.
SPONSORED
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In case you missed it: Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil caught up with Canadian Emily Rolfe to discuss the process of getting back into training, where her head is ahead of the 2023 season, and what her goal was going into the Dubai Fitness Championship.
Another super team: Add another one to the list, this time it’s Joshua Al-chamaa, Jorge Fernandez and Sam Dancer for team for TYR Wodapalooza. 😎
WZA again: Another announcement for the Miami competition, which gets better by the day, as Rogue has been named the official equipment supplier for TYR Wodapalooza.
Round one, fight!: For those vintage arcade fans out there, this is your moment as Reebok has dropped a Street Fighter shoe.
How Can You Get Your CrossFit Coaches to Continue Learning While They Teach?
The final article of our five part series dives into the importance of continuing education and member feedback for the development of your coaching staff. In part four, we discussed the importance of team development and providing educational opportunities internally for your coaches.
Today we’ll review different ways you can encourage and support your team to pursue external sources of education and continued learning. Additionally, we’ll discuss the value of asking your members for feedback on your team, to better help you understand what needs to be addressed in future development.
“When you want to be a princess, you have to remember he’s doing the same thing,” Jamie Simmonds
From moving, to training, to traveling — Jamie Simmonds has been busy with some significant life changes, all while on the hunt to get back to the CrossFit Games in the 2023 season. Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil catches up with Simmonds to discuss what it’s like to be back in Dubai, how training has been, and what’s in store for the rest of her off-season.
For the Love of the Game: Long Island Couple Pilots Competition Series
Putting on a competition isn’t for the faint of heart. Long months of planning, assembling volunteers, pulling together little details, writing workouts, recruiting interest, the list goes on. If you’re not leading a big training camp or are a household gym, what’s the appeal?
For Kelly and Sam Krivit, “it sounded like something fun to do, something fun we could do together,” Sam said.
As a preschool special education teacher and Physician’s Assistant, the Long Island based duo simply love CrossFit, and felt they could assemble a throwdown series that serves the community across various affiliates. As enthusiasts with no real competition planning experience, their first event was in September 2021, in conjunction with helping their friends launch RXFit, in Rocky Point, NY. According to Sam, “it was super successful…we had three workouts going at a time. It was an individual event, we had 100 athletes, and it went great.”
From there, the spark was lit and the dream began to grow — known as Fight for the Fittest. The events are held in other affiliates (given that the Kriviti’s don’t own one), and aren’t related to any particular camp, gym or brand. Kelly, who is self-proclaimed OCD, has some background in event planning, assisting with causes like AMRAP for Autism, and pulled on that experience to set themselves up for success. Additionally, Sam has volunteered at events like Regionals and competed locally and in the Open since 2016.
“At first it was just run one competition and have fun, and then do a second one because it was so much fun. And then we looked at it as, if we want to continue to do this because we are enjoying it, we have to run it like a business. The only way we can be sustainable is if we are profitable. Profitable is kind of a subjective word because the amount of hours that we put into it, we make minimum wage. But we don’t lose money — that’s the main thing,” Sam said. “If we didn’t enjoy this, we would not do it. The labor of love, the amount of hours of stress, I get more stress from this than my real job. And I do spine surgery for a living, so it’s definitely not for the revenue.”
Kelly continued: “I think a lot of it that keeps us going is the relationships and the people.”
Utilizing the power of this community, the couple has chatted with numerous other event organizers of various sizes to gain advice and wisdom regarding scaling to a multi-day event and creating a larger impact in a way that doesn’t break the bank.
“The goal is to run a quality event, so I don’t think that we’ll ever push ourselves past what we’re capable of and sacrifice the quality to make a bigger event, or to make more money, or whatever it may be,” Sam explained.
For more on Fight for the Fittest events, stay up to date via their Instagram (@fightforthefittest). The next event, the partner finals, is January 28, 2023 at Christian Harris’ gym, MFLH Training in New York. With plans for individual, partner and team competitions on deck, stay tuned for the opportunity to support like-minded individuals and showcase your fitness.
LIFESTYLE
12 Gift Ideas for the CrossFit Lover in Your Life
The holidays are fast approaching, and *some* of us like to wait until the last minute to do our shopping. If that’s you and you have a fitness lover you need to shop for, here are our top picks for this year’s holiday season.
Editor’s note: Some of these deals are exclusive to Morning Chalk Up. Order fast while supplies last to ensure delivery before Christmas.
One last chance to win it all! It's our final day of CrossMas and we are going out with a bang with a $500 Reebok giftcard (that's a lot of new Nanos). Enter to win the prize and get all the gear for the final day of giveaways!
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Looking for a weeknight recipe that’s easy to whip up for you and the fam? Here is a tasty one if you are a fish eater who wants something that doesn’t take a lot of prep, but tastes like it did.
Ready to workout without leaving the comfort of your home? Get RX’d is here to help you build the home gym of your dreams- and you’ll get 10% off your order when you pick your rack, barbell, bench and plates.
You can earn exclusive rewards like stickers, patches, and mugs (all the way up to a barbell) by simply referring people to subscribe to our free daily newsletter. Grab your exclusive link and start sharing the Morning Chalk Up with your friends, family, and people you met one time on a Saturday morning WOD to get started.
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.
🤯 Congratulations to 16-year-old Robby Maddalena from Hatchet Athletics in Hunstville, Ontario on the 315 pound/143kg clean PR.
Congratulations to Kelsey Suttle from CrossFit Gallatin in Gallatin, TN on the 250 pound/113.5kg clean and jerk PR.
Congratulations Matt Martz from Old City CrossFit in Washington DC on the 300 pound/136kg squat clean PR.
🥉 Former Regional CrossFit athlete and current Canadian weightlifter Maude Charron took home the bronze medal at IWF Worlds in the Womens 59kg weight class.
🏆 37-year-old powerlifter Jen Hazzard set a new all-time world record with her 525 pound/238kg deadlift at only 129.5 pounds (58.5kg).
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