CrossFit News: Changes in the Games Season
Anyone watch the CrossFit Invitational last weekend? No? Well, unless you were awake from 1-3am on Saturday night, you would have had to catch the recap. Not only did Australia kick some ass on home court with the top two females in the world, but team USA and Europe were a close third and last place respectively. Team Canada, hosting the second and third fittest men on earth, cruised to a second place finish. Now, if you missed that, you may also have missed The Dave Castro announcing some changes coming for the 2018 CrossFit Games season. Below, we'll talk about the changes and how it could affect athletes, helpful or not, and where the Games have come from over the years.
Every year, thousands of athletes throw down for five weeks of the year proving not only to the world and their gym how fit they are, but to themselves that they are capable of pushing to new and challenging levels of fitness. Past the Open, a select few make Regionals and from there, the top athletes from around the world fight to take home the cheese. Each year, more athletes from around the world are showcasing their talents and each year the sport of fitness evolves. Just a few years back, it was a milestone for 100,000 people competing in the Open. These days, we're seeing 300,000 athletes competing in the worldwide Open. With 17 regionals and 40 spots at the Games, Dave Castro was testing fitness though softball tosses, Fran, track runs, tire flips, and max squat cleans. Today, as athletes progress, with combined regions and a different Games venue, there are events like snatch ladders, handstand walks over and around objects, distance swim events, and obstacle courses.
In the "Golden Age," the Rich Froning era, the Sectionals days in 2011, or the dumbbell-less Opens, the sport of fitness seemed simple, be the fastest and strongest guy on the field. Not taking away from the test of fitness, because it most certainly is the best test of general physical preparedness out there. Today is just a little different. Athletes are taking training to the next level and it is becoming harder to test these athletes as they progress past the previous tests. The events are becoming more technical and as popularity grows, it is becoming more spectator driven. In 2017, at the CrossFit Invitational, Dave Castro announced more changes to the format of this coming years season.
There will now be more combining of Regionals. Latin America will get its own Regional. Castro said the competition getting down there is fierce and the percentage of athletes competing in Latin America is too big not to have their own. California, West, and Canada West are now one big Regional. That will be an exciting one to watch! Also, with a combination of a few Regionals comes a split of one larger Regional. Europe will now have a North and a South Regional. It's no surprise Europe is putting out CrossFit robots, that they would now be splitting them up to even out the playing field.
CrossFit's test of fitness is not only relevant to individuals, but to teams as well. For the last 9 years, CrossFit held their Affiliate Cup Championship at the Games. Teams of six compete for the fittest team in the world, and now, starting in 2018, they will be teams of four. Two guys and two girls are now fighting for that title. Amidst these announcements, he also plugged this year's Open as going to be "very exciting."
