Recent partnerships mean no trip to the CrossFit Games finale for some athletes.
Shortly after switching the placement of the 2024 CrossFit Games from Madison, Wisconsin to Fort Price, Texas, CrossFit HQ has shifted gears yet again by making significant changes for the upcoming season. Nonetheless, unlike the choice to host the game’s preeminent event at Dickie’s Arena next yr, selecting to overhaul the Adaptive and Age-Group divisions will likely be met with more criticism than excitement.
On Oct. 10, 2023, CrossFit HQ delivered a press release detailing major changes for the 2024 season.
“CrossFit is happy to announce three recent partnerships that may help grow the CrossFit Games championship competition and create recent opportunities to shine a highlight on athletes across all divisions. WheelWOD Games, Pit Teen Throwdown, and Legends Championship will host the adaptive and age-group championships for the 2024 CrossFit Games season.
The change will dramatically increase the variety of masters and teenage athletes competing within the finals, nearly double the variety of divisions for adaptive athletes, and provide an opportunity for CrossFit to evolve its competition model to make the CrossFit Games internationally scalable in the longer term.”
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Although the partnerships will give more athletes a likelihood to participate, taking away the chance for competitors within the Adaptive and Age-Group divisions to share the identical stage as the highest Individual and Team performers within the championship round represents an obvious drawback.
As a substitute, qualifying Masters athletes (ages 35-65+) will move through the web Quarterfinals and Semifinals before advancing to the Legends Championship for an in-person Final. While the 2023 Legends Championship will happen in Tempe, Arizona from Dec. 7-10, it’s unclear if the 2024 edition will occur in the identical location.
Athletes within the Teens division (ages 14-17) will follow the normal CrossFit Games stages (Open, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals) before wrapping up their season on the Pit Teen Throwdown. The 2024 edition will still happen in Three Rivers, Michigan, which has hosted the annual fitness competition for several years.
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Per the CrossFit press release: “The Pit Teen Throwdown offers a highly competitive arena for world-class athletes to check their skill, strength, and stamina against their peers,” CrossFit HQ wrote within the press release. “Big names in the game have competed within the Throwdown prior to now corresponding to 2023 Rookie of the Yr Olivia Kerstetter and 2022’s second-Fittest Woman on Earth Mal O’Brien.”
The 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games, which took place in August, crowned several recent champions within the Teen division, including:
- Maria Granizo (14-15 Girls)
- Jeremie Jourdan (14-15 Boys)
- Lucy McGonigle (16-17 Girls)
- Ty Jenkins (16-17 Boys)
Moving forward, though, talented kids like Granizo and Jourdan could have to accept showcasing their strength, agility, and fitness on the Pit Teen Throwdown moderately than at what must be a jam-packed Dickie’s Arena.
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Meanwhile, your complete Adaptive athlete season can be run exclusively by WheelWOD, a company that brings greater than a decade of experience hosting annual competitions. The brand new partnership is not going to only expand the variety of competitive divisions from eight to fifteen, but it can also allow athletes from all 15 to have a likelihood to advance to the in-person final.
The present Adaptive divisions include:
- Vision
- Mental
- Seated With Hip Function
- Seated Without Hip Function
- Short Stature
- Multi Extremity
- Lower Extremity
- Upper Extremity
Considering only three divisions (Multi Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Upper Extremity) moved on to the ultimate at probably the most recent CrossFit Games, the brand new format must be viewed positively from a participation perspective — especially with WheelWOD offering additional divisions corresponding to Sensory (which incorporates each vision and hearing) and more specific Upper and Lower Extremity categories as defined by an athlete’s “points of contact” with their relevant limbs.
With the 2023 WheelWOD Games going down in Raleigh, North Carolina from Nov. 30-Dec. 3, Adaptive athletes can get a touch of what next yr’s competition might appear like. Nonetheless, CrossFit HQ said the dates and site for 2024 can be shared at a later time.
Despite shifting directions in such considerable fashion, CrossFit General Manager of Sport and Education Dave Castro believes the changes “will profit each division in significant ways, most significantly greater than doubling qualifying spots for masters and youths and allowing every adaptive division a spot on the in-person championship.”
Only time will tell whether the athletes affected share the identical sentiment. Nonetheless, there’s little doubt that the 2024 CrossFit Games will look quite different, and after delivering substantial announcements in successive months, don’t be surprised if more changes are unveiled moving forward.
Featured Image: @crossfitgames / Instagram