The CrossFit Open, the time is here and I couldn’t be more excited for what we have in store this year. For those of you who did the PortOpen last year, this year is going to bring a few surprises. For those of you new to the Open, let me try to describe exactly what it is.
Every year in August, CrossFit holds the CrossFit games. It is simply our version of the Superbowl. The best of the best are tested in a weekend-long competition that crowns the Fittest man and woman on Earth, in every age division. To get there you must place top 5 in one of the regional events. The regional events are held regionally that tests the top 20 men and women from that region to determine who will represent their region at the games. In order to go to regionals, you must place in the top 20, in your age division, in the Open.
The Open begins the last week of February and runs for 5 weeks. Every week, CrossFit corporate releases a workout that we do here in our gym. People competing in the Open, will complete the workout and upload their scores online.
For years, this is how we attacked the Open until the PortOpen was created. In years past, coaches were given a team of guys and girls, and through participation points and WOD scores, one team was crowned the winner at the end of the 5 weeks. People taking part of the PortOpen did not have to sign up for the CrossFit Open, but it helped their team if they had.
This year will be a little different, but the same general idea. Every week we will complete the workouts in class, if you sign up for the Open and/or the PortOpen, you will be assigned a judge and your scores will go towards your teams total. Simply showing up to the big event, Friday Night Lights or Saturday Morning, will score points for your team, so everyone can help push their team towards victory.
Every year coaches are always faced with the question of ‘why should I sign up? I don’t like to compete.’ or ‘I only do CrossFit for fun/fitness/to sweat/etc.’ To these points, I say, exactly. The Open is a chance to really determine your level of fitness, how much you have improved, and things that you should work on in the year to come. You don’t like to compete? Well, you are in constant competition with yourself, and what other times do you get to put a score in with 100,000 other people? See where you rank in the world and next year see how much better you’ve gotten. So you do CrossFit for fun? This is the most fun event we have here at the Port. This community rises up and comes together like you’ve never seen before and pushes everyone to do their best. I have seen so many firsts during the open and it’s because of the supporting cast that you have behind you every time you complete an open workout. The camaraderie is contagious and inspiring. Regardless of what team you compete for, we are all having a beer together at the end. So think about signing up, it is going to be a blast.
We have some surprises in store for you this year. It is going to help make this year the best to date. If you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to ask a coach.
