7TH PLACE, 7TH CROSSFIT GAMES? Yvonne worked her way back from 9th place on Day one to 7th place on the last day. She’s not happy with her placement, but she’s satisfied with her performance. She has an awesome attitude: “if I’m not winning, I’m learning”. The first thing she said to me after the last workout was: “well, I know what I need to work on!” And, as she’ll tell you, she had a blast with her friends in her age group – ALL of whom are incredible athletes, especially, 6x Games Champion, Susan Clarke – the winningest CrossFit Games Master of all-time. So will Yvonne be making a run for her 7th Games? You’ll have to ask her when you see her! CFG 2023 QUICK TAKE & INSIDE SCOOP Here’s my quick take on the 2023 CrossFit Games and some inside scoop on big changes in the near future: - Attendance and energy were the highest in many years, maybe ever. It was PACKED in the arena and North Park venue and vendor area. People lined up early in the AM and thousands participated in fan workouts in multiple areas of the park – including our workout area we shared with our friends at CrossFit Crave.
- Affiliates: more than 1100 affiliate owners registered to attend the affiliate lounge area – 3x the number of owners as last year! That is a huge positive sign for the future growth of CrossFit.
- Games Experience – there were sooo many fan events and education seminars this year vs years past and may were sold out. The vendors were literally overwhelmed and many ran dry on inventory.
- OG Party – Greg Glassman flew out for our 2nd Annual OG Tailgate in the RV Park. And, CEO Don Faul came and hung out as well! It was an epic party with a TON of OGs on hand to share stories and celebrate CrossFit longevity.
- Athletes & Workouts – The men’s and women’s leaderboards were the most volatile they’ve been in years! The competition for the fittest on Earth literally came down to the last workout. It was a blast and kept fans engaged all weekend.
- Seminal Moment – on Sunday morning over coffee, I told a few people that the Games have been amazing but they lacked a “seminal moment” like last year’s Capitol workout when Rebecca Fuselier carried the heavy bag up the steps to beat the time cap. Ironically (and sadly), later the same day, Roman Khrennikov, who led most of the week, broke his foot on the 3rd to last workout of the Games. Despite the severe injury, he came out onto the floor and attempted to finish the last two workouts, one of which included heavy rope double unders – which he did with one foot jumps. The crowd and other athletes were overcome with emotion for him and his incredible effort. Roman struggled with visa issues for 4 years before finally being able to compete last year and this year.
- Rumors (Masters & Location) – The 2024 CrossFit Games are rumored to be moving to the Fort Worth, Texas! This is a awesome city with easy access, a major international airport and plenty of venues to accommodate the Games and fans. Also rumored, in 2024 the Age Group competitors competition will be held separately from the CrossFit Games – and may be outsourced to an experienced event manager, ie, Legends. This is good news for Masters in my opinion, since it will allow for more participation and dedicated sponsorship & and media coverage.
PODCAST SCHEDULE
- Monday’s Podcast was TODAY. Jamie and I made multiple attempts to broadcast from the RV park, but RV wifi and other tech issues made it challenging. However, on Sunday the 6th – we pulled it off and had a great conversation about the Games and affiliate success with Zia Rohrbaugh, owner of CrossFit Counter Culture in San Diego. Watch it on YouTube!
TWEET OF THE WEEK: Starting or buying a CrossFit Affiliate is the beginning of family legacy business for many owners. There is no “exit strategy.”
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Aug: Calendar & Newsletter
Aug Focus: August is the second month of our Complex Development Phase with the theme of “Applied Strength”. This month, we will use the strengths we built in the Foundation Phase, and combine them with last month’s Strengthen Skills, for the first round of Applied Strength. Throughout the month, we will work on the most complex movement patterns between Olympic Weight lifting & the Kipping Ring Muscle-up. The goal is to either get exposure to these movements or to master them.- Primary Strength: Clean & Jerk
- Secondary Strength: Snatch Drill + Working sets
- Skill Focus: Ring Muscle-up & Lunge Variations
This Week:- Mon: C&J. Metcon: Amrap 8m – 5,5, 10,10, 15,15… KBs & WBs
- Tue: 5RFT – 12/18 Airbike, 6 HSPUs, 12 T2B, 15 Air Squats
- Wed: Snatch Complex. Metcon: 200m Run, DB Snatch 20-16-12 (end with 200m Run)
- Thu: MUps & Lunges. Metcon: 3RFT Burps To Target, V-Ups, HRPush Ups
- Fri: Fight Gone Bad
- Sat: 5RFT – 12/18 Airbike, DB HSC, 100m FC
- Sun: 3xE6MOM – Buy In: 800m Run. Amrap 12 C2B Pull Ups, 9 Burpees
CRAIG’S LIST: - Documentary Trailer: Small Town Strong – Dale King’s CrossFit PSKC is helping opiod addicts recover with CrossFit. The Documentary was introduced at the Games and will be released soon!
- Article: Fortune – Another Black Swan? – My background in finance keeps my attention on the happenings in the markets and especially, the economy. I’m nervous about the amount of debt our Country has created and worry for the future. This article offers excellent insight into the risks and potential economic outcomes.
- CrossFit Games: Roman Khrennikov Fights Through – This is an incredible performance by Roman after breaking his foot in the previous workout and essentially ending his run to become the Fittest on Earth. Watch this performance and especially, the crowd’s reactions and athletes’ support. This is CrossFit.
Have an awesome week.
Craig |
