The 2010 CrossFit Games

1. Jeff Gehrisch wrote...

Congrats Brade Lutz !!!!! 1st place in the Regionals!!! You are now a legitimate card carrying Firebreather!!!! (I had no doubts all along) You are an outstanding athlete and person. Your dedication, patience(thank you), hard work and belief in Crossfit has made you one of the fittest men on the planet. You should be proud of yourself. I know I am.
By the way, I thought guys that worked out in a one stall garage in their backyard weren't supposed to be dragon slayers???

10 May 2010 / 2:40 p.m.

2. N Rogers wrote...

BEN SMITH- you are an inspiration to me and everyone around you!! Congrats on being awesome and I'm so proud of you!!! :)

10 May 2010 / 3:02 p.m.

3. Matt wrote...

Awesome job to everyone this weekend! Congrats to everyone!

10 May 2010 / 5:08 p.m.

4. Andy Petranek wrote...

Wow. That is one HELL of a team WOD! Sounds like you got some great competitors qualified... and some awesome teams. Congrats CrossFit Maximus!

10 May 2010 / 5:11 p.m.

5. Tom Seryak wrote...

Great atmoshpere, great test of well-rounded fitness. Christy Phillips dominated and I can't imagine her not finishing in the top 3 at the Games. Joseph Weigel was very impressive on day 2, too bad they're not taking top 4.

10 May 2010 / 5:59 p.m.

6. Brian Smith wrote...

I'm not sure how other regionals have been run, but this one was ill prepared for. The WODs came out a few days out, with no standards video. On the day of, there was barely any announcing of events or what was going on (the only time was during the finals), athletes and workers were saying the standards were made up as they went along and not clearly communicated (e.g. the log run finish line), and the food truck was sub-par. I won't even go into the fact that Reebok "Reetones" somehow had a truck there. How did the athletes know what time to show up for Day 3? They didn't. The lucky ones showed up at 8am for standards. Masters had to do double unders on uneven mats and in the grass, no doubt slowing their times down considerably compared to other Masters on solid surfaces. The only saving grace to the weekend were the athletes who put on a great show of talent and athleticism. Congrats to the top individuals and teams that move on to LA. I hate to say it, but it could have been such a better experience for athletes/volunteers/spectators than the Rogue garage sale that it was. Next time the higher ups should do some thinking ahead instead of playing on their iPhones during competition.

10 May 2010 / 7:36 p.m.

7. Matt Chan wrote...

Congrats Graham!!! Look forward to seeing you soon buddy.

10 May 2010 / 9:29 p.m.

8. Courtney wrote...

When the final event was announced it was an 83# snatch for women, but this says 95#. Which was it?

11 May 2010 / 4:26 a.m.

9. Ralph Hicks wrote...

Graham, you're the man! Now the real training starts!

11 May 2010 / 5:12 a.m.

10. Sadie wrote...

I agree with Brian Smith's comments and concerns. For this caliber of event, it was run with a high degree of disorganization, poor time management, and provided little communication for both spectators and athletes. In addition, the Masters portion presented as an afterthought, unfortunately. There is no doubt that the hosts were working hard all weekend but it just wasn’t effective or efficient.

Congratulations to all the advancing athletes and good luck!

11 May 2010 / 5:20 a.m.

11. Jeb wrote...

The weekend was a little rough around the edges but all in all it wasn't terrible. It could have been much worse. It might have been unfair for our masters to have to compete on a different terrain, but it's still someone from our region who is currently number 1 in the rankings as well.

My only BIG complaint about the weekend was the judging. It wasn't that the judges were doing a bad job, it was that there were people walking around telling the judges what they should be calling WHILE the workout is going on. That is completely uncalled for and should have never happened. These people would walk around and concentrate on one athlete for along period of time. Forget that three other people behind them aren't doing the movement the right way, this person was getting screwed over. The whole purpose of having judges is to let THEM call the standard. If you don't trust your judges to uphold the standard, don't give them a judges shirt. End of story

11 May 2010 / 5:41 a.m.

12. MikeR wrote...

I can't agree more with Brain Smith and Sadie. This weekend was run incredibly poorly. It was sad to see the Masters treated as an after thought. Scheduling for the events was horrible, on the first day we ran over 30 minutes late, events were moved without notice. No one knew when they were going and some missed their heats. Seemed like things were being made up on the fly. This weekend felt like amateur night.

Congrats to all the teams and athletes that made to LA. Thanks to all the volunteers and judges.

11 May 2010 / 6:44 a.m.

13. SeanM wrote...

Let me first say that Christi Phillips put on one of the most impressive displays I have ever seen, I've met her once before, but was in awe of her performance, nearly sweeping all of the events, and even though she had first place locked up going into the last event (no lie she could have gotten 20th in the last event and still won) she aggressively went after the event and won that one too! Can definately teach everyone a lesson about perserverence and class in an athletic competition.

Sadly I agree with the other posters about the management of the event this past weekend. Aside from the fact that the event was an hour outside of the city (for what purpose, I'm not sure, anything that was done there could have been done in any park.) The judging was horrendous, and again not necessarily the fault of the judges, more the management of the judges. When competitors are paying and spectators are paying and teams are paying to come to an event, I would have liked to see some more consistency in the judging. Jeb's post about the people walking around 2nd guessing the individual judges is spot on. IT WAS RIDICULOUS. I dont think that any of our team was hurt too bad by this, but I witnessed no less that 10 other competitors that were completely screwed by judging 2nd guessing other judges and the ensuing confusion.

There was no visible clock for anyone to see, the scheduling was a joke. I was running around asking anyone I could find about schedule updates and no one had a clue. I just dont get it, I've been to these before where they've been run well. I realize its tough to manage the judges but there has to be better effort and organization that what I witnessed this weekend.

Through it all the spirit of competition reigned supreme. Wonderful efforts from all competitors involved. The event selection was awesome, execution was where it was lacking.

The Games are going to be sweet this year!

11 May 2010 / 8 a.m.

14. Graham Holmberg wrote...

Thanks Matt and Ralph! Thanks to all the supporters that came out and helped me along the way.

Awesome work this weekend to all the competitors, it was a one tough weekend. My body is gonna be feeling it for a few more days!

Braden and Ben, great guys, it was a pleasure talking and competing against you and look forward to representing the Central East with you guys out in LA!

11 May 2010 / 8:06 a.m.

15. Jamie Frech wrote...

Congratulations to all the athletes and AWESOME work achieving this level of success! A special note of thanks to all of the volunteers who made this event a great time and a wonderful experience for first time competitors and seasoned veterans alike.

And finally: GO JULIE F GO!

11 May 2010 / 8:17 a.m.

16. joe lengel wrote...

Great weekend. I was initially disappointed as a Masters competitor because I wasn't able to complete in 15 min a workout that I have done in 9 minutes or less in more favorable conditions which lead to a DNF for me. It's hard to run these things I'm sure so those things happen I guess. The only cure is to come back better next year and hope that conditions are better as well.
Good job to everyone who competed. It was a beast fest.

11 May 2010 / 9:12 a.m.

17. Alex Martin wrote...

First off, congratulations to all the winners going to LA and big thank yous to the volunteers.

As a spectator and supporter of a few participants in the individual, master's and team events, I thought the workouts were in general cleverly designed and provided a true test to all of the competitors. That being said, some aspects of the management of the judging and organization of the event itself left a lot to be desired. I agree with a number of the criticisms mentioned above.

Specifically, judges - and especially managers of judges - should not be judging individuals or teams from their gyms. Just the appearance of favoritism takes away from the credibility of the competition - especially in the final rounds. I saw one judge manager make a move from his section, where his top competitor was struggling, all the way to the other side to take a real close look at the judging of our gym's top competitor - while the heat was underway. Perhaps I'm being biased here, but from what I saw it was the first time he had switched sides all day. He should have voluntarily removed himself from that heat.

Second, if master's participants are rated on the same workouts to others around the world, how can you ask them to do doubleunders on grass or uneven mats? It was disappointing to see so many people DNF when any kind of hard surface would do the trick.

I appreciate that it costs money to put on this type of competition, but $50 for people to be spectators + $10 parking? It's hard to introduce new people to Crossfit if it costs that much just to learn about it from a competition.

I'm not trying to be overly harsh here, but I think there are some fairly straightforward changes that could make a big difference going forward.

11 May 2010 / 10:09 a.m.

18. Tim Romanski wrote...

The best part of this weekend was being able to see the elite level of fitness the top spots were capable of. I would have rather given my $100 entry fee to Christy or Braden then to hand it over to Crossfit for no shelters, no water, and on the spot training of judges that weren't even all level 1 certified. This was the first time I had to hold a kettlebell at top position until told it was a good swing. I think after 80 reps of that my time was slightly prolonged! Yeah, I know, sour grapes... Maybe next time Bill will spend a little more time making sure the judges are all on the same page with the standards. The spectacle of this weekend, once again, was definitely the amazing athletes that competed. And most of them had the character to match. Its too bad they had to pay AGAIN to be involved.

11 May 2010 / 11:15 a.m.

19. Daniel Urcuyo wrote...

First, a huge thank you to Caity, Bill and all the volunteers and judges for putting on such a great event. Congratulations to all the qualifying athletes AND those who did not qualify. No matter what place everyone earned all athletes came away from the weekend as better athletes and people.

In regards to the judging, the managers did exactly what they were supposed to do. There are standards. It is crucial that these standards are followed exactly. I am very surprised that judges had trouble discerning a good kettle bell swing from one that did not meet the standard (strait arms, bell perpendicular to the ground, ears showing). I understand that people make mistakes in judging. That's where the so called "judging managers" come in. They are necessary to ensure that judges are upholding the standards. In the future it would be good to have more judging managers present during each heat.

Integrity is a crucial part of crossfit, and I was very disappointed to see some athletes and spectators complaining to judges about obvious bad reps. Crossfit is unique in that our judges are often our "cheerleaders" as well. They want us to succeed and burn through the WODs and when their athletes yells at them for what they know are bad reps, its disappointing.The judges are our friends. Lets trust our judges.

Finally, its really easy to complain but please provide some constructive input with your negative comments.. We all want Crossfit to grow and thrive.

11 May 2010 / 11:47 a.m.

20. Susie wrote...

Every PENNY COUNTS is the new crossfit saying at the REGIONALS in Logan, Ohio.

11 May 2010 / 1:01 p.m.

21. Matt Lengel wrote...

All negativity aside, I love Crossfit, everything it stands for and everything it does. It was awesome to be apart of regionals this year. All the athletes did great! The 5k trail run was wicked! Thank you to everyone that volunteered to help!

11 May 2010 / 1:09 p.m.

22. Julie wrote...

I couldn't agree more, Matt! This weekend was so much fun and I really appreciate all of the hard work and stress that went into making it happen. I also have to say that I thought the judging and standards at this regional event were MUCH improved from those at the Arnold sectional. By the nature of what we do, judging is never going to be perfect no matter how much training the judges receive or how certified they are. I thought the standards, although sometimes not what I was used to, were created for a reason so that they would be very obvious and there would be fewer "gray areas" for the judges. These standards were made very clear in our meetings at the beginning of each day, and all of the judges were very informative when I had additional questions prior to the workouts. The judging managers did a great job of making sure the judges were holding to the standards and not being lenient in the excitement of the event when they can see the athletes struggling and can sympathize with them. As far as scheduling and how the day was run, I never had a problem being ready for my heat- the heats were clearly posted and as long as you kept up with what was going on you knew when to be ready. At an event this large it is inevitable that things will happen and the schedule may run a bit behind. I was very impressed with how close to the actual schedule the event was run. All in all, I think it is important for us to recognize what a HUGE endeavor it is to set up and run an event like this with so many athletes and volunteers. Thank you to everyone who helped to make it happen, and fantastic job to all of the athletes!

11 May 2010 / 2:02 p.m.

23. Alex Martin wrote...

Just for the record, the judging issues that I mentioned above did not have a bearing on the outcome for the competitor I was supporting. I really do appreciate all of the time and effort by the judges and volunteers, but why create the possibility of a favoritism issue in the first place? It's an easy fix.

11 May 2010 / 6:12 p.m.

24. MikeR wrote...

Interesting. I was a competitor and was there the first Thursday night for a briefing on the movement standards. We were told "if we want to waste all that energy pulling with our arms and extending over head, go right ahead". Maybe all this could have been avoiding if the standards videos had been posted Wednesday night before people left to drive to Logan OH. Posting videos on Thursday evening for workouts the next day when you have an event in the middle of no where does not help anyone. Not like there is internet access when you are in the WODs and not everyone has an iPhone.Scheduling.. The first day they didn't put anytime to change teams in and out. You can't schedule 20 minutes WODs 20 minutes part with no transition time. I think they learned from that day and it was better the rest of the weekend. Also they moved the Masters event on Sunday on the fly and at least two of them didn't show up at the right time because it was made to be several hours earlier then originally posted so they had to run them at a later time.

I hope much has been learned from this weekend.

11 May 2010 / 6:27 p.m.

25. MikeR wrote...

Forgot to mention. Go to a kettlebell cert, they teach a bent elbow on the pull and an extension overhead. Watch the games video of the triplet and they are doing it there too.

11 May 2010 / 7:20 p.m.

26. Mike Lyons wrote...

Thanks everyone for giving your criticisms in positive appropriate way. I'm hopeful that HQ reads these posts. Every year we as well as the way we run CrossFit and its events should become better. I guess in the end you get what you pay for. Unfortunately we all paid a lot and got very little. Suggestions: Pay the judges $100 for their hard work, hire someone with the availably and ability to administer a class event, If they are paid as they should be.

As for the maters: I agree with everyone here. I was one of them. I actually enjoyed lifting in the grass, but my max was 20 lbs under what it is on solid surface. As for the "combat" double-unders I agree with Joe (post 16 above). His spot at nationals was probably taken from him (Joe is a stud). I suppose people can argue about the effects of the surface conditions. Allow me to offer a measurable and repeating comparison. I did this exact Helen variation the week prior on concrete/stall mat. My time was 7:20. My competiton time, as one of only 2 that didn't DNF, was over 12:00 minutes.

For everyone to remember. The future of CrossFit is in the Masters.

Fuel for everyone to get better.

12 May 2010 / 5:16 a.m.

27. Bill Henniger wrote...

I just want everyone to know that all criticisms, opinions and ideas are very well noted. We take everything you guys/gals have said and will make the event better for you. I can't tell you how awesome it was to see all of you put everything you had into the workouts.

I apologize to anyone that feels slighted. We busted our ass day in and day out to make this event happen.

I am and always will be available for any of your suggestions and/or if you just want to chew on me - bill@roguefitness.com 614.358.6190

We wouldn't have grown this from the back of our gym to a large outdoor event without the volunteers. The volunteers are the backbone of this entire operation.

Thanks

Bill

12 May 2010 / 5:56 a.m.

28. Harold Doran wrote...

I had a hell of a lot of fun this weekend. There's always room for improvement, but I am grateful we had this opportunity as competitors this weekend.

Thanks to all.

BTW, does anyone know the actual slope of the hill we carried that sandbag up? I swear it was 40 degrees! It was just plain ol nasty.

12 May 2010 / 6:40 a.m.

29. Bill Henniger wrote...

There are sections of it that are very steep, I am glad you enjoyed it. We wanted that hill run to be something you remember.

Bill

12 May 2010 / 7:04 a.m.

30. Braden wrote...

Id like to thank Caity, Bill, the Rogue crew, all the volunteers and everyone who came to Logan Ohio to make this event possible.I thought the games site was beautiful and a perfect place to hold a crossfit competition.It had an "Aromas" feel to it complete with big nasty hills and stadium landscape which made it easy to watch the events. The judging was strict but thats the way it should be.I have never had as many reps taken away in a competition as I did in the chipper but it just made me want to go faster.The competitors were great and I witnessed some really oustanding performances in the affiliate competiton as well as the individual.I witnessed many competitors pushed to the next level by the crowd. I know I was.The sandbag hill run was grueling but trying to catch Graham on the sledpull up the small hill took everything I had. It was a great experience, one I will never forget.
I would also like to thank my training partner/coach Jeff Gehrisch for keeping me consistent and training with me especially through the cold winter months.
Most of all id like to thank my girlfriend Shelia for putting up with me and my crossfit obsession.

12 May 2010 / 9:03 a.m.

31. Stephen Flamm wrote...

I was one of the head judges at this event. I've spoken to a few of you already, but if anyone has any further concerns, complaints, suggestions, etc. specifically concerning standards or judging, please get in touch with me at 513 910 5050 or stephenflamm@gmail.com. As Bill said, we are always looking to improve.

12 May 2010 / 9:03 a.m.

32. Braden wrote...

BTW watch out for Joe Weigel, Dan Bailey, and Dave Ulmer. These guys are amazing athletes and could have easily been in the top spots under different scoring conditions or wods.Ben Smith, 19 years old! enough said.Graham Holmberg great guy and fierce competitor, glad I got a chance to talk to you.
Christy Phillips...8 points total?!?! This girl is on a different planet.

12 May 2010 / 9:55 a.m.

33. Bill Henniger wrote...

Braden

When I spoke to you and your wife and you told me that you had not slept in two days I couldn't believe it. You were an easy one for all to stand behind. Great Job and we will see you in Cali

Bill

12 May 2010 / 10:02 a.m.

34. AnonJudge wrote...

When I signed up to be a judge this weekend, I was excited. Very excited. For the most part, the weekend was amazing to watch and be a part of, no doubt due to the athletes who were just spectacular. I thought the programming was creative and truly pulled the top CrossFitters out of the pool. Unfortunately, some things "behind the scenes" I was disappointed in.

Many standards and decisions were made up on the spot. I'm glad that athletes like Julie F. did not realize this, but the judges had to ask questions and clarify things moments before they were presented to athletes. Some examples: log carry finish line was made up on the spot, snatch standards weren't thought out, not enough weights around for the deadlift (at first there were NO 10lb. plates out). Judges had a hard time knowing when to "pow wow" and get messages from the higher ups. Usually it meant sticking around at all times in case we had to get together.

There was no official schedule or rotation and the first day there were only 16 of us. Just enough to judge the athletes, but no one got breaks. We were also setup and breakdown volunteers. I didn't mind it, but I'm pretty sure other events have separate volunteers for this, even Sectionals. We received an email of when to show up for the second day, but did not receive one for the third. Had to guess.

Yes, head judges walked around, but to be honest I didn't mind it. I do think corrections could have been avoided if there was more communication of standards beforehand. Also, we were told that we would be "fired" if we weren't strict. I'm going to be consistent as possible and appreciate instruction, but don't tell me I'm fired from a position that I volunteered for. Also don't walk around and say derogatory/lewd comments about the women working out, we all can hear you and it's unprofessional.

Good things behind the scenes? Water and food for us (although it was subway...third day was best with fruit and meat), more volunteers on the 2nd and 3rd days, and I think a pretty consistent job by judges, despite lack of Level I's. I know the higher ups stayed late and came early to get stuff done, but even that could have been mitigated with more preparation.

12 May 2010 / 12:33 p.m.

35. Nicole wrote...

Wow!!! Not sure where all this is coming from. I also was a judge and felt honored to beable to do it. It floors me that people are complaining about the lead judges. These people did a hell of a job. We had standard meetings at the same time every morning for the judges and the competitors. If you did not show that seems to be your problem. They made it clear at these meetings what they expected. Bitching because there was no standard videos. Really??? Was this weekend really your first time doing crossfit? And if they would have been out would you really have done better by practicing them? I highly doubt it. I am a level 1 and the standards were very much the standards of crossfit.

For the person that commented on the kettlebell postion, i was a competitor at the games last year and the bell DID have to point to the sky. I know this cause I missed reps cause of it. On the deadlift comment. You may have missed your PR by 20 lbs but I saw many PR by up to 60 lbs. I feel the complaining is a joke.

I personally would like to thank Bill, Doug, Brian, Stephen and everyone at Rogue for their hard work. It is easy to complain when you are not the one doing it so please know that I think you did a stellar job.

For those who have to complain, step up and volunteer next time. See how easy it is to deal with a bunch of people don't apperciate what you do.

12 May 2010 / 3:50 p.m.

36. shiret wrote...

Grassy, bumpy, wet fields to do max rep dead lifts & thrusters as well as snatches. Box jumps on this same field, 20 and 24 inch boxes sliding, and wobbling as athletes are jumping on them at max speed. Swaying pullup bars in 30- mile an hour wind gusts, and a second bar on top of the pull up bar, what the heck was that, the concussion bar??
How would anyone outside of crossfit take this seriously? I love crossfit, came with my family as a spectator, and was appalled. It was crystal clear to me that the rules were being made up as the weekend progressed, and NO thought had been given to athlete safety or to what might be spectator friendly. The final insult is to the Masters division, who competed in these awful conditions, only to have their scores compared to others all over the world who did their WODS with a floor under them. Think I'm being too critical, check out the south west masters highlight reel, you tell me if the times athletes in this video got should be compared to the times the athletes in the Logan cow field got.
Rogue did an incompetent job hosting this event, and headquarters needs to set some hard and fast standards regarding these competitions. With no level playing field, how will Crossfit ever be taken seriously by the sporting world?

12 May 2010 / 6:24 p.m.

37. Brent wrote...

We had a girl from out crossfit compete.....her wod was the dips (with no jumping)and pull-ups got a dnf....a girl in same heat was doing JUMPING dips and recorded a time. Horrible communication all around!!!!!! Someone needs to make this more efficient in all areas.

12 May 2010 / 8 p.m.

38. Tom Seryak wrote...

I throw in my 2 cents. This was my 3rd crossfit competition, and as an athlete I come prepared to take responsibility for making sure that I am in the right place at the right time and perform the movements properly. I had a few bad reps particularly in the chipper, every single one of them was taken away. The master judge was an excellent move. My rings were not secured in the first workout, but my judge moved me to a free set. I lost about 10 seconds...whatever. I pulled a 10lb pr on grass, the run almost made me cry and the final wod was fun to be a part of. In terms of the organization, judging, etc. it is not a well oiled machine at this point, but who in their right mind would expect it to be? Was it improved from last year's regional and this year's sectional YES! There's a difference between complaining and constructive criticism. So here's my constructive criticism....judges should be instructed not only on movement standards but also what to do if something goes wrong (equipment malfunction, etc). If possible, I would also like to see judges assigned to athletes ahead of time or vice versa to avoid the "free for all" that usually happens when a heat is setting up. Would like to see hspu or walk on your hands next time :), but otherwise, great selection of tests. Thanks to Bill, Caity, the Rogue crew and all of the volunteers for busting your ass this weekend!

13 May 2010 / 6:38 a.m.

39. Katie wrote...

@ Nicole,

Seeing as how CF allows different regions and sections to have different movement standards, it is helpful to know in advance what the standards are. There was a difference in the box jump standards between our section and the region, and knowing that in advance does help when you start trying to think about or plan your wod. It was not anyone's "first day out" but having all the information up front is important. When you start thinking about doing a chipper wod with 100 box jumps, your game plan may change based on the standard(s). I struggle to pop back off the box when my foot must be completely on the box, so my game plan changed once I heard that. I don't think anyone would have necessarily "done better by practicing" but I think they would have appreciated knowing a little bit more in advance. The muscle up standard also made doing muscle ups much harder for some people, and especially for the affiliate cup, that could have been a critical piece when you start considering who to put in which wod. Again, would anyone get better by practicing? No, not really. But it would have been helpful to know for planning purposes.

13 May 2010 / 7:36 a.m.

40. Doug Chapman wrote...

First, thank you to all the volunteers and judges who donated their time and weekend support the regionals. The event could not have happened without your support.

I was one of the head judges and value everyone's input on how to improve the event. If you would like to share insights directly with me, please email. My email is associated with this post.

Let's do try and keep comments factual. Yes - there were some glitches in the schedule and time line. We own them. We are taking steps to correct them. If people share observations of value - we will consider them and integrate them if they make sense both in practice and budget constraint. If comments have obvious factual issues and personal slights they will probably not be considered.

I do not question people's perspectives on the opinions shared here. It really allows us to look from outside the fishbowl and improve what we do. The items being frowned on from the outside were minor hick-ups from the inside in terms of fixing them and moving on. It is good to know how important they are from your (the collective your) perspective. Our regional team takes your comments very seriously. The issues we encountered had to be overcome and dealt with. The show must go on.

One of the issues we have discussed information flow. As a result, plans are in the works correct that. Most of the issues can be corrected from information infrastructure. The issue is being looked at very seriously.

Site Selection: The site was selected to be as similar to Aromas as could be done in OH. The hill, uneven ground and climate issues were planned. The site was to select the most adaptive and well rounded athletes it could for the CrossFit Games. If it deselected someone, then that person has learned a valued lesson.

Perspective (DChap's Opinion) - some of the WOD/Standards issues - CrossFit is to prepare for the unknown and unknowable. I personally think that WOD/Standards should be announced 5 minutes before each event. Random selection of athletes to the heats so the advantage of going in the later heats is a matter of luck. (A lot like life) Going from cold to a PR SN attempt is what we do. Going from a ME DL to a 5K run is what we do. No notice, no lycra tights, no aroma therapy to get your head straight. The task and then execution. If you are unprepared, you have failed at the margins of your experience. That is where you should be training. The final WOD done at 2:00 AM in the dark. Find the human who can perform best under the most adverse conditions. It isn't pretty or presented on special turf it is to identify the most resilient and adaptive of the species. The fittest person on earth should be able to adapt and thrive. It is the essence of the CrossFit Games. End Rant.

Thanks again to all the athletes, spectators and judges who participated in our version of Woodstock (Minus the acid)

13 May 2010 / 9:01 a.m.

41. Shiret wrote...

Sincerely, with all due respect, if the the site/hill/uneven ground was planned, than that should be the standard for all the regional sites. I celebrate that crossfit is a sport of constantly changing variables, but when competing against other athletes in different locations, the playing field has to be level, or else we are playing the same game with different rules. Furthermore, to overlook the safety of athletes (nothing safe about dl'ing 550-575 on uneven, wet ground!) is, at best, questionable. My issues have nothing to do with lycra tights or aroma therapy, athlete safety as well as a level playing field, literally as well as theoretically, is my concern. Given the amount of attention Coach Glassman gives to the issue of safety when describing the proper way to execute all the different lifts, I think my concerns are valid. Given most people in the Crossfit communitys desire to see Crossfit grow and become more accepted in the mainstream sporting world, I think having competition standards while maintaining the core integrity of what crossfit is, a sport of constantly changing variables, can be done and has to become a priority.

13 May 2010 / 10:45 a.m.

42. Doug Chapman wrote...

Shiret - by the why, what is you name so I can know who I am addressing?

Let me see if I am understanding your concern - In your judgement, deadlifting to a M.E. on grass is dangerous? So, you are saying the slant of the Aromas DL was dangerous? Please provide data. Blanket statements about safety is one of the main straw man arguments against CrossFit in general. Functional movements executed properly from core to extremity are safe at post maximal loads. What is the issue? If someone maintains lumbar integrity - and is post max then the bar doesn't move. Lift not completed. If technique breaks down, then it should be stopped. Right? Does that answer your safety concern?

What you seem to be implying to me, is that CF Games should be a stadium event with standard everything for it to be "fair." Noted - the games themselves will be an a stadium this year. Next year, Games HQ may end up requiring us all to be in stadiums and have standard events on the same day world wide to be "fair." Does this address your "fairness" concern? Maybe it could be run like a wrestling district, regional and state meet?

Please note that the above ideas/solution are far above my level to decide what is right. If I have a choice in the matter, we could go back to the same place next year - or similar. Some of the other fixes to our operational issues will be done.

Please let me know if this answers your concerns.

13 May 2010 / 12:53 p.m.

43. steve wrote...

to comment #35 nicole ,
I don't think that person was complaining about the kb postion. If the postion is right why should you have to hold until the judge says good. At 80 reps. that adds up just saying every secound counts.
to comment #40. I'm not understanding why you need positive comments to improve for the next time, their shouldn't be a next time you should have learned from Blauer Tactical who did it last year and did it right !!! and I'm from P.A not from Virginia.

13 May 2010 / 1:06 p.m.

44. Melissa wrote...

Dear Mr. Chapman , staff and all judges and those who helped this past weekend. I would first just like to thank everyone for their hard work I know puttin something like this together can't be easy. But i have a few concerns over what I saw this weekend.
Deadlifting and Crossfit in general is dangerous agreed, we know the risk when we do the lifts. "Without Risk There is no Reward." But I did see a guy blow his back out deadlifting and maybe that does not happen on a flat surface maybe it still does we will never know.

I did see a lot of max snatches where people ended up walking down the slight decline in which the lifting took place. The judging was different from one athlete to another which is gonna happen unless we have 1 athlete going at time it is never gonna be perfect but it could be better and I think the suggestions of judges meetings is a good idea. I know it happend in the North Central Reg. I saw a post about them having judges meetings, and yes pay them for their service if need be. I do not mind spending money if I see it in the product. Skip also had great ideas like a stick jump in the North Central Reg. to avoid the drama of box jump judging. Thought that was a great idea.

My biggest concern is that you say you would go back to the same place.

That is kinda scary to me. If you went back there I would hope it would not cost 50 dollars. and if it did you would have some kind of setting for fans. some kind of cover in the event of rain, and would make the lifting area flat and hopefully pour concrete.

If I look at the videos from the other regionals and then look at ours it is laughable. I saw stands allowing people to see all the action. Our fans paid 50 bucks to stand around outside and try to stand on their tip toes to see their friends or family that they traveled 8hrs to watch in some cases. Again I thank you and all those who helped but if the event is there again next year I sure hope it looks different and is planned out a little better. I wish I lived in the North Central Reg after seeing their video or the South West.

Oh and I did not even get into the area as a whole. if you did not like mexican food or hot dogs you were in trouble. P.S. never go to Jacks Steak House.

13 May 2010 / 2:35 p.m.

45. Medium wrote...

First, and foremost, I would like to thank the judges, athletes, and my fellow spectators for making last weekend an enjoyable experience. The competition was fierce and the camaraderie was overwhelming.

In my opinion the choice of venue could have been better. I was shocked to see that athletes of this caliber were expected to perform at the highest level in an 'arena', if you will, that looked no different than the pastures on which my horses graze. These men and women all had one goal in mind, to win at any cost. Given the landscape of the grounds on which they competed that price could have been very high. Thankfully no significant injuries were incurred by any of the athletes this weekend, but such injuries were not outside the realm of possibility on such uneven ground. The field in which the wods were performed seemed to be a miniature version of the hill run these athletes endured. Previous comments about the recurring question of whether or not crossfit is a safe endeavor is duly noted. With that being said is it necessary to make an event, such as max deadlift, more dangerous by allowing athletes to compete on uneven surfaces?

Secondly, if competing in a field is the standard for the Central East regional there is no other choice than to accept it. However, for next years event could a field in a town that has more than three restaurants be chosen? The Mexican restaurant by the Holiday Inn had great food, but how many times can you eat that in a weekend. Nutrition is an important aspect of fitness, as we all know, and to expect the food selections in Logan, Ohio to be on par with the diets of the athletes is a bit of a stretch.

Finally, I would like to address the overall structure of the event. I am sure that putting on an event of this stature is not an easy undertaking and I greatly appreciate the efforts made by each and every individual that was involved. However, the event seemed to be thrown together at the last minute. After driving seven hours through the night to reach the competition I was appalled to see that the pull-up cage had not been anchored down. Though this is only a minor detail it caught my attention immediately and led me to look for other 'mishaps' and overlooked particulars.

The movement standards of each lift can be seen on crossfit.com at any given moment. With today's technology they are at an athletes fingertips at all times. However, knowing the standards and being required to follow them strictly are two very different things. A uniform standard needs to be enforced. On several occasions athletes were competing side-by-side this weekend, performing the same exercise in the exact same fashion, but only one would be credited for the reps. Enforcing a concrete standard amongst 16 judges is a very lofty goal, but it is not unreasonable to think that an event of this magnitude warrants such strict attention to detail.

Respectfully submitted,

Jon P. Bulkeley

13 May 2010 / 4:46 p.m.

46. Shiret wrote...

Proper form for dl includes keeping weight on your heels (pg 48 crossfit level 1 training guide) common sense dictates, and we all know empirically..... after spending years in our boxes with our wood and rubber lifting platforms..... that maintaining lumbar integrity while executing a ME DL and driving heels into soft, wet, lumpy ground is near impossible, and detrimental to orthopedic safety. We all know that shoes alone can be an issue regarding DL, dismissing the surface that the DL is being done on, (or the thruster/snatch etc) is simply irresponsible. I was not in Aromas last year, but have watched many of the videos and have not seen one that did not show athletes doing WODS on surfaces the same as the multiple crossfit boxes I have had the pleasure of WODing in. I am not here to get into a pissing contest with you, sir, what my goal was when I posted here was to get the message to the powers that be that this sport that I love and intend to compete in at some point in the future, needs to have some standards implemented in order in ensure athlete safety and fairness within the competitive arena....I get and appreciate that crossfit in and of itself is not fair, that is what makes this sport so special, however when athletes are competing against each other at various sites, the deciding factor should not be that the grass slowed down the athletes doing doubleunders, or that the conditions were such that athletes need to guard themselves for fear of injury. Grass and poorly placed rubber mats on lumpy ground affecting athlete performance is not a reflection of the athletes ability, and is just plain wrong.
Lastly, my name IS Shiret. S H I R E T. Thank You.

13 May 2010 / 7:10 p.m.

47. Chris Crawford wrote...

I was a judge last weekend and I would agree with the crowd who thinks there are things WE can do to make the event better. But, I would be saying that no matter how the crowd feels the weekend went -- I believe in continuous, never ended, relentless, improvement. I think that is inherent to the spirit of Crossfit.

Big props to ALL of the volunteers especially Caity, Bill, Doug, Stephen, and Brian.

I capitalized WE above for a reason. The most important factor in making this event better is getting not just feedback & griping, but getting folks to step up and help. Affiliates and spectators becoming volunteers, more feedback from competitors and coaches. If more people had offered to contribute, there would have been more "man-hours" available to organize and perfect. Everybody has full-time jobs, families, and life commitments above and beyond putting on this event. To make this event better EVERYBODY will need to step up.

I find it laughable that one of the primary complaints that has surfaced is eating locations for Logan. Healthy options are needed I agree. It was recommended to everybody checkout cabin/lodge rentals. Get a place with a kitchen and eat exactly what you want. Our lodge worked out excellent.

14 May 2010 / 4:29 a.m.

48. Jeb wrote...

Doug and Bill,

I'd like to apologize for my first post. Not for the content in it, because I still believe what I wrote. But for not pointing out any positives what so ever. I'm not a negative person and I hate negative people so this is my attempt to rectify that.

First off I LIKED the location. It added a degree of difficulty that most other people will not see. Which in my mind is good thing, that means not only are our top three men and women great athletes...they're tough son's of bitches on top of that. So we had to deadlift in the grass? so what. 1. the grass was not wet 2. there were PLENTY of flat spots for you to plant your two feet 3. the ground wasn't quick sand, it offered a more than stable environment to lift from.

Secondly for all of you people who are doing nothing but piss and moan about "oh this sucked" and "it was cold and my feet were wet" or " they had a terrible food cart". I have a solution to all of your problems. Get off your lazy ass and YOU volunteer to put this event together next year. This is only the second year for regionals in ALL of CrossFit. For most people who are doing these events this year, it is the first time they have ever had to put something of this caliber together. I think they did a damn good job for it only being year 2. So for all your "perfect" people out there who gave all your "expert" advice as to what you would do. Email HQ and put your name in the hat for next year, if you're not going to, shut the hell up.

As for the person who was a volunteer judge and complained about the food. You need to come down off your high horse so the rest of us can talk to you. You volunteered your time. No one begged or paid you, they didn't have to give you a damn thing, but they did. They gave you food when they didn't have to, then you have the audacity to sit there and criticize it? Next year please don't volunteer, we wouldn't want your precious feelings getting hurt because someone gives you something that they didn't have to.

Bill, Doug, Caity, and whomever else put this together. Bravo, you guys did a great job. Maybe it was a little rough around the edges but that just means next years will only be better!

14 May 2010 / 1:08 p.m.

49. summergal wrote...

When we pulled up, I was hoping for a pig roast for dinner. Heck, we were out in the middle of nowhere! No water, nadda! Where's the money going? Someone is laughing all the way to the BANK!

15 May 2010 / 9:01 p.m.

50. dean wrote...

Big thanks to all those who spent their time setting this us. I understand the calling to others to volunteer but for some people this was their vacation. I know a good deal of people that came with me took off from work to come to this. They were expecting this to be a really nice event. And the fact that it seemed thrown together and they had to pay made me feel frustrated at CrossFit for allowing this to be the site of one of the biggest CrossFit events of the year. They were expecting this to be way nicer then sectionals not way worse.
When people first started complaining a few months back about having to pay to watch the events I was upet. You are going to an event and 50 bucks to watch an event is pretty standard. But after seeing this regional I thought $50 to watch and $10 bucks to park was WAY TO MUCH.

As for the Food I think they are complaining about the food choices because i know when I am on vacation the last thing I want to do is cook. Just food for thought no pun intended. :)

Again thank you to all those who helped. Hopefully HQ and those who set up this event learn from the mistakes that were made and improve the event for next year. CrossFit is still very new and sometimes it seems like it has grown too fast for HQ to have quality control on all aspect, but I think a regional qualifier should be better then this.

16 May 2010 / 7:43 a.m.

51. Jim wrote...

No need to pile on with the comments about operational struggles but as you can imagine, I totally agree. My wife was a participant. Major complaints:
Judges-we were told by a judge who has a L1 cert that his estimate was 3 of the 16 judges were L1. In the first WOD it was never explained to those that might need to scale that some points could be earned for doing the scale so athletes that couldn't do 15 MU's only found out later that those who scaled actually earned some points when most if not all thought it was a DNF
Heats and Start Times- how hard is it to post a piece of paper the night before with your start times
Day 2 we found out there were showers to use. Didn't check them out but a heads up would be nice
Someone was entering data with a connection at a table all day, why not bring a large monitor where up to date scores are displayed
One thing is for sure, all Rogue Fitness products and branding were on full display, backlinks on the games site...go get em Rogue.

BTW, the comment above about "going to an event and paying 50 is pretty standard" sorry but its way too much. The 10 for parking is icing on the cake.

20 May 2010 / 7:48 p.m.

52. Coach Hile wrote...

Graham, Just read about your exploits in the Advocate - congratulations! I didn't know what you were into these days; it is exciting to know you are doing something that still allows you to compete as an athlete. Also, congrats on your co-ownership of Rogue! I hope you win it all!

11 July 2010 / 10:33 a.m.

53. Xfit Fac wrote...

I did not attend these regionals so I can't comment on the logistics, but the programming that led to the selection of the qualifying athletes must be applauded. Men from this regional finished 1st, 8th, and 20th, and women fnished 5th, 6th, and 29th. This will probably compare favorably to just about any other region.

21 July 2010 / 8:09 a.m.

54. Soalodariabib wrote...

Es ist es schwierig, zu sagen.

27 June 2011 / 8:30 a.m.