The ultimate proving grounds of the world’s fittest athletes.
July 16-18, 2010 • Carson, CA
The Home Depot Center Sports Complex
Select a 2010 CrossFit Games event
United States Qualifiers
International Qualifiers
2010 CrossFit Games Finals
An Interview with 2nd Place Affiliate Cup Finisher, CrossFit Omaha
Training as Part of a Team
At the Games, CrossFit affiliates compete as a team for the Affiliate Cup. In 2007 and 2008, the Affiliate Cup was awarded based on the combined success of individual competitors from the same CrossFit box. Since 2009, the Affiliate Competition has become a separate set of events that include several team exercises such as the buddy carry or obstacle course. We were curious how the top teams prepare for the Affiliate Competition, and we heard back from the 2010 2nd place finishers, CrossFit Omaha.
Even in the off-season, the CrossFit Omaha affiliate team is training. Former and aspiring team competitors meet together to train outside of normal class hours. Their routines vary from individual exercises to team exercises, and emphasize broadening each person’s fluency in the many movements that may be included in the Games.
As it gets closer to July, the CrossFit Omaha affiliate team will train together more frequently and they will start doing multiple WODs per day to simulate the multiple events they will face per day at the Games.
In short, training for the Affiliate Competition is not too different from training for individual competition. The main difference is in the team competitor’s mindset: they cannot just think of themselves, they must help to broaden the skills and strengths of their teammates in the off-season, and expunge their own weaknesses so they do not hurt their team’s performance. As 2010 CrossFit Omaha team competitor Joe Westerlin explains “when you compete as an individual you only have yourself to let down. Being part of a team is just that, your performance directly affects those around you. This generally keeps the accountability of each athlete very high.”
CrossFit Omaha’s long-term goal is to be recognized as the best affiliate program in the Games year in and year out. To Westerlin, “this may not be by winning the Games, but by being in the top ten every year.”
1 comments on this entry
1. Joe Westerlin wrote...
Note; I did not compete on the affiliate team. Team members were Dustin Tovar, Libby DiBiase, Addi Kahrs, Kyle Kasperbauer, Rebecca Wattier, and Ricky Frausto.
30 December 2010 / 9:14 a.m.