As we start to think about the 2013 CrossFit games we thought we’d start to layout some foundation regarding the CrossFit games. Who is the fittest? How do you know? Since 2007, the CrossFit Games have evolved to answer these questions. Each year the event is a more comprehensive test of fitness, and the athletes raise the level of competition to unprecedented heights. The average Games athlete in 2012 will be dramatically more capable than the world’s best in 2007. The 2007 games showed 70 people involved in the finals, 2012 showed over 69,000 participants world wide! 2013 is expected to be even larger!
The CrossFit Games are the world’s premier test to find the Fittest on Earth™. They are world-renowned as a grueling test for the world’s toughest athletes and a thrilling experience for spectators. Since its inception in 2007, the CrossFit Games have become “one of the fastest growing sports in America,” according to Forbes.
There is no other true test of fitness
The Games were created to fill a void — no other true test of fitness existed. From Ironman triathlons to the NFL, all other athletic events neglected to accurately test fitness. Even decathlons, while testing a relatively wide range of abilities, missed vital components of physical fitness.
CrossFit Games events are made up a broad range of functional movements. Functional movements move large loads, long distance, quickly. These movements also form the basis of our exercise program. Make no mistake — the CrossFit Games are designed to test, not train fitness. The goal is to find the fittest athletes, not to produce an easily replicable workout program.
A Three-stage Journey
The Games season is a three-stage journey. The first step is the Open, a worldwide, inclusive, five-week competition that kicks off early in the spring. Want to participate? More info is available here.
The top athletes from the Open in each of the 17 regions around the world will qualify for the second stage of the competition — Regionals, a three-day, live competition.
The season culminates in the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games. At the Games, thousands of participants will be whittled down to around 100 of the fittest men and women in the world.
A key element to a fair test of fitness is the unknown and unknowable. Athletes cannot train for what they do not know. At each CrossFit Games, the athletes engage in a series of challenges unknown to them until right before the competition. The combination of highly trained athletes and unknown workouts makes for an explosive mix. ESPN Magazine went so far as to call the Games the “best way to spend 50 bucks” in sports.
May only the Best Win
The Games are a playing field where the fittest athletes are given a chance to distinguish themselves through consistently exceptional performances. In a single weekend, the CrossFit Games test athletes’ capabilities across broad time and modal domains. We intentionally include a wide variety of different event types. In the past, these have ranged from dusty hill sprints to sandbag carries to ocean swims, and endurance events. Future events will include even more surprises.
In order to be satisfied that the CrossFit Games winners are truly the Fittest on Earth™, we need to be confident the champions would also win other good tests of fitness.
How Is Scoring Measured?
The Games uses a relative scoring system. That is, athletes are rewarded according to their placing in each event relative to their peers — not according to their absolute performance on that event. To the degree which we’ve done our job, the Games athletes are the 50 fittest men and 50 fittest women on earth. All of them have qualified through multiple steps to get there. It’s up to the Games to determine who among them is the fittest.
A Growing Sport
Interest in this sport continues to explode, along with the size of the CrossFit community. Last year at this time, there were just more than 3,400 affiliates. Today, we surpass 5,000. 2013 promises to be a landmark year for the CrossFit Games.
Article courtesy of CrossFit.com (http://games.crossfit.com/about-the-games)
