All of the changes coming to the 2019 competitive season have left a lot of people scratching their heads, so we’re going to help you stay on top of it. We’ll keep this blog updated with all the most important details about what’s happening leading up to the 2019 Games.
11/2/19
With so many questions raised regarding the 2019 competitive season, one of the biggest was about the live Open announcements. Will they still happen? Are they changing in any way?
We finally have the answer.
Breathe easy, friends, because live Open announcements aren’t going anywhere — but there is one catch: they’re changing quite drastically.
As opposed to HQ managing them, the responsibility now belongs to the individual affiliates where the live events are being hosted. This means we can expect each announcement to look quite unique. Furthermore, we’re not sure we can expect to see Castro there.
What remains the same is that you’ll be able to watch the announcements on the Games website, as well as on social media.
9/1/19
HQ released the 2019 competition rulebook, and it’s answered a lot of lingering questions. Here are some of the key takeaways.
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1. You Have to Be a Citizen of the Country You’re Representing
In the past, elite athletes have moved to different regions to better their odds of ranking higher. However, moving forward, citizenship will determine which country an athlete represents. If they have dual citizenship, they can choose which one to represent.
2. Athletes Don’t Have to Compete in the Open If They Get an Invite From a Sanctioned Event…
… but they probably should anyway. This is because seeding at the Games is based entirely on scores from the Open. If an athlete doesn’t compete in the Open, they automatically get the lowest seeding at the Games.
3. There Are 4 Ways to Qualify for the Games
(1) Be in the top 20 in the Open, (2) be the top athlete in your country (even if you’re not in the top 20 worldwide), (3) win a sanctioned event, or (4) receive one of the four invites HQ will give away at their own discretion.
28/12/18
Good news from Iceland: the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship is officially happening, and we now have another sanctioned event to add to the list. Annie Thorisdottir confirmed the exciting news on Instagram, and the event now has its own page.
17/12/18
After a heated competition, the Dubai CrossFit Championship crowned its winners: Mat Fraser, Samantha Briggs, and CrossFit Invictus, consisting of Lauren Fisher, Regan Huckaby, Rasmus Anderson, and Tommy Vinas. This marks the end of the first-ever sanctioned event.
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According to the event’s leaderboard, Fraser won by a landslide, with more than 100 points separating him and
Björgvin Karl Gudmundsson, who came in second place.
The women’s competition was much closer, with Jamie Greene finishing in second place just six points behind Briggs
Ultimately, Invictus finished on top with 47 points putting them ahead of second place. What a week it was!
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15/12/18
Have you been keeping up with the Dubai CrossFit Championship? The competition isn’t over yet but there are already clear leaders claiming their spots. Will they stay at the front of the pack through the end of the competition?
For the men, Mat Fraser is (unsurprisingly) leading the way, with 535 points. Did anyone happen to catch that 137kg max snatch?
Samantha Briggs leads the women, with 509 points. For the team division, Invictus is currently in first, with 555 points.
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The competition is quickly coming to a close — do you expect any major changes in the leaderboard?
8/12/18
The Open is fast approaching, and HQ has confirmed the dates. The online competition starts on Thursday, February 21, and ends Monday, March 25. Here’s what the week-to-week schedule looks like:
- Week 1 – Thursday, Feb. 21 – Monday, Feb. 25
- Week 2 – Thursday, Feb. 28 – Monday, Mar. 4
- Week 3 – Thursday, Mar. 7 – Monday, Mar. 11
- Week 4 – Thursday, Mar. 14 – Monday, Mar. 18
- Week 5 – Thursday, Mar. 21 – Monday, Mar. 25
Ultimately, the top 20 men and women in the world will get an invite to Madison, along with the fittest male and female in each country.
Mark your calendars!
6/12/18
A few days ago, Annie Thorisdottir shared with her fans that she had undergone a procedure to assess her heart arrhythmia. While the procedure came and went, it turns out her recovery has taken longer than expected, and it’s going to keep her out of the Dubai CrossFit Championship. In a post on Instagram today, Thorisdottir gave her followers all the details.
We’ll certainly miss seeing her compete there, but health comes first. Feel better, Annie!
5/12/18
The 2019 competitive is about to officially kick off, with the Dubai CrossFit Championship taking place December 12th to the 15th. This will be the first sanctioned event that sends athletes to the 2019 Games, naming the best male, female, and team.
The event team has released two of the workouts.
Workout 1: Gulf Swim
21-15-9
- Dual KB snatch (24/16kg)
- Dual KB front squat (24/16kg)
Then
350m swim
Score for time
Workout 3: 4 x 4
- 4k run with tactical vest
- 4k run without vest
Score for time
1/12/18
We lasted reported that Tia-Clair Toomey withdrew from the Australian CrossFit Championship, to which she received an automatic invite. It was safe to assume it was due to her move to the United States, and Toomey has now confirmed that getting to Australia simply doesn’t work with her schedule.
According to the Morning Chalk Up, Toomey says, “I would finish competing at Wodapalooza on (Sunday) the 20th of January, and then we would need to fly from Miami to Brisbane on the 21st and we would arrive into Brisbane Wednesday. The Aussie Championship, however, starts on Thursday leaving me minimal time to adjust or recover from the travel and competing days prior.”
Toomey adds, “As much as I would love to compete in Australia during Australia day (26th of January), I need to prioritize my goals.”
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In other news related to the 2019 season, the Dubai CrossFit Championship starts December 12th, and it’ll be the first sanctioned event happening under the newly structured season format. If you can’t be there in person but want to keep up with all the action, you can watch it on the Dubai CrossFit Championship website as well as their YouTube channel and RedBull TV.
29/11/18
The Australian CrossFit Championship online qualifier is officially finished and ironically, it was American athletes that ended up on top for the individuals. Jacob Heppner took a strong lead for the men, finishing with 19 points. James Newbury was behind him in second place, with 48 points.
For the women, Hilary Steele dominated the pack, with 32 points. In second place behind her is Ashleigh Corby, with 45 points.
The team events were nailbiting. Australia’s Project X — consisting of Khan Porter, Brandon Swan, Jessica Coughlan, and Harriet Roberts, dominated with 8 points total, with Reebok CrossFit Frankston just four points behind in second place.
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While plenty of big names competed, there are two we’ll be missing. Kara Saunders will be sitting out this season, after announcing she’s pregnant with her first child. Tia-Clair Toomey also announced she’s declining her automatic invitation to the championship in January. Disappointing? Of course. But considering Toomey and husband Shane Orr’s recent move to Cookeville, Tennessee, it’s perhaps unsurprising she doesn’t want to make the trip back to Australia unless she absolutely has to. Instead, she’ll be heading to Miami for Wodapalooza, and we can’t wait to see her crush it.
8/11/18
There are still so many unanswered questions surrounding the 2019 competitive season, but we’ve now got one more bit of information: the dates of the CrossFit Games. Morning Chalk Up noticed that Alliant Energy Center had posted the dates on their website:
Event Start Date: 7/31/2019
Event End Date: 8/4/2019
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Go ahead and book your hotel rooms, friends. It’s on.
31/10/18
CrossFit has announced five more sanctioned events, and there’s exciting news for Australians: two of them will be happening right at home!
The events are as follows:
- Australian CrossFit Championship — January 2019
- Down Under CrossFit Championship — May 2019
- Asia CrossFit Championship — April 2019
- Reykjavik CrossFit Championship — May 2019
- Pandaland CrossFit — December 2019 (This will be to qualify for the 2020 Games.)
The Australian CrossFit Championship will take place in Queensland. It starts with an online qualifier to select 32 men and women and 16 teams. Those who move on in the competition will receive spots to compete at the Gold Coast Convention and Entertainment Centre for a ticket to the Games.
The Down Under CrossFit Championship will take place in Wollongong over the span of three days.
Australia, are you ready?
27/10/2018
Here is the schedule of the 2019 competitive season, based on the information released thus far.
The first sanctioned event qualifier is in the books, and the Dubai CrossFit Championship qualifying athletes have (unofficially) been named. 37 males and 37 females (plus 10 teams) have prevailed after three weeks of events, and it’s these people who will move onto the Championship in Dubai later in December. Out of the bunch, one male, female, and team will be selected to go to the Games.
Here are the qualifying athletes, according to Morning Chalk Up.
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Men
- Mathew Fraser
- BK Gudmundsson
- Streat Hoerner
- Willy Georges
- Jacob Heppner
- Colten Mertens
- Dean Linder-Leighton
- Giorgos Karavis
- Connor Duddy
- Ben Smith
- Alex Anderson
- Alex Kotoulas
- Travis Mayer
- Luke Schafer
- Mitch Wagner
- Paul Castillo
- Casper Gammelmark
- Ruan Duvenage
- Jake Marconi
- Alec Smith
- Matt McLeod
- Uldis Upenieks
- Jason Smith
- Brandon Swan
- Roman Khrennikov
- Brendan Willis
- Frederik Aegidius
- Bayden Brown
- Jeffrey Adler
- Paul Tremblay
- Eric Carmody
- Bartek Lipka
- Viktor Langsved
- Samuel Cournoyer
- Josh Gervais
- Justin Ahrens
- Tyler Tosunian
Women
- Annie Thorisdottir
- Sara Sigmundsdottir
- Laura Horvath
- Jamie Greene
- Dani Speegle
- Chantelle Loehner
- Karin Frey
- Eik Gylfadottir
- Carolyne Prevost
- Jessica Coughlan
- Samantha Briggs
- Brooke Haas
- Gabriela Migala
- Keston Mendoza
- Kelley Jackson
- Pip Malone
- Bethany Shadburne
- Chelsey Hughes
- Camilla Salomonsson Hellman
- Harriet Roberts
- Carmen Bosmans
- Jaime Goodwin
- Hilary Steele
- Laken Watt
- Emma McQuaid
- Christina Agerbeck
- Samantha Pugh
- Paige Henry
- Mikaela Norman
- Alessandra Pichelli
- Mia Akerlund
- Casey Campbell
- Hayley Murillo
- Anna Fragkou
- Caroline Dardini
- Angonese Manon
- Ashleigh Wosny
Teams
- Cassidy Lance-Mcwherter, Jenn Smith, Adrian Mundwiler, Lukas Esslinger
- Joseph Tortora, Zach Sowder, Emma Chapman, Nicole Holcomb
- Lauren Fisher, Regan Huckaby, Tommy Vinas, Rasmus Anderson
- Chandler Smith, Travis Williams, Andrea Nisler, Taylor Williamson
- Marcus Erixon, Elin Rova, Emelie Lundberg, Linus Johansson
- Simon Mantyla, Amanda Franden, Sara Armanius, Alexander Elebro
- Manon Lesur, David Fontaine, Tola Morakinyo, Lorraine Allard
- Jennifer Dancer, Holden Rethwill, Kaitlin Kassis, Sam Dancer
- Philip Then Bisgaard, Frederikke Frandsen, Rebecka Vitteson, Klaus Uggerhoj
- Callerina Natori, Joey Szwec, Kyle Zozaya, Brandi McGoldrick
Wodapalooza, the second sanctioned event, also wrapped up its qualifiers this week, with 20 qualifying males and 20 females moving onto the main event in Miami in January of 2019.
Male
- Norman Woodring
- Nik Hecht
- Samuel Cournoyer
- Travis Mead
- Drew Wayman
- Paul Castillo
- Ryan Reeves
- Dex Hopkins
- Mitch Barnard
- Trevor James
- Josh Gervais
- Justin Medeiros
- George Sanchez
- Dylan Martin
- Nick Bloch
- Josh Woodhull
- Logan Southard
- Jeffrey Adler
- Hunter Wood
- Austin Spencer
Female
- Dani Speegle
- Kristine Best
- Hayley Murillo
- Chantelle Loehner
- Gabriela Migala
- KT Trombetta
- Taylor Streid
- Emma Ferreira
- Taylor Kinsley
- Colleen Fotsch
- Kelsey Kiel
- Samantha Pugh
- Leah Irons
- Lindsey Valenzuela
- Anna Rode
- Amanda Hardeman
- Chelsea Nicholas
- Keston Mendoza
- Constanza Cabrera
- Emily Tanner
Main image: Patrick Vellner/Instagram