Since Greg Glassman announced Regionals and the Invitational were being eliminated as of the 2019 competitive season, we learned that in their places, HQ will run a series of events that will help determine who will get an invitation to the Games. The first ever CrossFit sanctioned event announced was the Dubai CrossFit Championship, previously known as the Dubai Fitness Championship. We know now the second CF sanctioned event on board: the Granite Games, according to a press release from CrossFit.

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?ANNOUNCEMENT? . The Granite Games is proud to join the ranks of sanctioned events within the sport of fitness in 2019. Read the official CrossFit HQ announcement at the link in our story or bio. . . #granitegames #crossfit #crossfitgames @crossfitgames

A post shared by The Granite Games (@thegranitegames) on Sep 6, 2018 at 5:25pm PDT

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CrossFit, Inc. confirmed the second CrossFit-sanctioned event: the Granite Games, a four-day competition, which will take place June of 2019. – Along with the recently announced @dxbfitnesschamp, the Granite Games is a newly sanctioned event that will award CrossFit Games spots, while continuing the Granite Games tradition of giving back to local communities and strengthening participants’ bond with fitness. – “@TheGraniteGames is our second sanctioned event partner and part of a new chapter for CrossFit,” said Greg Glassman, CrossFit’s Founder and Chairman. “Through sanctioned events like this one, we’ll be able to keep pace with the explosive growth and interest in the Games, and better serve our affiliates, trainers and athletes at the same time.” – @CrossFit-sanctioned competitions are replacing CrossFit’s Regional events and will become a direct pathway for the top men, women, and team finishers to receive invitations to compete in the #CrossFitGames. – The partnership with the Granite Games builds upon the success they have realized over the past eight years. The Granite Games also have a rich legacy of supporting local and national non-profit organizations through programs like revenue sharing and Fitness Education Scholarships. – Details regarding the 2019 Season will be released in the annual Rulebook. Stay tuned for more announcements.

A post shared by The CrossFit Games (@crossfitgames) on Sep 6, 2018 at 7:43pm PDT

The official CrossFit competition will span four days and will be held in June of 2019. The announcement certainly keeps in line with Glassman’s earlier explanation of wanting the sport to get back to its roots of community, since the Granite Games traditionally gives back to local communities and really encourages a love of fitness.

As for the other events, the only additional information we have at this time comes from an interview Glassman did with the Girls Gone WOD Podcast, shared by Morning Chalk Up. In it, Glassman revealed he’s spoken with Annie Thorisdottir about something happening in Iceland.

Glassman also spoke more about how the many athletes competing are going to be narrowed down, to make the competition more manageable and undoubtedly more nail-biting. Considering they have athletes in 162 countries competing — each country naming the fittest male, female, and team — the plan is to “cull the herd into a very watchable and exciting number of people. What could happen is early in the week put 200 [athletes] through a task that leaves ten, then watching ten for two days,” he said.

Similarly, the 160+ teams will be cropped from the sanctioned events.

Main image: Granite Games/Instagram