CrossFit Games
The CrossFit Games is an annual athletic competition owned and operated by CrossFit, LLC. Athletes compete in a series of events at the Games, which may be various standard CrossFit workouts consisting of metabolic conditioning exercises, weightlifting, and gymnastics movements, as well as a range of activities from other sports such as swimming, road cycling and strongman. The events generally are not revealed before the Games, can include unexpected elements to challenge the athletes' readiness to compete, and they are designed to test the athletes' fitness using CrossFit's own criteria. Winners of the CrossFit Games earn cash prizes and the title of "Fittest on Earth."
The competition started in 2007 and has been held every year since, normally in the summer. The first competition was held at a ranch in Aromas, California, with small groups of participants and spectators, but the CrossFit Games rapidly grew, and within a few years, the competition was moved to larger venues at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, followed by the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. It was held in the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas in 2024. The Games were sponsored by Reebok from 2011 to 2020, and by Nobull from 2021 to 2023.
The CrossFit Games season consists of three stages; the first qualification stage, the Open, is billed as the largest participatory sporting event in the world, with over 415,000 athletes signing up to compete in 2018. The number of participants are reduced in further qualification events to 30 men, 30 women and 20 teams, who go on to compete at the CrossFit Games. A few athletes have dominated in the Games' history; they are Rich Froning and Mat Fraser in the men's competition, and Tia-Clair Toomey in the women's.
History
The CrossFit Games has its origin in early 2007 when the then director of training of CrossFit Dave Castro invited CrossFit founder Greg Glassman to his family ranch in Aromas, California, and Glassman suggested holding a "Woodstock of Fitness" at the ranch for the CrossFit community.In July 2007, the inaugural CrossFit Games took place at the ranch in Aromas. The first Games had the feel of a backyard barbecue with a few sporting events thrown in, and around 70 athletes and 150 spectators turned up for the competition. For the first two years of competition, participation was open to anyone who showed up at Aromas. The athletes with the best individual combined score in a series of events would be crowned the winners, and an Affiliate Cup was also awarded to the group from one CrossFit gym that had the best combined individual standings.
The number of participants increased rapidly in the following years, and in 2009, a qualification stage called the Regionals was introduced to select the best competitors for the Games. The CrossFit Games also added a separate set of team-based events for the Affiliate Cup, marking the first use of a designated Team Division, competed by teams of four. This year, spectators at the Games had grown to an expected 2,500.
Carson, California era
Interest and attendance at the Games outgrew the ranch in Aromas, and in 2010 the Games venue was moved to the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Participation in the event continued to grow, and the qualification for the 2010 Games was adjusted to include multiple Sectionals, a series of events open to all athletes who wanted to qualify for one of the 17 Regionals. The 17 regions divided Canada and the United States into 12 regions, with the remaining regions roughly corresponding to the five other populated continents. The Games also expanded the Team Division to groups of six athletes and added a Masters Division for individual men and women aged 55 and up.File:USMC-Rich Froning Jr.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Rich Froning in an ocean swim event at the 2012 CrossFit Games
In 2011, the open participation Sectionals were replaced by an online qualification called the Open. In the first year of the Open, 26,000 athletes signed up to compete. Participation in the Open steadily increased, rising from 69,000 in 2012 to 209,585 in 2014. The Open has since been described as the largest participatory sporting event in the world, reaching a peak of 415,000 participants in 2018. The number of registered athletes in the Open declined in the next two years down to 239,106 in 2020, which may be due to changes of the 2019 Games and the scheduling of the 2020 Open, but has steadily increased in the following years, to over 323,000 in 2023.
In 2015, the qualification format was reorganized from 17 Regionals to eight "Super-Regionals". Each Super-Regional included qualifiers from two or three of the previously defined regions, with a total of 40 or 50 athletes participating at each event.
Madison, Wisconsin era
Following seven years in Carson, the Games moved to the grounds of the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2017. The next year, the qualifying Regionals were once again realigned to reflect the increasing competitiveness and popularity outside of Canada and the U.S. In 2018, there were nine Regionals hosted among 18 redefined regions, with Europe increasing to three regions, Central America split from South America, and the elimination of the Northern and Southern California regions.CrossFit, Inc. founder Greg Glassman overhauled the format for the 2019 Games, replacing the Regionals with CrossFit-sanctioned international qualifying events called Sanctionals. As part of the changes, the 2019 Games athletes can qualify by winning one of the Sanctionals, or were the top athlete from one of the recognized countries in the CrossFit Open, or a top-20 overall finisher in the CrossFit Open, or by being one of the up to four at-large athletes chosen by CrossFit. Teams also no longer needed to be created from one CrossFit-affiliated gym and could be formed from any group of four competitors.
In 2020, the qualifying events proceeded as scheduled until March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic caused events to be cancelled amid social distancing requirements and travel restrictions. The Games format was altered, and 30 men and 30 women were invited to compete in an online-only first stage with the top five qualifying for the final stage. As no spectators were allowed at any venue during the pandemic, the final stage was hosted at its original location at the CrossFit Ranch in Aromas. There were no teams, masters, or teens events.
In 2021, the qualification format was adjusted with the introduction of a new online Quarterfinal stage. However, the Games also removed the national champion so as to have a smaller field of invitees to the Games. Ten Semi-finals that are a mix of the Regionals and Sanctionals were also introduced, as well as a final last-chance online qualifier for semi-final athletes who narrowly missed Games qualification. The Games also returned the team format to affiliate-based qualification, and added a new adaptive athlete division.
In January 2022, CrossFit CEO Eric Roza dismissed CrossFit Games' director Dave Castro after 15 years of programming the event, replacing him with Justin Bergh as general manager of sport and Adrian Bozman as director of competition. Castro later returned as leader of the sport team in 2023.
A worldwide ranking of athletes was introduced for the 2023 Games based on the performance of the athletes in all stages of the previous two Games. This ranking system would be used to determine any additional qualifying spots for the CrossFit Games in a revamped qualification process.
Fort Worth, Texas and Albany, New York
For the 2024 season, the CrossFit Games were held in the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas after 6 years in Madison, Wisconsin. In that season the Games focused on the individual and team divisions, with all the other divisions split off into their own separate competitions. The Games, however, were marred by the death of the Serbian athlete Lazar Đukić, who drowned in the first event, which led to the withdrawal of a number of athletes, including both 2023 champions Laura Horvath and Jeffrey Adler.After only a year in Fort Worth, the Games were moved to Albany, New York for the 2025 season. Other changes were made this season, including the removal of the quarterfinals, and only 30 men, 30 women and 20 teams can qualify for the Games.