Coach Whitney is at CrossFit Regionals competing today! CrossFit Regionals is a national-level competition of the fittest athletes in the world. She qualified at CrossFit Sectionals in Toronto in March; if she's one of the top two fittest females in Canada, she'll go to the CrossFit Games at the Home Depot Centre in California at the end of June.
The athletes she'll meet are among the most elite 60 women in the nation. While the sport hasn't yet hit its popularity peak, it has grown exponentially since 2007, when 70 athletes competed in Aromas, California. This year, over 30,000 athletes will compete just to qualify; three years ago, you could have merely shown up.
The movie, Every Second Counts was about a half dozen athletes as they trained for the gruelling 2008 CrossFit Games. Of those athletes – many of whom finished in the Top 10 – only two have qualified for the event this year. The calibre of competition is rising with the sport's popularity, and athletes from other disciplines are being attracted by the promise of the best test of all-around athleticism in the world.
CrossFit Games 2010 has attracted some major sponsorship, landed a massive venue (it was the original site of the X Games,) and wil be streaming live over the internet.
Athlete profiles, standings, live streaming events from various qualifiers, and results are all available at the CrossFit Games site. This weekend, several of us will be doing the same challenges as Whit, just to see how we'd measure up. One more note: Catalyst Athlete and summer Intern) Josh Deluco finished third in Ontario, but was unable to attend Regionals because of a tight football schedule. Not to worry – he's onl wenty – he'll be back in 2011!
Wanna think about competing? The Catalyst Games is Sept. 11, 2010, at the gorgeous Roberta Bondar Pavilion on the waterfront in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Day Two of, "A Day In Whit's Shoes!"
4 rounds for time of:
35 wall balls (20/14lbs – to 10 foot target)
20 chinups – chin over vertical plane