This week, I was comparing insurance quotes for our two facilities and diverse group of Trainers. There are really only two providers in Canada; these are emails from the company we DON’T currently deal with:
Hi Chris
Thank you for your interest in our
program.
Unfortunately, we are unable to insure
Crossfit facility.
When I asked, "why not?" in my usual polite fashion, I got:
Hi Chris,
When our carriers looked into the Crossfit
operations, they were concerned that the training methods were outside what we
are able to cover (ex. Olympic weightlifting, tractor pulls, etc.)
Tractor pulls. Really.
Don’t get me wrong: if there were tractor pulls in Crossfit, I’d love it even more! And Olympic weightlifting? Compare the injury rates (3 per 10,000) to soccer (1 in 7) or football (1 in 3) and the logic just doesn’t follow.
Add to my argument that the certification process for Crossfit is one hundred times more stringent than Can-Fit-Pro or any of the dozen ‘weekend-and-website’ certifications that the company DOES cover……
…and where are we? Well, it’s more frightening than you think. It means that the ‘fitness’ concept isn’t just being watered down externally (gyms, media, ‘core’ gadget infomercials) to attract the less fit; it’s being watered down as part of a larger mandate by insurance companies. Do Crossfit? Don’t get insured, at least not with these guys! Do BOSU balls and other useless stuff? Sure! No, they don’t work – but no one gets hurt, either!
Does 12 years’ experience count for anything? Nuh-uh. Degrees? Nope. Physio on staff? RMT specialist in-house? Huge array of professionals to turn to in times of trouble? Nada. But if you read Oxygen magazine this month, or maybe Womens’ Tone ‘n Trim Weekly, and send in your cheque, we’ll back you to the hilt!
Think about how this all trickles down to you, the one sweating through another aerobics class with a new name and spongy pink bars: what useful information is the instructor not telling you? What does your coach NOT KNOW that they should? What’s Big Brother keeping from me?
Crossfit doesn’t cause injuries. Ignorance causes injuries.