A Good Read

A Higher Standard Than RX

SICFIT Editor-In-Chief

July 2, 2011, 12:20am

By Christina Basabe | A Fan of the CrossFit Games


CrossFit is known for its ability to foster community.  Beginners are embraced and nurtured.  Lifelong friendships are built on a foundation of sweat, struggle, and challenge.  Encouragement and motivation are as plentiful as the weights and barbells that surround the athletes.  Yet as CrossFit evolves and the Games become more and more competitive, can the thirst for victory overcome commitment to honor?

The HQ rules for selecting CrossFit team members were clear this year: You had to participate in the Open and “all of the athletes on a team must train in the same gym.”  It seems simple, yet message boards were loaded with what-ifs.  Could athletes who had trained at the facility for the majority of the year – but now did not – still be on the team?  Could athletes who had opened their own affiliates be on the team if they still worked out at their old gym?  NW CrossFit was disqualified at Regionals this year because members from multiple locations were combined to form a representative team.

If an athlete is remotely questionable, then team leaders have an obligation to exclude them from competition.  There is no honor in squeaking under the radar or vaguely meeting the minimum conditions.  Nor is it a CrossFit regional director’s job to review team membership questions on a case-by-case basis.  Nor should CrossFit HQ be tasked with investigating rosters.  

Many super stars competing as individuals in the Games participated on teams at Regionals.   Without their contribution at the Games, their team will likely have taken a spot from a more deserving team.  It may not be cheating, but it certainly seems unfair.

CrossFit is widely regarded as an honest sport with strict moral standards.  Skipping reps in a WOD will mark you with a scarlet letter.  Questioning gym programming is cause for exile.  Taking performance enhancing drugs is grounds for disqualification.  Yet trying to beat the system when it comes to staffing your team is acceptable and likely widespread.  

We don’t live in a world of unicorns and rainbows, where CrossFitters are judged at the end of the day with a smiley face sticker and apple juice.  Athletes with the most heart won’t likely be chosen over an athlete with more consecutive handstand pushups.  Yet it should be remembered that to some, representing their gym in a competition is the epitome of how they can show their gratitude to their home, their friends, and to the sport.  

No one likes to lose.  Even more, no one likes to admit that they don’t like losing.  I will accept that blatant cheating in CrossFit is unlikely.  For example, HQ allowed gym owners to validate their athlete’s scores with no oversight and it seems as though the best athletes of the Open emerged as the best of Regionals.  Perhaps it’s not about cheating; it’s about standards.  Perhaps I want affiliate owners to hold themselves to a higher standard than just Rx.  

Choosing a team can be difficult, both strategically and ethically.  Some owners may simply not be mature enough to make the best decisions – especially if they want to be on the team themselves.  Qualification for an affiliate team needs to be well structured and transparent and fair.  If you hold try outs, there are no do-over’s.  You can’t play favorites.  If someone doesn’t live in the same state as the gym, they don’t qualify to be on the team – no excuses.  If an owner decides to participate on the team, a non-participating coach should provide oversight.  

Were the Games rules clear enough for your affiliate?  Did your team perform effectively at Regionals?  Was your team chosen in a fair way?  

Everyone should know and admire the people on the team.  Only paying, local, regular members and official trainers/coaches should be allowed.  Team members should be notorious for their skill, their passion, and their humility among the community.  They should be the athletes upon which the foundation of your gym is built…  Not only should they be a fixture in your gym amongst the members every day, they should be the ones there on Game day.