CrossFit Heads Back to Carson With West Coast Classic

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Interview: Dylan Malitsky, Loud & Live VP of Sports, on bringing the West Coast Classic back to Carson and the tennis stadium for the North America West Semi.

  • Should you add retail to your gym? Check out some tips and insights from affiliate owners who are making $$$ and mentors who recommend it.

  • Forging Youth Resilience kicks off its annual IGNITE fundraiser for Mental Health Awareness Month and announces a new research study.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“That daily reminder that I'm capable of more than I thought I was when I woke up, or that something looks impossible on the whiteboard…and then seeing yourself on the other side is so empowering. And that's what I hope kids get from us.” - Duncan Seawell, President, Forging Youth Resilience, on the power of CrossFit to help kids build confidence and resilience

CROSSFIT SEMIFINALS

Credit: @thewestcoastclassic / Instagram

Going Back to Cali: CrossFit Competition Returns to Carson for 2024 Semifinals

It was July 24, 2016, and Mat Fraser had just won the first of his five CrossFit Games championships.

The electricity from the crowd was palpable as Katrín Davídsdóttir edged out a young up-and-comer named Tia-Clair Toomey to take home her second win. They were joined by the winning team, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom, back when CrossFit Games teams still boasted six members.

  • This all happened the last time a CrossFit event took place in Carson’s hallowed tennis stadium (then called the StubHub Center and now known as Dignity Health Sports Park.)

On May 24-26, the magic will again return to Carson, California, with the West Coast Classic, the CrossFit Games North American West Semifinal. 

  • The top 40 men and women and the top 30 teams in the region will compete for the chance to head to the CrossFit Games in Fort Worth, TX, in August.

Dylan Malitsky, the Vice President of Sports at Loud & Live and the General Manager of Wodapalooza, is the brains behind the West Coast Classic this season, and he is pumped for the return to Southern California.

Malitsky is familiar with organizing sanctioned events for CrossFit; he and his team hosted both the West Coast Classic and Granite Games back in 2021, the first year under the current system of Open-Quarterfinals-Semifinals-Games.

Earlier this year, CrossFit tapped independent event organizers to operate the Semifinal events for the season, and the opportunity to run the West Coast Classic again arose for Malitsky and his crew.

  • “It wasn’t a decision that we took lightly. We have a lot going on with both Wodapaloozas, and we made an intentional step to launch WZA in SoCal in September,” Malitsky tells the Morning Chalk Up. “Ultimately, we were driven by the need — there was a void, and CrossFit didn’t necessarily have anybody to fill that void. We felt a level of responsibility for the community.”

FROM GOODSPORT

CrossFit Community Guided Founder Creating Sports Drink for Elite-Level Hydration 

Tired of sports drinks with unnatural ingredients and unsubstantiated claims, GoodSport founder Michelle McBride decided to create a natural sport drink for competitive athletes that's backed by science. 

Naturally, she turned to the CrossFit community for guidance.

Co-founder and former Director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, Dr. Bob Murray, PhD, FACSM, oversaw the formulation, and early prototypes were tested with athletes at Bridgeport Athletics, home of Bridgeport CrossFit on the south side of Chicago.

  • “After a workout, I circulated samples and questionnaires. Athletes were eager to help, honest with their feedback,” says McBride.. “We’d identified a novel, super-hydrating ingredient packed with electrolytes and a unique carb profile, but they wanted a more refreshing taste.”

This feedback pushed the team to work harder until they achieved their goal of providing a refreshing, delicious drink that offers long-lasting hydration and improves performance. Later, Hardware CrossFit, Andersonville, hosted panels providing additional insights.

Inspired by the inclusiveness of CrossFit (a priority of the GoodSport brand), McBride became a dedicated CrossFitter herself, working out at CrossFit Wilmette.

  • “The CrossFit community pushes me to do better in all aspects of my life. I’m beyond grateful and proud to have created a product that serves it so well.”

Try their elite-level hydration yourself and get 20% off with code “20CHALKUP”. GoodSport®. Naturally Powerful Hydration™.

SPEED READS

🏆 TYR Wodapalooza Drops TYR Cup Details: More details are emerging about the structure and format of the elite division.

  • First, the format will be North America vs. The World and as the teaser described it “an all-star match-up, featuring a two-team, head-to-head format. Each squad will be composed of four men & four women, with the captains chosen by YOU.”

  • Then, yesterday the event structures were released and… 😳🤯 we were not prepared. This is going to be EPIC! Learn more here.

🏆🧑‍🚒 Register For The CrossFit Service Cup: Built to Serve Now! 

  • The details: The CrossFit Service Cup is a virtual competition that asks athletes to complete three workouts over the course of one week (June 6-13).

  • The competition will include Competitive, Rx’d, and community divisions, and service members in the following professions are invited to join: Affiliate Owner, CrossFit Trainer, Medical Professional, Educator, Military Veteran, Active Duty Military, Law Enforcement, Firefighter, First Responder, EMS Responder.

😜💪 Check Out Bethany Flores’ full Quarterfinals breakdown video now!

  • In her words, “ It’s always a story for me, so tune in and enjoy the ride!”

🚨🚨 2024 Team and Individual Semifinals Workouts: Last week, after two of the workouts were leaked, the CrossFit Games team released all of the workouts for the 2024 Team and Individual Semifinals.

  • Check out the Team and the Indy workouts now.

  • The 2024 CrossFit Games Semifinals are set to take place May 16-June 2. Learn more.

✅ The official 2024 CrossFit Age Group Quarterfinals leaderboard is set. Check out the final standing for all age divisions now.

  • The 2024 Age Group Semifinals will take place online May 8-13 — more details to come.

🏋️‍♀️📋 Training Camp Semifinalists: Several prominent training camps have dropped full rosters of their Semifinal-qualifying athletes. Check out the lists now:

🚨🏋️‍♀️ Team Quarterfinals Penalties: CrossFit released its full list of ineligible teams, penalties, and appeals granted for the 2024 Team Quarterfinals. Check out the full list.

💪🚨 New CrossFit Sponsors: CrossFit announced two new sponsors for the 2024 season. One is a new partnership, and the other is a returning one:

  • The U.S. Border Patrol, a 2023 CrossFit sponsor, is returning for 2024 as an Official Partner of the CrossFit Games and the presenting sponsor of the Teenage CrossFit Games by PIT Teen Throwdown.

  • Northern Spirit, a functional training and fitness clothing brand, was announced as the Official Sponsor of the CrossFit Games Semifinals and Masters, Teenage, and Adaptive CrossFit Games.

ICYMI: As we leave the online portion of the 2024 Games season behind and gear up for Semis, we took a quick look at the Open and Quarterfinals and asked: Did CrossFit nail it?

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: Jade Jenny

Still Against Selling Apparel, Drinks, Snacks? Gym Owners Earning $36,000+ in Retail Sales Say Otherwise

Coaches should stick to coaching and leave selling shoes and supplements to Foot Locker and GNC.

That was the sentiment CrossFit founder Greg Glassman always preached. 

  • “A trainer trains and doesn't do anything else," Glassman said in this 2012 CrossFit video. “Once you’re [selling products], you’re not a trainer anymore…You have lost it. I don’t want a pro shop in my gym. I don’t want my lawyer to have one, either. I don’t want the guy that does my colonoscopy to have a pro shop, either.”

The bottom line for Glassman was: “Professionals don't sell shit. They sell their service, their knowledge, their experience, their talent, their skill, their commitment.” 

Of course, that was 12 years ago, and the CrossFit gym – and fitness industry as a whole –  looks very different today than it did a decade ago.

  • Gym owners today are in competitive markets where it’s often challenging for them to turn much of a profit at all. So, if retail can help, isn’t that a good thing?

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COMMUNITY

Credit: Tyler Rossmann 

Forging Youth Resilience Sets Dual Goals: Raise $100,000 in May and Publish New Research Study

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Forging Youth Resilience (FYR) is taking action to raise awareness.

  • For the fourth time, it’s hosting its biggest fundraiser of the year, IGNITE, in hopes of recruiting 150-plus gyms to participate and raise $100,000.

Last year, the nonprofit — which is dedicated to empowering youth to build mental and physical strength — raised $62,000 during its IGNITE fundraiser.

Remind me: FYR used to be called Steve’s Club, but the organization rebranded in 2021. 

  • Today, FYR offers fitness classes at 22 local chapters across the nation, many of which are located in CrossFit affiliates. The nonprofit serves 400-plus underserved youth with fitness, nutrition education, and mentorship.

The details: Gyms and athletes can register for IGNITE, donate online, and complete the workout on any day in May.

The workout is the same each year: 21-15-9 thrusters, lateral burpees over the bar, and sit-ups followed by establishing a max weight of one power clean and one hang squat clean.

This adds to the event by allowing people to monitor their own fitness progress from year to year, just like they do in the CrossFit Open.

  • FYR board member Justin Bergh, former longtime General Manager of the CrossFit Games, explains that the ultimate goal is to make IGNITE “a [tentpole] event in [CrossFit’s calendar.]”

One big thing: FYR has also teamed up with outside academic researchers to collect data and analyze how its fitness, nutrition, and mentorship programs affect the physical and mental health of the youth who participate in various chapters.

The researchers will use standardized mental health tests and a CrossFit benchmark workout in their analysis.

HIGHLIGHTS

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