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Which CrossFit Games Vets Will Thrive in 2025 Season Format?

January 31st, 2025

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Which CrossFit Games vets are set up for success in 2025’s new season structure? And who might struggle?

  • Are CrossFit’s leads helping affiliate owners grow their membership? We asked 10 gym owners, and their responses ranged from “not at all” to “a lot.” Learn more below.

  • The “Reebok Crew,” Fee Saghafi, Linda Keesman, and Elisa Fuliano, brought the vibes and the Nano X5 to TYR WZA Miami last week.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Reebok was my first shoe when I started doing CrossFit. Reebok was the first shoe that I looked for; it was my first gift from family members when they found out that I was doing CrossFit” - Fee Saghafi on her partnership with Reebok.

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: Scott Freymond

Which CrossFit Games Vets Will Thrive in 2025 Season Structure?

The 2025 season is almost underway, and we finally know what it’s going to take to qualify for the 2025 CrossFit Games. 

Remind Me

Ultimately, there are three paths to earn one of the 30 men’s and women’s invites to this summer’s CrossFit Games in Albany, NY. Here’s how it breaks down.

Path 1: The In-Affiliate Semifinals

  • The top 1% in the CrossFit Open will qualify to the online In-Affiliate Semifinals. From there, it looks as though 12 men and 12 women will qualify for the 2025 Games.

Path 2: In-Person Qualifying Events

  • Eighteen more men and women will have a second opportunity to qualify for the Games via 10 in-person qualifying events around the world. These events have additional online qualifiers or are invitationals.

  • Two men and two women will qualify from eight of the 10 in-person qualifying events, and one man and one woman will advance to the Games from the other two.

Path 3: Last Chance Qualifier

  • Details are scarce at this point, but one man and one woman will earn a ticket via an online “Last Chance Qualifier” from June 13-16. 

Which veteran Games athletes will benefit from this structure? Conversely, who might struggle under this unprecedented season structure?

Two Things to Consider

On paper, at least, it appears that this season is favorable for two types of athletes:

  1. Those who tend to be rock stars in online competitions.

  2. Those who find a way to win (or come second) in-person qualifying events.

On the flip side, the season might not be so advantageous for two other types of athletes.

  1. Those who tend to perform better at in-person events than online ones.

  2. Those who consistently do well at in-person qualifiers—veterans who always manage to punch their ticket—but who never seem quite able to burst through and finish in the top two (In other words, the season doesn’t bode well for the consistently quiet qualifiers of years gone by).

In light of this, here are four men and four women we expect this season to go well for.

A MESSAGE FROM POWER MONKEY CAMP

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  • 6 nights accommodation

  • 10 training sessions (gymnastics, weightlifting, kettlebell, endurance, jump rope, and rowing)

  • Daily yoga and rucking

  • All meals

  • Field trip to CrossFit Mayhem

  • Nightly seminars

  • Open gym time with coaches

We only have 20 spots left for Spring, and with $200 off right now (code "MCUMONKEY), there’s no better time to join us.

SPEED READS

🙏💪Mayhem Mission Spectator Workout at TFX: If you are headed to the TFX Championship in Austin, TX, this weekend, don’t miss out on a chance to sweat for a good cause with Luke Parker and Gui Malheiros.

  • On Saturday, February 1, Gui, Luke, and the Mayhem crew will lead a donation-based spectator workout. 100% of the proceeds go to Mayhem Mission to support the Peru mission team in their efforts to provide clean water to remote villages.

  • As an added bonus, the largest donor will receive an exclusive dinner for themselves and three friends with Malheiros and Parker in our VIP room that evening.

🌎🏆 2025 World Fitness Tour Roster: The highly anticipated competitive fitness tour has now announced 19 men and 18 women, including 2025 TYR WZA winner Lucy Campbell and fan-favorite Dani Speegle. Who will get the remaining pro cards for the 2025 World Fitness Tour’s inaugural season?

🚨🚨 The CrossFit Open is Coming: The 2025 CrossFit Open will take place February 27-March 17, so get signed up now!

  • Bundle and save on 2025 CrossFit Open shirts and Judges course registration here.

ICYMI: Three key takeaways about the 2025 CrossFit Open from Dave Castro’s Week in Review.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: @crossfittrove / Instagram

Are CrossFit’s Affiliate Leads Driving Membership Growth for Gym Owners?

When Eric Roza purchased CrossFit LLC in 2020, one of his stated priorities was to provide more business help to affiliates, a priority that has continued since Don Faul became CEO in 2022.

  • Part of CrossFit’s plan was focused on lead generation, and in an effort to do this, they made improvements to CrossFit’s affiliate map in 2023, which included new features like contact forms directly integrated into the map so that prospective clients can reach out to gyms more easily. 

Ultimately, the idea was that gyms would start to receive leads directly from CrossFit, on top of the leads they were already generating through their own marketing efforts. 

So a year-and-a-half later, where are we at? Are affiliates benefiting from an influx of additional leads?

We spoke to a number of affiliates and discovered it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

THINGS TO…

READ

The Fran Lung Analytics Newsletter

  • Be the first to get your hands on Dave Charlton’s weekly analytics article, plus a summary of the highlights from the past week in the world of CrossFit.
    SIGN UP NOW!

DO

The Rogue Fitness Kilo Club Challenge

  • Give this new Rogue Challenge a try (it will be open year-round. too!). Find your max cumulative total for the following two lifts in this order in one hour: 1-rep max snatch, then 1-rep max clean and jerk. Hit your target tier weight and earn a T-shirt.
    CLANG AND BANG.

WATCH

Unbroken: The Story of the 2024 TYR Cup

  • The three-day head-to-head battle between the best athletes in North America and the World went down last September in Huntington Beach, CA. With 11 events and $160,000 on the line, it was a test of grit, strategy, and teamwork. Streaming free.
    ALWAYS IN FRONT.

INDUSTRY

Credit: Scott Freymond

Reebok Nano X5 Debuts at TYR Wodapalooza in Miami

The Reebok Nano X5 made its debut last weekend in Miami Beach, FL. 

  • The newest iteration of the iconic shoe was released on Friday, January 24, and Reebok athletes Fee Saghafi, Linda Keesman, and Elisa Fuliano competed in the brand-new kicks at 2025 TYR Wodapalooza. 

Remind Me 

In mid-December, Reebok shared that the new Nano X5 was set to be released at the end of January. Last month, Morning Chalk Up writer Teaganne Finn spoke to product designer Tal Short about the new Nano and the innovations made to the “Official Shoe of Fitness.” 

  • “The latest model truly pays homage to the iterations that came before it, taking [lessons] and some fan-favorite features to create the latest Official Shoe of Fitness that sets a new industry standard,” Short said.

2025 TYR Wodapalooza provided the perfect stage to release the new Nanos and demonstrate their style, versatility, and performance.

What They’re Saying

As Fuliano, Keesman, and Saghafi were preparing for a full weekend ahead, we were able to catch up with them at CrossFit Miami Beach to chat about the competition, their preparation, and their partnership with Reebok. 

A TYR Wodapalooza rookie, Linda Keesman took on two divisions as she was set to compete as an Individual and as part of the Reebok team. Having no prior team experience, she was looking forward to throwing down alongside Saghafi and Fuliano. 

  • “I feel like the team is more fun and less stressful. I feel like most people come to (TYR) Wodapalooza for a good time instead of only performance, so I feel like I’ll get the full experience,” Keesman told Morning Chalk Up.

HIGHLIGHTS

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