Who to Watch at the 2024 Down Under Championship

October 18th, 2024

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • The Down Under Championship has already kicked off in Wollongong, Australia. Get caught up on all the details and who to watch in Oceania’s bigger offseason competition.

  • We’re supposed to eat about 1 gram per pound of body weight in protein every day, right? Well, not so fast. EC Synkowski has more, below.

  • A gunman in Lewiston, ME, killed 18 people a year ago. Rachel Nutting and her CrossFit 196 community held individual memorial WODs for each of them in 2023 and is using the first anniversary of the tragic event to bring her community together.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We as a community, I think we really took it as an opportunity for us to learn how to grieve together and process grief.” - Rachel Nutting, owner of CrossFit 196, on the impact the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston, ME, had on her small community.

COMPETITIONS

Credit: @downunderchampionship / Instagram

The 2024 Down Under Championship Preview: Who to Watch

The 2024 Down Under Championship (DUC) takes place in Wollongong, Australia, from October 18-20

  • Excitement is thick as the workouts for Australia’s largest offseason competition have been released and athletes are taking the competition floor. 

This year, DUC will host two elite divisions — individuals and pairs — for men and women.

Here’s our guide on who to watch.

Elite Individual Women

There are 24 Elite Individual Women hitting the competition floor:

Aimee Cringle (UK) | Alexandra Bulic (AUS) | Alys Scott (NZ)
Bec Glenister (AUS) | Brittany Weiss (USA) | Chelsea Lane (AUS)
Christina Livaditakis (ZI) | Ella Price (NZ) | Emily Clements (AUS)
Emily De Rooy(AUS) | Georgia Farrow (AUS) | Erika Palasty (AUS)
Isabella Andueza (AUS) | Jess Green (AUS) | Jesse Ward (AUS)
Jessi Smith (USA)| Kaitlyn Matuschka (AUS) | Laura Clifton (NZ)
Laura Yardley (AUS) | Linda Keesman (NL) | Maisie Wilde (AUS)
Marnie Sykes (NZ) |  Mekenzie Woodhouse (AUS) | Samantha Pugh (USA)

Reigning back-to-back winner Madeline “Maddie” Sturt is missing from the lineup, as is Oceania Semifinal winner Grace Walton, who had previously been listed on Instagram as a participant in the individual competition. 

  • Out of the 24 athletes listed, six have Games experience either as an individual or on a team.

A MESSAGE FROM BATTLE OF THE AGES

A Showdown for the Ages

In its fifth year, the Mountain West Fitness Championship has grown from 200 athletes to 360 athletes who competed in the 2024 MWFC, Teams of 3, and Individual competition this summer. Those athletes took home $20K in cash prizes.

The MWFC looks to expand into a bi-annual fitness event with the addition of the Battle of the Ages Individuals-only competition. The event is scheduled for January 17-18 at The Center in Caldwell, Idaho. This is a 45,000-square-foot indoor facility offering plenty of space for 384 athletes to compete for over a $27,000 prize purse. 

In its first year, The Battle of the Ages offers three different age groups: 16-29, 30-39, and 40+. There are also four different fitness divisions for each age group: Elite, RX, Intermediate, and Rookie. With 24 different divisions in total, there are plenty of opportunities to compete with similar ages and fitness levels at this year's Battle of the Ages.

For more information about MWFC, visit their competition website, follow them on Instagram (@mountainwestchampionship), or follow the events on Competition Corner.

Registration for The Battle of the Ages is now open. 

SPEED READS

😎🌴 TYR Wodapalooza Miami Qualifier Is On!: Check out the details below for the TYR WZA Online Challenge & Qualifier (OCQ), which started yesterday for individuals (The Team OCQ is Oct. 31-Nov. 6). Get registered here. And the TYR WZA Miami OCQ workouts for Week 1 are out now! WODs 1&2 | WOD 3

  • TYR WZA Online Challenge & Qualifier

    • Week 1: Indy - October 17-21, 2024

    • Week 2: Indy - October 24-28, 2024

    • Week 3: Teams - October 31-November 6, 2024

  • TYR WZA OCQ Individual Divisions

    • Elite/Rx | Intermediate/Open

    • Masters 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60+

    • Teens 13-15, 16-18

💪🥇 Taylor Williamson’s Journey to Rogue: PRVN athlete Taylor Williamson is no stranger to elite competition, having been part of multiple podium and Games-winning teams over the years. But in 2024, as the Rogue Invitational heads to Scotland for the first time, Williamson will take the floor as an individual. Check out her story here.

📚🏋️‍♀️ 2025 USA Functional Fitness Collegiate Championships: The individual online qualifier for the second annual USA Functional Fitness (USAFF) Collegiate Championships is open now and scores can be submitted until October 23. Athletes must be current college or university students and 25 years old or younger as of December 31. Register now.

  • The top 10 Rx athletes (five male and female) will be invited to compete in person at the USAFF Collegiate Hypermedley on February 8-9, 2025, at CrossFit Reston in Reston, VA.

ICYMI: The Rogue “Legends” exhibition is an annual fan-favorite event at the Rogue Invitational. Check out the roster of athletes and reminisce about their elite accomplishments in the sport of CrossFit.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: VD Photography / Unsplash

Less Protein, Same Gains? Recent Study Challenges the 1 Gram-Per-Pound Dogma

Chugging protein shakes and devouring chicken breasts, all in the name of gains? 

For a recent episode of the Consistency Project podcast, I looked at a new study that suggests you might be going overboard on the protein front. 

Here’s some of what I learned:

Putting High Protein Claims to the Test

In a recent four-month trial, researchers divided 48 resistance-trained young men into groups that received either 0.7g or 1.5g of protein per pound of body weight daily.

  • These weren't newbies – they had been hitting the weights consistently for at least a year. To raise the stakes, some participants added endurance training to their resistance workouts.

The results?

No significant differences in lean mass, strength, performance, or endurance were found, regardless of protein intake or training program. 

That's right – even doubling protein didn't lead to double the muscle!

COMMUNITY

Credit: Rachel Nutting

CrossFit 196 to Host Memorial WOD for Lewiston Shooting Victims

Lewiston, ME, tragically lost 18 people in a deadly shooting last year, leaving loved ones and an entire community heartbroken. 

Rachel Nutting, the owner of CrossFit 196, has taken it upon herself to create and host a memorial WOD to remember the victims of the tragic mass shooting. 

Remind Me 

In October 2023, Robert Card carried out a dual shooting in a bar and bowling alley. Eighteen people were killed, and more than a dozen were left injured in the attacks. 

  • Card was later found dead due to self-inflicted injuries following a manhunt. 

Since then, survivors and victims of the shooting have threatened to sue the Department of Defense, the Army, and the Keller Army Community Hospital over allegations of negligence. 

One of the victims was Nutting’s neighbor, which was one of the reasons she wanted to host an event at her gym. Though none of the victims were members, the community is small and well-connected. Four of the victims who died were deaf, including Nutting’s neighbor. 

  • “We, as a community, I think we really took it as an opportunity for us to learn how to grieve together and process grief,” Nutting told Morning Chalk Up in an interview. 

HIGHLIGHTS

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