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- 🏆 Who’s Poised to Podium in Mesa? Our WFP Tour II Picks Are In
🏆 Who’s Poised to Podium in Mesa? Our WFP Tour II Picks Are In
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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.
In today’s edition:
🌵 WFP Tour Stop II lands in Mesa with Finals spots for Copenhagen on the line.
🍷 Weekday restriction, weekend overindulgence — how one athlete broke the loop.
💵 Breaking down 2025 payouts: who earned what this Games season?
QUOTE OF THE DAY
We did it.”
COMPETITIONS
Inside World Fitness Project Tour Event II: Podium Picks and Who to Watch in Mesa
Credit: World Fitness Project
The World Fitness Project’s (WFP) Tour Event II takes place in Mesa, AZ, from Friday to Sunday, where a star-studded lineup of athletes will compete to earn a spot at the WFP Finals in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Remind me: This is the second and final Tour Event of the WFP’s inaugural season.
Athletes earn points at both tour events. The 20 pro card holders, both men and women, along with the top 10 point earners from the Challenger Division on each side, will advance to compete at the WFP Finals after this weekend. Point values are doubled at the WFP Finals.
The top 20 point-earning men and women after the Finals in December will then receive pro card contracts for the 2026 season.
Worth noting: Tour Event I winner, Alex Gazan, will not compete in Mesa due to a foot injury she sustained in a car accident after winning the Northern California Classic In-Person Qualifying Event earlier in June.
Gazan also withdrew from the CrossFit Games earlier this month, but her coach, Justin Cotler, is hopeful she will be able to return for both the Rogue Invitational and the WFP Finals.
Furthermore, the fourth-place finisher at the Tour Event I, 2023 CrossFit Games champion, Jeff Adler, has also withdrawn from Tour Event II due to an undisclosed injury.
Continue reading for a closer look at veterans, dark horses, and the storylines shaping Mesa’s battles and the race for Copenhagen.
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SPEED READS
🛒💪 BarBend’s Labor Day Sale Buying Guide: Big names like Nike, Reebok, NOBULL, and Hyperice are running can’t-miss deals. With up to 60% off select equipment, the long weekend is prime time to stock your gym.
🤕🚨 Adams Out for WFP Stop 2: Haley Adams has withdrawn from World Fitness Project Tour Stop II in Mesa, AZ. Dutch athlete Linda Keesman will backfill her spot.
🏋️♂️🏈 McCaffrey x While On Earth: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey teams up with Mat Fraser, Brooke Wells, and Todd Meleney to grow performance brand While On Earth. Get details here.
🏴🏋️ 2025 Rogue Invitational “Q”: Registration for the Rogue Invitational qualifier will open on September 2 and will run September 5-7. A $25 entry fee gets you into the competition; $45 gets you entry + an official Rogue "Q" t-shirt. Earn a spot to compete in Aberdeen, Scotland.
⚡️🚨 Gym Giant in Hot Water: The FTC is suing LA Fitness parent company for allegedly making it nearly impossible for members to cancel. The complaint accuses the chain of deceptive practices and hidden hurdles — and if the case sticks, it could reshape how fitness contracts work nationwide.
🇺🇸🏋️ Everyday Heroes Assemble: The CrossFit Service Cup, powered by Mayhem Athlete, kicks off September 15–22. Entry is $10 ($45 bundled with tee, patch, and Mayhem Athlete programming); anyone can participate. Top finishers advance to Cookeville in November for the in-person Service Games.
📉🍷 Booze on the Decline: Only 54% of Americans drink now — the lowest rate in 90 years. Young adults and women are leading the drop, daily drinking has just hit a record low, and experts say the “moderate drinking is healthy” myth is officially dead.
ICYMI: 🏃♂️ Noah Ohlsen explains why the jump from CrossFit to HYROX isn’t as simple as it looks.
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
From Food Rules to Food Freedom – A Transformation Story
Credit: Shutterstock
For many, food and fitness aren’t just physical routines; they’re emotional battlegrounds shaped by years (or even decades) of conditioning.
We’re taught to grind, restrict, and bounce between extremes, all in the name of “discipline” and results.
But what happens when those strategies stop working? What happens when the cost physically, mentally, and emotionally becomes too high?
Meet Kim Smith. Like many high-achieving women balancing a demanding career and a busy family life, Smith followed the “rules” every week, including strict diets and intense workouts, but weekend overindulgence kept her stuck in a frustrating cycle.
But instead of sticking with old methods, she did something brave; she chose to break the cycle and create something new.
This is her story of transformation, shared in her own words and supported by science, strategy, and a new mindset.
TRIVIA
🎽🥇 Which athlete wore the leader’s jersey for the most events in their first CrossFit Games victory? |
Last week, we asked: Before squaring off at the Masters CrossFit Games this year, Scott Panchik, Khan Porter, and Sam Dancer competed together as individuals once. What year was it?
2013
2017
2015
2014
2016 ✅
The correct answer was 2016, the 10th anniversary of the Games. Just over 25% of you answered this one correctly.
Congratulations to all three men on their performances at the Masters Games, earning two podium spots (first — Panchik, third — Porter), and a fifth-place finish (Dancer)!
CROSSFIT GAMES
How Much Did CrossFit Games Athletes Really Make in 2025?
Credit: CrossFit Games
In 2025, the CrossFit Games prize purse underwent a significant shift in funding.
For more than a decade, footwear and apparel sponsors like Reebok, NOBULL, GORUCK, and Northern Spirit bankrolled the purse. However, this year, the money came directly from Open registration fees and was divided among CrossFit HQ, the athletes, and affiliates.
The result? When Tia-Clair Toomey and Jayson Hopper stood atop the podium in Albany, NY, each walked away with $287,609.18. While that marked a slight dip from 2024, the bigger shakeups came further down the leaderboard.
Key Takeaways:
In total, 234,783 athletes registered for the 2025 Open at a cost of $20 per person. That resulted in a total revenue of $4,695,660.00. Fifty percent of that revenue was allocated to the 2025 Games season.
It comes as no surprise that the payouts for athletes at the Games were lower this year than in 2024. First place earned $287,609.18, second took home $57,521.84, while third banked $46,017.47. Last year, those numbers were $315,000, $125,000, and $85,000, respectively.
The athletes who placed 21st through 30th in 2024 did not receive any prize payouts. In 2024, those finishing positions earned between $7,000 and $4,750.
HIGHLIGHTS
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.
💕Happy anniversary to Kari Pierce and Mitch McClune.
Happy anniversary to Spencer and Kayla Panchik.
🥇Congratulations to Sweden’s Dennis Olsson, winner of the 16-17 Division at the Age Group CrossFit Games.
Check out what kind of training Mayhem athletes Paige Powers and Haley Adams are getting up to.
🙌Congratulations to Chris from CrossFit Broadwing in Martinsburg, WV, on this bar muscle-up - his first one in two years!
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