🏆 Why the TYR Cup Is One of the Best Off-Season Shows

September 25th, 2025

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • 🏆 The TYR Cup 2025 proved once again why it’s one of CrossFit’s most entertaining off-season showcases.

  • 🔄 Swap confusion for clarity: three common CrossFit coaching cues re-examined.

  • 🚨 The path to the CrossFit Games is shifting again — here’s what athletes need to know for 2026.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

I thought specifically the Community Cup…would kind of accomplish the same thing [as Quarterfinals], but the aspirational nature of the 25%…was really missed.”

Dave Castro on the return of Quarterfinals in 2026.
COMPETITIONS

Why the TYR Cup Is One of CrossFit’s Best “Off-Season” Showcases

Credit: Nicky Freymond

For the second year in a row, the 2025 TYR Cup at TYR Wodapalooza in Huntington Beach, CA, last weekend showcased intense competition and friendly trash talk in a spectator-friendly format.

For the die-hard CrossFit fan, the TYR Cup didn’t just entertain; it reminded us why we love this sport.

The Ultimate Crowd Pleaser

As an exhibition-style showcase, the TYR Cup delivered one of the most entertaining throwdowns of the year.

  • Unlike watching most CrossFit competitions through the live feed, where it can be hard to tell exactly where each athlete is on the floor, the TYR Cup nailed “Sports Broadcasting 101.” The races were easy to follow, and you always knew who was in the lead, thanks to both the competition’s format and the broadcast team’s clear delivery.

While head-to-head match-ups with just two athletes, like at the TYR Cup, might not be logistically feasible at the CrossFit Games or the World Fitness Project (WFP), the TYR Cup’s format has once again shown to deliver one of, if not the most, spectator-friendly and exciting competition of the season.

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SPEED READS

💪🔗 Rebecca Fuselier’s Guide to Ring Muscle-Ups: Start with a base of strict pull-ups and dips, learn false grip for lat tension and a secure catch, then progress to neutral grip for bigger, smoother kipping sets. Money cues: “Fist-bump the sternum → draw the line → deep dip” and “pull back, punch down.” Watch here.

🎓🏋️ Coaching Classes, Leveling Up to CF-L2: Training Think Tank coach Perrin Behr makes the case that great affiliate coaching isn’t about flexing knowledge—it’s distilling complexity into simple, actionable cues and delivering them on the clock. Check it out.

🌵✨ Camp R.A.D. Launches in Joshua Tree: Performance brand R.A.D unveiled its new Fall/Winter campaign, “Camp R.A.D” recently. It features CrossFit and HYROX stars Danielle Brandon, Justin Medeiros, Aimee Cringle, and Lauren Weeks, bringing R.A.D’s gritty aesthetic to life.

⚡🧠 Khan Porter Opens Up: The six-time Games athlete shares how an ADHD diagnosis reshaped his life, training, and sense of self — turning a challenge into his superpower.

⚡🎧 HYROX x Shokz Collab Drops: Hear your hustle with gear built for everything from high-octane workouts to chill recovery. Get yours here.

ICYMI: 🐐 No Tia — For just the second time, Toomey-Orr will sit Rogue out, opting instead for family time.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

3 Coaching Cues That Don’t Mean What You Think They Do and How to Rethink Them

Credit: @sharpedgecrossfit / Instagram

We all do it. We’re in class and receive a coaching cue… and we act like we understand it. 

But we don’t.

You're not fooling the coaches; they notice the blank look on your face. 

Some coaches can redirect you to a different cue, while others may lack the experience. You might even be the coach whose cue caused that blank stare. 

  • I'm here to help. It's time to reconsider some of the most common cues we hear as athletes or use as coaches to instruct our gymnastics skills in CrossFit workouts.

Let’s identify the cue, explain its purpose, and why it’s confusing, and then learn how to think differently about the cue and the meaning behind it all.

POLL

🤢 What’s your least favorite CrossFit movement?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Last week, we asked: 📅 What is your favorite time of day to train?

  • 🌅 Early bird (5–7 a.m.) — 39.3%

  • 🌞 Mid-morning (9–11 a.m.) — 22.5%

  • 🥗 Lunch break (12–2 p.m.) — 8.3%

  • 🌇 Afternoon (3–5 p.m.) — 18.3%

  • 🌙 Evening crew (6 p.m. or later) — 7.7%

  • ⏰ Whenever I can squeeze it in — 3.5%

According to this poll, it appears that Morning Chalk Up readers prefer to start their day with early morning training. As early risers ourselves, we’re here for it!

CROSSFIT GAMES

Dave Castro Shares Additional Details on 2026 CrossFit Games Season

Credit: CrossFit Games

Dave Castro, General Manager of Sport for CrossFit LLC, has shared more details on how the stages of the 2026 CrossFit Games season will function. 

  • Although the company announced the season schedule last week, several key questions still remain unanswered.

Remind me: CrossFit has announced key dates and details for 2026, including the highly anticipated return of Quarterfinals. 

  • The Quarterfinals stage of competition was eliminated in 2025, and instead, athletes moved directly from the CrossFit Open to the In-Affiliate Semifinal. 

However, the 2026 season will feature the return of Quarterfinals, with the top 25% of men and women worldwide in the Open earning spots. 

Castro admitted in his Week in Review on Monday, September 22, that the removal of this stage of competition was “incredibly unpopular” among affiliate owners and athletes. 

  • “I thought specifically the Community Cup, because it included everybody, would kind of accomplish the same thing [as Quarterfinals], but the aspirational nature of the 25% and having that group advance to another level was really missed,” said Castro.

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.

  • 🎂Happy birthday to Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson and Jessica Griffith.

  • Check out these 20 bar muscle-ups in 44 seconds from Loredana of CrossFit Alioth in UAE.

  • Congratulations to Paige Powers and Dalton Rodgers, who were married last weekend.

  • 💨Congratulations to Joseph Somakian, who completed Serbia’s Ironman 70.3 in 5:54.

  • Southern Columbus CrossFit in Columbus, OH, is performing its 7th annual “Jenny WOD” on October 25 to honor late member Jenny Malec. This year, the fundraiser is adding a new beneficiary, Jenny’s friend Paul Wagner, who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. All proceeds will go towards Paul’s ongoing care and treatment. Check out the GoFundMe if you’re interested in donating.