The Open Report Revisits 2024 Open Registration a Final Time

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• In her new documentary, Danielle Brandon gives viewers a window into her past — a past that she says does not define her

• The CrossFit Open is over, and you didn’t make it to Quarterfinals. Now what?

• In this week’s “Open Report,” writer Mike Halpin revisits some highlights from the last eight weeks of tracking registration numbers and related data and looks ahead to Quarterfinals

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Something that has really helped me is knowing I’m not defined by what has happened to me. I know a lot of people who have faced tough times, especially in their childhood, reflect back on it all and blame their lives on it. I’ve always had this thought process of moving forward and thinking… What can I do? How can I improve my situation?.” - Danielle Brandon on her past

PROFILE

New Doc, Danielle Brandon Energy, Highlights Softer Side of the Fierce Games Veteran

She walks in, clad not in chalked-up leggings and a sports bra but in jeans and makeup, with her hair down. She sits, looks at the camera, and takes a breath.

“Ready,” she says. 

Competing in CrossFit for over a decade now, and with five Games appearances under her belt, Danielle Brandon has earned the status of a tenured veteran athlete and has built a vibrant reputation for herself. 

• Since she began competing on the sport's largest stage, Brandon has gained an ever-growing following of loyal fans who celebrate her athleticism, tenacity, passion for competition, and unapologetic authenticity.  

In the new documentary Danielle Brandon Energy, due out on YouTube on March 27, viewers get a raw and honest glimpse at Brandon’s more vulnerable side. It's a side that she is just now comfortable sharing with the greater community, as the doc centers on everything that has shaped her into the “DB” fans know today.

Brandon shared that when she began working with the shoe and apparel company R.A.D years ago, she had a conversation with founder Ben Massey. She spoke to him about her past and, at some point, said she would love to find a way to give back and help kids who are facing their own challenges and difficulties. Brandon hopes this documentary can help.

• “I know I'm not alone in what I went through. Everybody’s trauma, what everybody goes through… no matter how big or small, it’s all about perspective…We all deal with different stuff, on different levels, but it’s about what it feels like for you in that moment and at that period in time,” Brandon tells Morning Chalk Up. 

In this way, she knows that components of her story will strike a chord and hopefully remind her community that many of us face adversity in every stage of life. 

Believe the Reviews and Get Ready For QF

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SPEED READS

✍️ Now Hiring: PRVN Fitness is looking for some interns local to Nashville. If you have a passion for learning and want to be part of the PRVN Team, send your application now.

💪 Saunders to Compete at CrossFit Expo Games: The AusFitness Expo announced that fan-favorite CrossFit Games veteran Kara Saunders will compete at the CrossFit-licensed Expo Games at the AusFitness Expo on April 13-14. Saunders announced earlier this year that she will lead Team Mayhem Thunder in the 2024 season.

• Saunders will be joined on the competition floor by Harriet Roberts and Saunders’ own 2024 Mayhem Thunder teammate, Emily de Rooy. Khan Porter will be on hand as co-emcee of the event.

🎉 Crossfit’s New CMO Introduces Herself: Crossfit’s new Chief Marketing Officer, Jenna Hauca, took to her Instagram yesterday to announce that it was her official first day with the company:

• From the post: “I’m excited to share that today is my first day as Chief Marketing Officer at CrossFit.”

• “I’ll be joining an incredibly talented and devoted team to expand CrossFit’s global reach by supporting our 12,000 affiliate gyms in 140+ countries while generating demand for new gyms and supporting the CrossFit Games.”

• “It’s an absolute honor to serve a brand that has been in the business of saving, improving, and transforming lives for more than 20 years and I’m eager to join in the efforts of amplifying this mission.”

🥇 Kristi Eramo O’Connell won her first women’s pro HYROX event in Houston last weekend. It’s worth noting that it was also the first pro HYROX event she’s entered.

👑 The Crown L1 for Participants: All the teen participants in The Crown, the teen CrossFit competition hosted by The Progrm in Mallorca, Spain, will receive free access to the Crossfit Level 1 certificate.

• From the post: “It is our responsibility to educate future generations and ensure that the sport continues to have a lasting health for many more reigns. The throne is waiting, stay tuned 👑”

ICYMI: Athena Perez shares a core memory and discusses her approach to the Open and “the season.”

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

The Open is Over. Now What? 

After three grueling and stressful weeks, you pushed yourself harder than you thought you could; you possibly re-did a workout or two, but alas, you fell below that 25th percentile line and will not be moving on to the Quarterfinals. 

• Maybe your double-unders are still too inconsistent, and 24.2 involved way too many attempts.

• Perhaps your bar muscle-up is still in the works and didn’t make a dramatic appearance for you on 24.3. 

• Or it could be that your overall conditioning needs some work, and you just couldn’t hang on in 24.1. 

CROSSFIT OPEN

The Open Report: Week 9 

Days until the 2024 CrossFit Open: -21!

Days until the 2024 CrossFit Games Quarterfinals: 27

Days until the 2025 CrossFit Open: 350 (estimated)

The Open is Closed!

How was it? Did you hit your goal or come up short? Did you make the 25 percent cut for Quarterfinals? If yes, are you planning to register for Individual or Age Group Quarterfinals starting on April 17? 

All the best in the next stage, whether that be continuing your CrossFit Games season, signing up for a local competition with friends from your gym, or challenging yourself in your affiliate to right some of the wrong situations you found yourself in during 24.1, 24.2, or 24.3.

With the end of the Open, so comes the end of this series. It’s been a blast tracking the Open numbers and sharing them with all of you. There is a lot more to still dive into in the aftermath as we assess things like ‘How many really did the whole Open?’ (Here is that real quick, depending on how you want to slice it)

Seventy-seven percent of all registered athletes completed all of the workouts in the Open. Just over 3 out of 4 across all divisions. Ninety-three percent of all registrants completed at least 1 of the 3 weeks of the Open.

Over the last eight weeks, I touched on a variety of topics and I want to look back on where some of those ended up as we close out the Open.

Let’s dive in…

Week 1, “The Barometer of CrossFit”:  If Open registration numbers are strong, the community views CrossFit HQ’s “fitness” as improving; if the registration numbers dip, the community sees HQ’s “fitness” as being in decline.  

The CrossFit Open grew 6 percent year over year, from 2023 to 2024, with a final total of 343,528 registered athletes. I had thought 10 percent growth or bust, but given the year that CrossFit has had–with changes in the C-level, affiliate fee increases, and more — a 5-plus-percent increase is a positive direction for HQ.

THINGS TO…

…WATCH

Talking Elite Fitness With Danielle Brandon

If you want to hear more from Danielle Brandon, check out this interview she did with Talking Elite Fitness, where she discusses more about her documentary. It’s going to be big.

CHECK IT OUT.

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DITCH THE FATIGUE.

…RUCK

GORUCK Training Gear

This year’s CrossFit Games sponsor offers bags, vests, plates, shoes, and everything else you could need for your spring rucking. The sun is out and temperatures are climbing; it’s the perfect time to get outside to train.

CRUSH CALORIES, GET STRONG.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• 🎂Happy birthday to Laura Horvath and Matilde Garnes.

• 💕Congratulations to Anastasia from CrossFit Route 7 in Vienna, VA, on her and her partner’s recent engagement.

• Happy two-year affiliate anniversary to CrossFit Uncontained II in South Africa.

• Happy nine-year affiliate anniversary to CrossFit Eikestad in South Africa.