Team Games Champ Taylor Williamson Qualifies for Rogue Invitational on a Whim

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Retired CrossFit team great Taylor Williamson took on the 2024 Rogue Invitational qualifier “for fun” and to support her PRVN crew. She took third and is heading to Scotland next month. Learn more below.

• So you’ve got your nutrition, training, and recovery on lock and you want to add in supplements to move the needle. Tracy Tucker from Training Think Tank offers some advice on what to consider when choosing a brand.

• In 2023, Kristin and Brian Rappé, an Indiana couple, moved to South Africa and opened a nonprofit CrossFit affiliate. Check out their story today.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Honestly, I thought the chances would be slim, just given that I felt like I hadn't been training a lot, and definitely hadn't been putting a lot of intensity into workouts” - Taylor Williamson on her mindset during the 2024 Rogue “Q.”

PROFILE

Taylor Williamson Does “The Q” on a Whim, Qualifies for 2024 Rogue Invitational

Instead of sitting at home while her husband coached athletes through the 2024 Rogue Invitational qualifier workouts, Taylor Williamson decided to do them for fun with the crew. 

• Now, after coming in third place, Williamson will head to Aberdeen, Scotland, on November 8-10 as a Rogue rookie. 

The former Games athlete and former teammate of CrossFit legend Rich Froning retired after the 2023 season. But Williamson thought she’d just jump into the Rogue qualifiers alongside Sydney Wells, who ended up taking second in the qualifiers — just one spot ahead of Williamson. 

• “Honestly, I thought the chances would be slim, just given that I felt like I hadn’t been training a lot and definitely hadn’t been putting a lot of intensity into workouts,” Williamson said in an interview with Morning Chalk Up. 

Williamson is married to Nick Johnston, CEO of PRVN Fitness, located in Nashville, TN. 

• She has been to the CrossFit Games as a team athlete seven times, topping the podium in 2021 and 2022. 

A MESSAGE FROM POWER MONKEY FITNESS

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• 6 nights accommodation

• 10 movement stations (3 gymnastics, 3 weightlifting, endurance, kettlebell, jump rope + rowing)

• Nightly Seminars

• Lake + trail activities

• CrossFit Mayhem Field Trip

• Earn CEU’s for CrossFit, NASM, and AFAA

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• Power Monkey Camp 23 - April 27 - May 3, 2025 

• Power Monkey Camp 24 - Sept. 21 - 27, 2025 *early bird rates still available.

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SPEED READS

🏋️🏆 United Grid League Expansion: Formerly known as the Florida Grid League, the United Grid League (UGL) announced a new team based in Houston, TX. Sophia Davenport, a Grid League veteran from CrossFit Enoch, will helm the new team.

• Only one more spot remains to complete the league’s 10-team lineup for the 2025 season. For those interested in forming a Grid League team in their region, please visit this page for more information.

😎🌴 TYR Wodapalooza Miami Qualifier Is On! Check out the details below for the TYR WZA Online Challenge & Qualifier (OCQ), which started last week for individuals (The Team OCQ is Oct. 31-Nov. 6). Get registered here. Week 2 WODs are coming tomorrow!

• 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

📚🏋️‍♀️ 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: With the CrossFit offseason in full swing, much of the attention is focused on European competitions. Learn more about the Euro CrossFit scene from veteran broadcaster Lauren Smith.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

How to Choose the Right Supplement Brand for You

When it comes to ways you can do to help improve your performance, aesthetics, or health, supplements don’t even make the top five. 

• We want to start with that disclaimer because it is important to understand that supplements aren't going to help you until you have a solid foundation of the basics—sleep, stress management, nutrition and hydration, movement, and human connection. 

If you do have a solid foundation or are looking to improve it, supplements can help. They are called “supplements” for a reason, though — they are meant to supplement the factors above.

• There are so many different brands of supplements on the market that it can be tricky to determine which one to use. 

Instead of being easily influenced by your favorite athlete or what the most aesthetically pleasing person to look at uses, consider these three variables in your decision-making process: contamination, quality, and side effects. 

COMMUNITY

Why this Indiana Couple Moved to South Africa to Open a Nonprofit CrossFit Affiliate

Kristin and Brian Rappé were moved by what Gabe Fisher, a friend of theirs, was doing in South Africa.

• He was working with teens and young adults who live in extreme poverty, “using CrossFit to teach them grit and determination, helping them learn that they can do hard things, and mentoring them in leadership and job skills,” Kristin, who first found CrossFit in 2013, told the Morning Chalk Up in an interview.

In 2023, the gym where Fisher had been running his program moved 25 minutes away, making it nearly impossible for the kids and teens to get there daily.

Back in Indiana, Kristin and Brian felt compelled to help. 

So, with Fisher being their only connection to South Africa, they packed up and moved halfway across the world to South Africa to open a gym where Fisher could run his youth program, L327 Fitness.

In October 2023, the Rappés opened CrossFit Masiphumelele, a nonprofit affiliate located in Kommetjie, South Africa.

• “Just less than eight weeks from concept to an approved and functional affiliate,” Kristin said of how quickly it all happened.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• 🏋️Congratulations to Joe from CrossFit Union Square in New York, NY, on this 136-kilo/300-pound snatch PR.

• Check out Elisa Fuliano, who made easy work of this 100-kilo/220-pound clean and jerk.

• Congratulations to Camilla Salomonsson Hellman and Simon Mäntylä, who won the Kronan Throwdown last weekend in Malmo, Sweden.

• Congratulations to Buttery Bros’ Julian Marquez, who completed a 50K ultra-marathon wearing Crocs.

• 😮‍💨Check out this complex at 142 kilos/315 pounds from 2024 Games rookie Austin Hatfield.