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Vellner and Smith Announce Decision to Sit Out Games Season

February 17th, 2025

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Pat Vellner, the nine-time CrossFit Games athlete and five-time medalist, announced last week that he would sit out of the 2025 CrossFit Games season. Get the details below.

  • How can you make the best use of your training time for sport-specific goals?

  • Chandler Smith, a four-time CrossFit Games vet, announced that he would forego the 2025 CrossFit Games season. Get caught up today.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’m not stepping away from the sport, in fact this year I’ll be competing more than ever. But if you’re looking for me on the CrossFit Games leaderboard in a couple of weeks just know I won’t be hitting submit on my Open registration form, and that it’s intentional.” - Patrick Vellner, five-time CrossFit Games medalist.

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: Heather Weir @hweirphotography / Instagram

Pat Vellner to Sit Out 2025 CrossFit Games Season, Will Focus on World Fitness Project, Rogue, and TYR WZA

Add nine-time CrossFit Games athlete and five-time medalist Pat Vellner to the growing list of athletes who are choosing to skip the 2025 CrossFit Games season.

  • “I’m not stepping away from the sport, in fact this year I’ll be competing more than ever. But if you’re looking for me on the CrossFit Games leaderboard in a couple of weeks just know I won’t be hitting submit on my Open registration form, and that it’s intentional.

In an interview with the Morning Chalk Up, Vellner told us he plans to focus on the World Fitness Project (WFP), TYR Wodapalooza events, and the Rogue Invitational.

And to those who are planning on doing both seasons, Vellner said he thinks they’re underestimating the physical commitment.

  • “I think people planning to do both will be surprised at the toll it takes by the end of the year. [The] key will be to not stress about being not at your absolute best all the time,” he said.

That being said, Vellner also thinks athletes can be at their best at the Finals for both the CrossFit Games and WFP seasons, as they’re five months apart, but that “it will just depend on what else you want to give up.” 

  • Specifically, he pointed out that three other big events — The 2025 Rogue Invitational, TYR Wodapalooza SoCal, and the WFP Tour Event 2 — all fall in between the CrossFit Games and the WFP Finals.

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SPEED READS

🚨🌟CrossFit Open 25.2 Live Announcement: Last week, CrossFit announced that the Open 25.2 live announcement will take place in Arizona on March 6 at noon PT and feature Emily Rolfe and Sydney Wells. Get the details here.

🏋️📋 World Fitness Project Movement List: Earlier this week, the World Fitness Project released its full movement list for the Pro and Challenger divisions in the inaugural 2025 season. Check it out here.

🌎 🎟️ 2025 Qualifying Event Updates: Here are a few quick updates from some of the 2025 CrossFit Games Qualifying Events. 

  • French Throwdown: The first two qualifier workouts have been released and are available via the French Throwdown Linktree here.

  • Rebel Renegade Games: The Rebel Renegade Games Online Qualifiers are now open. Register now, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa & Gulf.

  • Mayhem Classic: The Cookeville, TN invitational continues to reveal its roster of invitees. Check it out here.

🚨🚨 The CrossFit Open Is Coming: The 2025 CrossFit Open will take place from February 27 to March 17, so sign up now!

  • Bundle and save on 2025 CrossFit Open shirts and Judges course registration here.

ICYMI: Top HYROX athlete and coach James Kelly has joined PRVN Fitness to launch a new HYROX program with the elite CrossFit training brand.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: @welcome_to_the_mill / Instagram

A Skier's Guide to Smart, Effective Programming (And What All Athletes Can Learn from It)

Finding ourselves in ski season, we recently got a great question on the Chasing Excellence podcast: "What workouts would you recommend specifically for ski training?"

  • It's a timely question that opens the door to a broad and useful conversation about how we should approach training for any specific sport or activity.

While we'll use skiing as our case study today, the principles we'll explore apply whether you're preparing for pickleball season, a hiking expedition, or whatever life outside the gym throws at you.

Why Skiing Offers the Perfect Training Case Study

When exercise scientists analyze different sports by breaking down their physical demands, skiing consistently emerges as one of the most comprehensively challenging activities for humans. 

  • What makes it particularly unique is the incredible G-forces athletes experience – up to 6 Gs during high-speed turns and landings. 

To put that in perspective, a 180-pound skier can experience over 1,000 pounds of force on their body in these moments.

  • Think about what happens during a typical ski run: Your legs resist these massive forces while maintaining stability through turns, your core works to keep you balanced, and your upper body engages explosively for pole plants and traversing. 

This happens while processing split-second decisions about speed, direction, and terrain – often at speeds exceeding 80 mph.

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: @beauclaude / Instagram

Chandler Smith Releases Heartfelt Statement; He’s Out for the 2025 CrossFit Games Season

On Thursday, four-time CrossFit Games veteran and fan favorite Chandler Smith posted a powerful statement on Instagram: 

  • “What’s the point of having a voice if it gets stuck inside your throat? Today, I’m using my voice and following it up with action: I will not be competing in the 2025 CrossFit Games season.”

And so, after 10 years of competing in the CrossFit Open, he is choosing not to do it in 2025, and he will not be vying for a CrossFit Games invite this year.

  • “I’m extremely thankful for what I’ve been given – but gratitude and blind loyalty are not the same thing,” Smith continued.

Taking a Stand

The entire community was devastated when Lazar Đukić drowned and died during the first event of the 2024 CrossFit Games.

  • After that, athletes and the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA) demanded change from CrossFit LLC to help the athletes feel more safe, among other things. 

But after nearly six months, Smith said he hasn’t seen enough change to support the Games as it currently is. 

“I don’t think the brand as it’s currently established has done enough to make me believe that it is serious about doing things differently in regards to giving athlete concerns around safety, structure, and fairness the ability to affect what happens on the floor,” Smith said.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

  • 🎂Happy birthday to Becky Rogers.

  • Congratulations to Lena Richter and partner Nicolas Fernandez, who just announced their new baby on the way.

  • Check out Travis Mayer, who is working his way up this snatch double ladder.

  • Congratulations to Sangramjith from CrossFit Total Control in Jacksonville, FL, on this set of two power cleans and push jerks at 93 kilos/205 pounds.

  • 🔥ICYMI, check out L-3 coach António Barrias rep out 10 deadlifts at 220 kilos/485 pounds.