The False Start

This letter below was sent to Crossfit by one one my friends and fellow Crossfitters Ronan. This is a must read.

Good morning,

I am not sure why I am writing but I felt inclined to do so.  Amongst my friends and fellow Crossfitters in our community the discussion has come up several times regarding the games, participation, Reebok, etc.  I have been told that last year approximately 8,000 to 9,000 people participated in sectional events around the world. This year with the online format and so forth the entries/ registration is at 20,000 (?).  Going to a format that does not require travel, is relatively affordable and is truly open to anyone in the world, this seems like an extremely low number.  Sure it is twice last year but 20,000 people worldwide does not seem like a lot of people in a global community of how many Crossfitters?

Although several of my friends and I are registered and “competing” in the sectionals we see Crossfitters all around us that are NOT doing it and in talking with them and discussing this we feel that the marketing has left the Rx Crossfitter and even Scaled down Crossfitter out.  What we have seen is the “Are you Ready” or something similar as a marketing pitch for the games, videos showing former winners, top competitors and truly the best of the best in competitive Crossfit.  So if you ask us “are you ready”, well quite frankly the answer is, NO.  None of us are and some of if not most of us may never be “ready” or achieve that level of Crossfit fitness.  Yes, you crown the “fittest in the world” but to the average Crossfitter they will never achieve this is or even be in the running to compete for this title.  I do not mean this simply in the open division but even the masters divisions. Maybe a marketing effort or slogan of “how fit are you” would better serve not just you, Crossfit HQ and your sponsors, but also the community. To me, Crossfit is about personal progression and being better than the day before, or week before or month before, etc.  It is not about beating Miko Salo or Graham Holmberg in a two or three day competition.  Yes, that is exactly what the actual Games are about.  I understand that.  However, I think the online sectionals format is a brilliant means of expanding Crossfit and doing something unprecedented in sports but not in the way it is being launched and marketed now.  The average Crossfitter has not been encouraged to enter or given any incentive other than maybe see how badly you compare to the absolute top athletes in the world versus how Fit are YOU in the WORLD of Crossfit.  This year someone can finish in dead last place of 20,000 competitors but that person could be an amazing story next year when they finish as the 15,000th overall competitor.  An improvement of 5,000 positions is and would be an amazing accomplishment to anyone in any competition.  That line of thinking and that message has not been communicated or marketed to the community.  Let’s face it the sponsors don’t need Crossfit marketed to the top level athletes in the sport right now.  They need the sport and their brands marketed to the largest portion and percentage of the community, the soccer mom doing Crossfit, the dentist doing Crossfit, the construction worker doing Crossfit, etc.  Reebok and any other major sponsors want them to know about the sport and their brands not as it pertains to the most elite level of competition but also how it relates to them as “real people”.  That is what Crossfit is all about (IMO).  It is real people finding out that the limitations they have placed on themselves are not real and those shackles are meant to be shattered as they become stronger physically, mentally and emotionally.  That message and encouragement as it relates to the sectionals has just not been communicated.

In addition what obligation or responsibility do the sponsors have in promoting Crossfit and the Games to their customers?  Obviously someone like Rogue, who’s primary if not sole customer base is the Crossfit community, makes perfect sense for them to promote Crossfit and the games directly but I don’t see links to the sectionals page on their site.  What about Reebok?  Have they promoted or put up one piece of marketing/ promotional material for the games in ANY of their stores?  Their website does not list, mention or promote Crossfit at all.  I could’t even find anything about Crossfit when I did a search on their site for “Crossfit”.  Maybe there are legal issues with doing this but I would think they would want to announce or even promote the games, their products and even registration on their site if only redirecting people to the Games site.  They are after all the largest sponsor.

I know the nature of Crossfit is very grass roots and I am not suggestion or telling anyone to break away from what you know and who you are. I do believe though that the community has suffered and missed a very big opportunity to not just expand but also promote itself within our own Crossfit community.  We as Crossfitters could have all become more and more connected and part of something much bigger than our local affiliate.  This could have been the opportunity for all of us to basically be in the same virtual Box and all doing the same WOD.  There are members in my gym that absolutely crush workouts and are in a class by themselves but those same athletes cheer those of us on that are not doing sub 2 minute FRANS.  This is what should have happened.  Yes, the mainsite does a WOD and announces it but I have never been to a gym that actually follows the main site programming.  This could have been, if marketed the right way, an opportunity for the world to be “one box” for six weeks and at the same time find the Regionals competitors. These six weeks could have been the opportunity to truly encourage and capture the heart of Crossfit and get people to push their own limitations in ways they never thought possible.  Many Crossfitters don’t think they can compete and that is just not the case. They can and should if only for themselves and to break down those BS limitations we create for ourselves.  Where are or were the videos of the elite athletes we admire; Chris Speallers, Mikos, Grahams, Kristins, Heathers, etc. encouraging their own members of their gyms to enter and just why they should enter?  Not just are they ready this year but why everyone should, for six weeks all be part of the same gym, ONE BOX, for six weeks to all unite and be part of the same community as well as finding the top athletes to compete in Regionals and the games.

All of this is obviously my own opinion.  I mean no disrespect to anyone or anything done up to this point but just see this format and what is being done as having so much more potential and potentially being so great for everyone.

My very best regards,

Ronan