2015 Super Regional Takeaways
2015 Super Regional Takeaways
While the format of the 2015 CrossFit Games Regionals changed dramatically from 2014, 2015 still left us with plenty of surprises and lessons. So what'd we learn from the 2015 Regionals? Read on:
The weakest regions are getting stronger
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Latin America and Asia have some catching up to do. In the Regionals they were included in (South, Meridian, and Pacific respectively), they each failed to nab a qualifying spot. The top individual from Latin America placed 21st in the women's competition and 27th in the men's side of things. Asia's best male was 17th and their best female finished 23rd.
Africa's best male actually placed 7th, only 51 points from qualifying, and their best female placed 21st in the women's side of the Meridian Regional. That said, they had a team qualify for the CrossFit Games, which is imcredibly impressive considering how young CrossFit is in Africa.
Overall, these finishes are pretty impressive. Asia has about a third of the total affiliates as Australia and New Zealand do, Africa has about as many affiliates as just the UK, and Latin America has less than half of the affiliates as South Central and South West.
While we won't be seeing any individual Games athletes out of Asia, Latin America, or Africa this year, the growth of CrossFit in those regions is incredible. It's only a matter of time before we see some big names pop into the international field of play.
Even legends can fail
Josh Bridges, Kenny Leverich, Val Voboril, Lauren Fisher, Julie Foucher, Christy Adkins, Paul Tremblay, Brandon Swan: all Games competitors in 2014 who failed to qualify for the big show in 2015.
There are a lot of reasons for this type of churn in Games qualifiers, but most of these athletes just plain lost. Between new competition in the combined Regionals, growing fitness at the top levels of the game, and injury, we're starting to see some big names miss out and set themselves up for redemption.
The most notable of these would be Josh Bridges, Val Voboril, and Julie Foucher. While Foucher lost out due to an Achilles injury suffered in Regional Event 3, Bridges was 15 points away from qualifying and losing out mainly due to a poor showing in Randy and the handstand walk.
Voboril on the other hand had a surprisingly bad Day 1 and just couldn't make up the points on Day 2 and 3 despite some masterful performances in events 3 and 6.
Old faces find redemption
On the flip side of the coin, we saw some old faces return to glory. The East Regional's men's competition was full of athletes who've been to the Games but missed out on qualifying recently. Spencer Hendel, Austin Malleolo, and Daniel Tyminski are all making their return to the Games after missing 2014.
In the Central Regional, Nick Urankar broke a 4 year streak and qualified for the Games again for the first time since 2011. Stacie Tovar, also from the Central Regional, is returning after missing 2014.
Most famous of all comeback stories in probably Sam Briggs, who shocked the world by failing to qualify last year after winning the Games the previous year and is now returning to the Games to prove her fitness.
Gymnastics are kinda important
Sprinting on your hands, strict deficit handstand push ups, and high volume rope climbs and muscle ups separate this year's Regional Events from previous years. Every season we see the demands on the athletes increase. In 2012 and 2013 we saw the weights get heavy and and the field compensated to accommodate the new levels of strength necessary. In 2014 and 2015, Dave Castro has made it clear that barbells aren't the only measure of strength and athletes who weren't able to transfer their power from the bar to their bodies were badly punished.
Qualifying for the Games means you're a mutant
Long gone are the days of "sign up and show up" for the CrossFit Games. We're now seeing the effects of years of serious and comprehensive training on the human body. Athletes are now popping up with tremendous capabilities in weightlifting who can also keep a high rev pace for a 20+ minute chipper and also navigate the demands of strict deficit handstand push ups.
Just qualifying for Regionals requires a high level of fitness and now that the field of Regional level athletes has been narrowed and sharpened, qualifying for the Games means you're a specimen of performance, dedication, and mental fortitude.
It's impossible to guess where the athletes will be in 2 years, much less where they'll be in 10 years, but expect the CrossFit Games continue to push the envelope with what they expect their competitors to be able to do and expect the competitors in turn to meet the challenge.
Related Articles:
Josh Bridges Out Of The 2015 CrossFit Games
The weakest regions are getting stronger
Latin America and Asia have some catching up to do. In the Regionals they were included in (South, Meridian, and Pacific respectively), they each failed to nab a qualifying spot. The top individual from Latin America placed 21st in the women's competition and 27th in the men's side of things. Asia's best male was 17th and their best female finished 23rd.
Africa's best male actually placed 7th, only 51 points from qualifying, and their best female placed 21st in the women's side of the Meridian Regional. That said, they had a team qualify for the CrossFit Games, which is imcredibly impressive considering how young CrossFit is in Africa.
Overall, these finishes are pretty impressive. Asia has about a third of the total affiliates as Australia and New Zealand do, Africa has about as many affiliates as just the UK, and Latin America has less than half of the affiliates as South Central and South West.
While we won't be seeing any individual Games athletes out of Asia, Latin America, or Africa this year, the growth of CrossFit in those regions is incredible. It's only a matter of time before we see some big names pop into the international field of play.
Even legends can fail
Josh Bridges, Kenny Leverich, Val Voboril, Lauren Fisher, Julie Foucher, Christy Adkins, Paul Tremblay, Brandon Swan: all Games competitors in 2014 who failed to qualify for the big show in 2015.
There are a lot of reasons for this type of churn in Games qualifiers, but most of these athletes just plain lost. Between new competition in the combined Regionals, growing fitness at the top levels of the game, and injury, we're starting to see some big names miss out and set themselves up for redemption.
The most notable of these would be Josh Bridges, Val Voboril, and Julie Foucher. While Foucher lost out due to an Achilles injury suffered in Regional Event 3, Bridges was 15 points away from qualifying and losing out mainly due to a poor showing in Randy and the handstand walk.
Voboril on the other hand had a surprisingly bad Day 1 and just couldn't make up the points on Day 2 and 3 despite some masterful performances in events 3 and 6.
Old faces find redemption
On the flip side of the coin, we saw some old faces return to glory. The East Regional's men's competition was full of athletes who've been to the Games but missed out on qualifying recently. Spencer Hendel, Austin Malleolo, and Daniel Tyminski are all making their return to the Games after missing 2014.
In the Central Regional, Nick Urankar broke a 4 year streak and qualified for the Games again for the first time since 2011. Stacie Tovar, also from the Central Regional, is returning after missing 2014.
Most famous of all comeback stories in probably Sam Briggs, who shocked the world by failing to qualify last year after winning the Games the previous year and is now returning to the Games to prove her fitness.
Gymnastics are kinda important
Sprinting on your hands, strict deficit handstand push ups, and high volume rope climbs and muscle ups separate this year's Regional Events from previous years. Every season we see the demands on the athletes increase. In 2012 and 2013 we saw the weights get heavy and and the field compensated to accommodate the new levels of strength necessary. In 2014 and 2015, Dave Castro has made it clear that barbells aren't the only measure of strength and athletes who weren't able to transfer their power from the bar to their bodies were badly punished.
Qualifying for the Games means you're a mutant
Long gone are the days of "sign up and show up" for the CrossFit Games. We're now seeing the effects of years of serious and comprehensive training on the human body. Athletes are now popping up with tremendous capabilities in weightlifting who can also keep a high rev pace for a 20+ minute chipper and also navigate the demands of strict deficit handstand push ups.
Just qualifying for Regionals requires a high level of fitness and now that the field of Regional level athletes has been narrowed and sharpened, qualifying for the Games means you're a specimen of performance, dedication, and mental fortitude.
It's impossible to guess where the athletes will be in 2 years, much less where they'll be in 10 years, but expect the CrossFit Games continue to push the envelope with what they expect their competitors to be able to do and expect the competitors in turn to meet the challenge.
Related Articles:
Josh Bridges Out Of The 2015 CrossFit Games