Operating in three phases, the Open, the Regionals, and the Games, The Reebok CrossFit Games is the centerpiece in the pantheon of competitive fitness competitions. The final phase of this year’s Reebok CrossFit Games will take place on July 21-26, in Carson, California.
The governance of the sport of competitive fitness is more or less ad-hoc. CrossFit, being the closet thing to a centralized governing body to the sport, organizes the central component to the competitive fitness sporting calendar, The Reebok CrossFit Games.
The Reebok CrossFit Games divides its competitors into different divisions: a teen division for competitors aged between 14 and 17[1], Senior “masters” divisions for participant aged 40 and older[2], men’s and women’s individual divisions, and a co-ed team division. There are no weight classes, and no distinction between amateurs and professional.
While all of the divisions involve steep competition, the individual competition is the centerpiece of the Reebok CrossFit Games, with the winners of the individual competition crowned “fittest man” and “fittest woman” on earth. CrossFit, awards equal purses between men and women (one of the first sport competitions to do so).
CrossFit divides the globe into competitive regions:
(Image via www.games.crossfit.com)
The regions function more like divisions/conferences in an American professional sports leagues, than national associations or confederations under the umbrella of a international governing body. Regions in CrossFit provide a framework for the competition, but do not provide individualized governance, and all competition programming organized uniformly by CrossFit HQ.
Athletes and teams compete in the Reebok CrossFit Games by first registering in the CrossFit Open. Registering for the Open requires athletes to associate themselves/join with a CrossFit-affiliated gym, and create a profile on http://www.thecrossfitgames.com, and pay an entry fee.
Once athletes register, they then may compete in the Open competition. In the Open, athletes partake in five weekly competitive workouts in their CrossFit-affiliated gyms, and log their scores online. Athletes hoping to compete in the regionals must upload videos of their workouts to verify the recorded scores. At the conclusion of the 2015 Open, CrossFit invited the top 20 men, 20 women and 15 teams from the United States, and Canadian regions; the top 30 men 30 women and 20 teams from European, and Australian regions; and the tip 10 men and 10 women from competitors and teams from Latin American, Asian, and African regions, to the CrossFit Regionals.
Traditionally each CrossFit region held its own regional competition. However, in 2015 year CrossFit introduced the “super regional.”[3] At the Super Regionals, athletes compete in another set of set of workouts. CrossFit then invites the top five competitors and teams from each super regional competition to the CrossFit Games.
The Reebok CrossFit Games takes place over six days in Carson California. The total prize purse tops $2,000,00.00.[4]
All together, the Reebok Crossfit Games covers the better part of five months, involving over 200,000 athletes, competing around the globe.
[1] Teen divisions are separated into two groups: 14-15 and 16-17.
[2]There are 5 masters age groups: 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, and 60-plus. The road to the games for Masters Athletes is slightly different than the other divisions and can be viewed here: http://games.crossfit.com/workouts/masters-qualifier.
[3] Crossfit’s use of a super regional competition format for the Regionals stemmed from complaints that certain regions were more competitive than other, allowing less qualified athletes progress deeper into the competition depending on which region they resided.
[4] http://games.crossfit.com/article/crossfit-games-prize-purse-grows-2015
Andrew Visnovsky 
Operating in three phases, the Open, the Regionals, and the Games, The Reebok CrossFit Games is the centerpiece in the pantheon of … ccrossfitr.wordpress.com
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