CrossFit HQ has resent the invites for this year’s Games to include only the top 20 Open finishers and Sanctional champions, they announced on Saturday.
“Due to current limitations on social gatherings, and professional sport in particular, the field of athletes in attendance will be reduced,” they published in a press release.
There will be no team competition at the 2020 CrossFit Games and National Champions have been revoked their invites.
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Only the top 20 athletes in the 2020 Open leaderboard will be invited to compete in Aromas, California.
“Since the inception of the CrossFit Open, the top 20 athletes on the Open leaderboard have always included the future CrossFit Games champion among their ranks, and the Open winner has gone on to become the Games winner eight times,” CrossFit released.
The top 20 had previously excluded National Champions and therefore extended down to the 33rd woman and 26th man. These additional athletes will no longer receive invites, unless an athlete ranked between 1st and 20th declines their invite, in which case this will pass to the next athlete in line.
The 10 Sanctional champions crowned this downsized season will also be invited to compete, bringing the competitive field up to 30 male and 30 female athletes.
“The ten Sanctionals that were able to host in-person competitions this season will be invited to send their champions to this year’s CrossFit Games,” CrossFit published.
Because these invites are affected by placement in the Open, where qualifying through the Open takes precedence before a Sanctional qualification, and Open invites have changed with this reduced field, some invites that were extended at the start of the season may pass back to the original invitee.
No mention was made of upcoming Sanctionals still hoping to hold their competition before the Games.
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The changes were made in consideration of the current challenges globally, CrossFit said.
“The CrossFit Games will reset for the 2021 season with the intent of returning to crowning national champions and including teams, age group athletes, and a deep field of individuals competing for the title of Fittest on Earth in Madison, Wisconsin,” they continued.
“We will continue to monitor events globally and provide updates as needed. Restrictions on large gatherings are subject to change. The field of athletes invited may be adjusted based on those guidelines,” CrossFit concluded.
In the meantime, Rich Froning announced a “team-only CrossFit competition” to take place in August. Mayhem Madness, as Froning called the competition, “is designed to celebrate our community, showcase the hard work that elite teams have invested into the last year of training and reward them for it,” he wrote.
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The nine previously qualified teams to the 2020 Games will be invited to compete alongside three other teams selected through an online qualifier.
Keep your eyes on BOXROX as we release more updates.
Image Sources
- athletes-cut-2020-crossfit-games: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.