The CrossFit Games are the world’s premier test to find the Fittest on Earth™. They are world-renowned as a grueling test for the toughest athletes on Earth as well as a thrilling experience for spectators. Since its inception in 2007, the CrossFit Games have become “one of the fastest growing sports in America,” according to Forbes
The Games were created to fill a void—no other true test of fitness existed. From Ironman triathlons to the NFL, all other athletic events neglected to accurately test fitness. Even decathlons, while testing a relatively wide range of abilities, missed vital components of physical fitness.
The CrossFit Games events are made up of a broad range of functional movements. Functional movements move large loads, long distances, quickly. These movements also form the basis of our exercise program. Make no mistake—the CrossFit Games are designed to test, not train, fitness. The goal is to find the fittest athletes, not to produce an easily replicable workout program.
MANY ROADS LEAD TO THE CROSSFIT GAMES.
Athletes may qualify for the Games through the worldwide Open or the Age Group Online Qualifier. Top athletes and teams from Sanctionals™ also earn invitations.
THE OPEN
During this five-week, five-workout competition, workouts are released online each Thursday, and athletes have until the following Monday to submit their scores. Anyone who's at least 14 years old can sign up and join in the first stage of the CrossFit Games season.
The Open provides two ways to qualify for the CrossFit Games. The top man and woman from each country (based on country of citizenship) with at least one affiliate in good standing will be crowned a National Champion and earn a spot to the Games. Along with National Champions, the top 20 men and women worldwide also will qualify automatically for the Games.
SANCTIONALS™
Sanctionals are independently owned and operated (and CrossFit-licensed) fitness competitions that offer another pathway for top men, women, and team competitors to receive invitations to compete at the CrossFit Games. Sanctionals expand the opportunities available to CrossFit competitors around the globe and each event emerged from the CrossFit affiliate community.
Fifteen Sanctionals events will take place prior to this year’s Games, with more already announced for the 2020 season. Find a complete list of the events and updates in the Sanctionals tab here. Winners of Sanctionals events do not have to compete in the Open in order to maintain their spot at the Games but are incentivized to participate because it will improve their seeding at the Games.
Visit the Sanctionals tab here.
THE CROSSFIT GAMES
The season culminates with the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games. At this point in the season, the field has been whittled down from the hundreds of thousands of athletes in the Open and Sanctionals to the world's National Champions and the fittest 35 men, 35 women, 14 teams, 40 teenagers, and 120 masters. The CrossFit Games rank the world's fittest and determine who is the Fittest on Earth.
A key element to a fair test of fitness is the unknown and unknowable. Athletes cannot train for what they do not know. At each CrossFit Games competition, athletes engage in a series of challenges unknown to them until right before the events begin. The combination of highly trained athletes and unknown events makes for an explosive mix.
MAY ONLY THE BEST WIN.
The Games are a playing field where the fittest athletes are given a chance to distinguish themselves through consistently exceptional performances. In a single competition, the CrossFit Games test athletes’ capabilities across broad time and modal domains. A wide variety of events are strategically formulated. In the past, these have ranged from dusty hill sprints to sandbag carries to ocean swims and endurance events. Future events will include even more surprises.
SCORING
The Games use a relative scoring system. That is, athletes are rewarded according to their placing in each event relative to their peers—not according to their absolute performance on that event.
Each event will be worth up to 100 points, and athletes earn points based on their finish (see chart). At the end of the weekend, the athlete with the most points is the winner and is crowned the Fittest on Earth.
A GROWING SPORT.
Interest in this sport continues to increase as the size of the CrossFit community grows. Last year at this time, there were just more than 15,000 affiliates. More athletes are participating in more CrossFit competitions in more places around the globe than ever. The 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin, will be the greatest worldwide test of broad, general, and inclusive fitness yet.
