What is the CrossFit Games Open?

The CrossFit Games Open, or ‘the Open’ as it is more commonly referred to, is the preliminary qualifying stage of the CrossFit Games. It unites CrossFit communities around the world and allows individuals to put their fitness to the test, whilst providing a comparison with the best athletes in the world, other members in your gym and more importantly yourself (previous open scores / finishing positions). As the name suggests, the open is accessible to everyone. Entrants are split into categories according to gender, age and experience / ability level (RX or scaled), which ensures scores are compared against appropriate competitors. In 2016, 324,000 people registered, ranging in age from 14 – 83 years!

‘The Open’ lasts for FIVE WEEKS, during which ONE WORKOUT is released PER WEEK. Details of each workout and movement standards are released on a thursday night (US time zones) and entrants have until the monday night to complete the workout in their gym and submit scores. It is down to the CrossFit trainer / judge at your box to then validate your score. This year the open will begin on 23rd February 2017 and draw to a conclusion on 27th March 2017. Once all scores have been submitted and validated, competitors are ranked in their category and region. The top 30 competitors from each category and region (Europe in our case) are selected to compete at the CrossFit Regionals, which usually take place over a weekend at the end of May. The final stage involves selection of the top regional athletes to compete at the worldwide annual CrossFit Games in July, where the FITTEST ON EARTH are crowned!