IMG_3924

It is with a mixture of both sadness and relief that we put to bed the penultimate WOD of the CrossFit Games Open 2015. The addition of HSPUs to the Rx division caught some people surprisingly short. The skills required for the Rx division have set a precedent for the years to come that requires all aspiring athletes to seek not only competency, but also virtuosity in their movements and it is likely that future Open competitions will see further complex movement patterns added into the mix. CrossFit has always promoted a pursuit of excellence in our ability to move well and it is evident when you watch those that perform best that good movement leads to winning performance. The HSPUs caught out the athletes who achieved competency in previous years by meeting the minimum standards, rather than seeking to move well. Lesson learned.

Beth Davenport is our athlete of the week for her double PR breakthrough on 15.4. Having never performed either a handstand push up or a clean at the Rx weight she broke through and wowed the Saturday morning Girls WOD with both her plucky performance and exuberant celebrations – rumour has it she air-punched. Notable performances also go to Gareth Stephen once more for managing the cleans at well over body weight and to Garry McFall who came back for a second serving of the scaled division

Regardless of what the end of the Open brings, we are delighted that so many of you have gotten involved with the it and we hope that you have enjoyed it as much as we have. The judging, support and performances have been outstanding and your wild speculation about Mr Castro’s plans are always amusing. Whether you exceeded your expectations or just crashed and burned, the truth remains that many of us couldn’t have competed at any of these movements a few years ago and that we have all made significant steps in the right direction. If we are all improving, even incrementally, we’re on the right track.

See you all tomorrow for the final WOD of this year’s Open and please join us at 1600 on Saturday for our end of Open party. Yes the rumours are true.