TheBoltBlog

The Open

Why should I do the Open?

– Because it is fun, challenging and brings a whole nutha’ level of intensity to your workouts at the gym.

But I can’t make Regionals

– Poor excuse, 50 Burpees for saying can’t!  In all seriousness you should know by now that CrossFit is about the journey not reaching some end of your personal transformation.  It will make you better, it will challenge you, you will push yourself to places you didn’t know possible; isn’t that what your here for?  I.E. we had a few people PR their Snatch immediately after competing 30 snatch at 75lbs, and 30 snatch at 135lbs.

I will compete someday, but not now

-Even poorer excuse, as your coach I am telling you, if you ever want to compete in CrossFit or anything else, this is the best thing for you.

Legitimate reasons not to do the Open?

You have a physical limitation that makes many CrossFit movements unsafe for you to perform with full range of motion if at all.

***I don’t want anyone to feel pressured, my personal feelings about you won’t change regardless of your decision.  Although, I do believe for the great majority of our membership, this is a healthy, competitive environment to test your limits and make you better!!!

Judging

All those that have their Level 1 Certification would be obvious choices.  However, more important than the Level 1 Cert, Judges will need to:

– Understand/Recognize proper range of motion for all the movements we do on daily basis.

– Be willing to call a ‘no rep’ and quickly communicate why the rep was missed

– Understand that a ‘no rep’ is not mean or a personal attack on the athlete, but simply a statement of truth about what you observe.

– Be able to clearly communicate with the head judge, ask questions and understand the movement standards prior to the workout.  Most movement standards for the Open are quite clear, i.e. toes touch the bar or they don’t, you do not take your own personal version of the standards into account.

– Be able to clearly communicate the movement standards to the athlete prior to the beginning of the WOD.

– Judges should not be cheerleaders, but can be encouraging to the athlete.  Also, it is encouraged that judges communicate with the athletes when it looks like they are near a ‘no rep’.  I.E. the wall ball barely gets to, and touches the target.  “Keep it high, hit the target!”

– Judges must be attentive.  It can get quite repetitive counting and judging 300+ reps.  Don’t let your athlete down, put as much effort into your judging as they are into their workout.

– As a judge you are a representation of CrossFit BOLT.

If you are interested in judging please e-mail me!  You do not have to be the best athlete or a coach, but you do need to understand the bullet points above.