What is the Open?
The Open is an annual, online competition for CrossFit athletes around the world. It’s the largest and most inclusive fitness competition on Earth and a celebration of our CrossFit community! It’s 3 weeks long, with one “test” per week, beginning on Feb 27, 2025.
At ICA, the Open is one of the most fun times of the year, featuring an intramural competition for all registered athletes as well as “Friday Night Lights.” (Details below.) It’s a great way to connect with our community and celebrate our collective fitness!
Last year we had 98 athletes participate – can you help us get to 100 this year?!?
Who Is the CrossFit Open For?
The Open is for everyone! For some, the CrossFit Games season is complete after 3 weeks of the Open and is a standalone yearly endeavor. For an elite few, the Open serves as the first qualifying round for the 2025 CrossFit Games season. Here is how the Open feeds into later stages of the CrossFit Games season:
- The Open – Hundreds of thousands of people compete in the Open every year! Anyone can and everyone should participate!
- Semifinals – The top finishers from the Open will move on to the In-Affiliate Semifinals.
- CrossFit Games – The top finishers from the Semifinals move on to compete at the CrossFit Games where the Fittest on Earth are crowned.
Every athlete who registers for the Open will get placed into a division based on age and gender:
- Individual – All athletes aged 18-34 will be placed in the individual division
- Age Groups – There are 9 age groups for teenage athletes ages 14-17 as well as masters athletes ages 35-70+
Once you are placed in a division, you will have the opportunity to choose a variation of the workout based on your fitness level:
- RX’d – Do the workouts as written. This is the most challenging option, yet many individuals have moved from scaled to Rx’d as they progress from year to year.
- Scaled – Not quite ready to tackle the workouts as written? No problem. The scaled division offers classic scaling options for many of CrossFit’s common gymnastics movements and includes lighter loading.
- Foundations – Just started CrossFit or maybe this is your first Open? The foundations workouts are a great place to start.
How Do I Participate?
If you are a member at ICA, participating in the Open is easy! We run the Open Workout as the Daily WOD every Friday. We run 2 heats per class, so everyone has a counter/judge. All you need to do is:
- Register for the Open ($20) by February 21, 2025. Remember to select “CrossFit Phoenixville” as your affiliate.
- Show up to the gym on Feb. 28, Mar. 7, and Mar. 14, and complete one of the official versions of the WOD. If you can’t make it to the gym on Friday, you can complete the workout during Open Gym on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. You’ll need to make your own arrangements for a counter/judge and ensure a coach is available to oversee.
- Post your score to the Games website by Monday at 8pm!
Friday Night Lights!
On Fridays during the Open, we hold all regular classes through the 4pm. Starting at 5pm, we turn up the energy, blast the music, and throw down with our ICA Fit Fam at “Friday Night Lights.” This fun and festive atmosphere is a great way to complete the Open workouts. Rather than a coach-led class, we run heats of the Open workout every 20-30 minutes until everyone has finished. Even if you complete the workout earlier in the day, we encourage you to come back to the gym from 5-7pm to cheer on your friends!
ICA Intramural
One of the most fun aspects of the Open is that every registered athlete gets assigned to one of our in-house Open teams. Teams are led by ICA coaches, who will be your guides for the Open. You’ll earn points for your team just by showing up and completing the workout. The higher you place, the more points you’ll earn. We’ll also give out spirit awards each week for a chance to earn your team even more points!
To get assigned to an in-house intramural team, you MUST officially register for the Open by Friday Feb. 21 and pick CrossFit Phoenixville as your affiliate!
The Community Cup and Pairs Competition
New this year, CrossFit HQ is offering two new competitions that will be available exclusively to athletes who completed the Open:
- The Community Cup – Taking place from Jun 9-15, this online competition will let you compete against other athletes of similar abilities. After completing the Open, you’ll be assigned a “competition level,” grouping you with other similarly skilled athletes. Use the time between the Open and Community Cup to tackle areas of your fitness you want to improve, then compete in the Community Cup in your assigned tier. Similar to the Open, then competition will involve three workouts. Different from the Open, all three workouts will take place in one week!
- The Pairs Competition – Individual and masters athletes who compete in the Open can partner with another athlete from anywhere in the world. Both partners will use their Open scores to qualify. The top pairs will then qualify for an in-person competition hosted by Masters Fitness Championship taking place Oct. 10-12, 2025, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the Grand Wayne Convention Center.