2017 CrossFit Open!

Get jacked up, the Open is here!

What is the “Open?”

Even if you’re new to CrossFit, you’ve probably heard of the Open. It’s an annual, online, worldwide competition for CrossFit athletes. Officially, the Open is the first level of competition to qualify for the CrossFit Games. However, for 99.99% of CrossFitters, the Open is simply a once-a-year opportunity to push yourself to new limits, experience the intensity of competition, and see how you stack up against CrossFitters from around the world. (Last year, over 324,000 people registered for the Open! Only 80 individuals, 40 teams, 220 Masters athletes, and 80 teens advance to the Games.) To learn more about the CrossFit Games check out these links:

Read: About the Games
Watch: How to Compete in the Open
Watch: I’m Competing in the Open Because…

When is the “Open?”

The Open season is 5 weeks long, starting February 23 and ending March 27. Every Thursday night an Open workout will be posted to the Games website at 8:00pm. Registered athletes will have until that Monday at 8:00pm to complete the workout and post their scores online.

The Open Workouts

If you are a member at ICA, participating in the Open is easy! We’ll run the Open WODs on Fridays during all 7 classes. Even if you don’t register for the Open, you are welcome to attend class and complete the workouts. We will post three versions of the workout each week: (1) Rx Open WOD, (2) Scaled Open WOD, and (3) ICA Scale.

Open Rx – This is the official Open workout. All registered athletes should strive to complete it! If there are weights or movements that you can not perform safely, you should perform the official Open Scale.
Open Scale – Official scaled versions are available for all Open workouts. This allows athletes to choose the programming that best matches your abilities. Choosing the scaled version of the workout one week will not prevent you from doing the next workout Rx. However, in any given week, 1 rep of the Rx version will be ranked higher than the best scaled score.
ICA Scale – Due to time/space/equipment limitations, most weeks we will post an ICA version of the official Open WOD. Non-registered athletes will generally be expected to complete this version of the workout.

The Open has six masters age groups (35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60+) and two teenage age groups (14-15, 16-17). Historically the teen and 55+ divisions have had modified versions of the WOD. Age groups are based on what age you will be as of July 14, 2017.

How Do I Register?

To register for the Open, visit the CrossFit Games website and follow the “REGISTER” link. Remember to choose CrossFit Phoenixville as your affiliate!! Registration is $20.

In-House Open Competition

For some added fun and friendly competition, we are organizing an in-house “team” competition based on the Open WODs. Get yourself a team of 4 and sign up! Teams of 4 must include:

Any combination of male and female athletes.
At least one member new to ICA (less than a year)
No more than 2 “Advanced” athletes. (More details below.)

If you want to compete on an Open team, here’s what you need to know (and do):

The cost to participate in the in-house competition is $20. (Note this is separate from the $20 to register for the official/online Open competition.) All participants will get a custom ICA Open t-shirt!
You do NOT need to register for the online Open in order to participate in the in-house competition.
Put together your team of 4! We’ll have sign up sheets at the gym where you can list your team OR sign up as a free agent. Please also indicate your t-shirt size.
Complete the Open Rx or Open Scale WOD each week. You’ll earn points for your team each week based on how you rank within ICA. If you fail to complete the workout on any given week, you’ll earn 0 points for your team, but you won’t “hurt” their score in any way.
The last day to sign up for the in-house competition is Friday February 17.

Advanced Athlete Notes: Below is a list of common weights and movements we have seen in the Open. If you can do 8 out of 10, you should consider yourself Advanced. (John and Nikki will make the final call!)