View From The Edge | CrossFit Games 2020: reduced format will create epic showdowns all weekend, but only if spread out evenly
- The added jeopardy of cuts to a field where everyone is a tried and tested world class crossfitter will create storylines for fans throughout the weekend
Last year, for the first time, the Games invited the top crossfitter from each country. It drastically increased the size of the field to 239. Due to this impractically high number, they introduced regular cuts to the field. After the first workout, the field was reduced by half. Then it was whittled down throughout the first six workouts, 10 at a time, until there were just 10 men and 10 women left.
The timing and nature of the cuts proved controversial. The cuts then came thick and fast, so one poor workout left you with little chance of making the next round. Also, two of the workouts were over in seconds – a sprint and a sledge push – one of the others was running-based too. Competitors questioned if it was fair to make cuts based solely on the athletes’ abilities to run at various speeds and distances given CrossFit is meant to test every aspect of fittest.
The reduced field is a chance for the organisers to do away with the cuts altogether, for this year at least. But now there is no logistical need to cut the field so quickly, they could spread the cuts out over the weekend and create multiple, epic showdowns.