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5 Things I Learned Competing at Wodapalooza

Athlete Michael Lanwehr shares what it was like competing at Wodapalooza for the first time.

As one of the premier middling elite intermediate teams competing at Wodapalooza, it can be a bit overwhelming. The crowds, the lights, the endless opportunities to throw money at anyone who could get you a discount on cool swag… This was my first year competing at WZA, and although I felt more ready than ever, I still walked away learning a few things I wasn’t quite expecting. Here are the five things I learned competing at Wodapalooza.

team maxability at wodapalooza

5 Things I Learned Competing at Wodapalooza

1. The Weather May Be Your Biggest Competition

Florida weather — yikes. Let’s face it, outdoor competitions just tend to hit differently. Outdoor competitions in Florida, though, they hit harder than Tyson Fury. One minute the sun is blaring down on you and the next you feel like you’re in the middle of a monsoon.

And that’s not an exaggeration. You would literally have one heat having to do CTB pull-ups in the rain while the next heat was perfectly dry. It made for some interesting last-minute strategy changes in the tent moments before walking out on the floor.

At the end of the day, though, it may have been a blessing in disguise. While making everything much slicker – and the worm unfathomably heavier – the rain also seemed to wash away a lot of the pregame jitters. When something is SO out of your control, and you know inevitably your performance will suffer, it tends to remove most of your stress and let you enjoy the moment for what it is.

2. Corral Times Differ Drastically

If the leaderboard reflected your team’s ability to properly time when to arrive and warm up before your next event, our team would’ve come in dead last. It’s incredible how consistently wrong one group of people could be — I’m not sure we could’ve been worse if we tried.

Figure if the workout had a 20-minute time cap, you would be waiting in the corrals a full heat in advance as well as an additional 15-20 minutes before that to check-in. Sometimes we would roll into the venue with the heat prior to us being called over the loud speaker — not good — and other times have enough time to warm up twice before making our way to the floor.

All in all, I think every team goes through this. It’s part of the unpredictability of competition. The best teams are the ones that are able to adapt and not let a less-than-perfect warm-up rattle them too much.

group shot

3. Swimming in the Ocean Is WAY Different Than A Pool

My personal swimming experience was — how should I say it — less than ideal for myself, but probably pretty common for the majority of athletes. Swimming in the ocean is much different, much more unnerving than swimming in a pool.

Aside from the lack of an obvious safety net, doing a tough, sprint-style metcon before diving headfirst into the port of Miami was something I was unprepared for.

Let’s recap: I was first up for my team — go time. 3 rounds of 20 pistols and 5 dball over the shoulder. Finish that at a decent clip — some (not many) might even say at a blistering pace. Breathing heavy, heart racing, dive headfirst into the water and immediately feel like I’m drowning.

Pick my head up for a giant, gasping breath of air — take in about 90% seawater. Off to a good start.

From there, though, things honestly got better, I floated on my back for a bit, let my heart rate come down, and settled into my stroke. But that initial minute in the water was legit terrifying. If you plan on competing at WZA in the future, and are thinking on training for the swim, do a burpee or two before jumping in the water — I promise it’ll be worth it.

team maxability using the worm

4. Good God, the Logistics

This is more my inner nerd coming out, so feel free to skip this one if you can’t relate, but I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around the logistics necessary to put on an event like this. This was my first time attending WZA as an athlete or spectator. I know it was big — over 2,500 athletes, 34 divisions, blah blah blah — but you really can’t grasp HOW big until you’re actually there.

When you’re sitting in the athlete warm-up area and you hear “Heat 67 Elite Men” over the loudspeaker immediately followed by “Heat 58 Intermediate Teams” followed by another heat and another, you start to get a feel for how insane it must be to put on a competition like this.

When they say there are a select group of people that love making sense of spreadsheets and making sure everything falls into its orderly place, whatever team organizes WZA must really love their job.

team photo

5. The Competition Lights Seem A Whole Lot Brighter When You’re Underneath Them

You hear it all the time. Athletes at the Games talking about walking out under the tennis stadium lights or into the coliseum for the first time and how there’s nothing like it — and I always kinda rolled my eyes at it. Like, it’s just CrossFit. It’s the same stuff you do every day in the gym, just with a few extra neon lights.

But boy was I wrong.

It was completely unexpected but walking out on the stage for our first night event, and staring out into the crowd with those “few extra neon lights” shining back at me, I was a bit shell shocked, I’ll admit. Even though we weren’t in the top division — far from it, actually — it felt like we were at the Games. It felt surreal.

That feeling alone made the trip, and all the suffering, worth it.

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Wodapalooza: Exhilarating Until the Final Seconds

What. A. Weekend. Wodapalooza never disappoints, and this year was no exception.

Anyone watching the events and keeping an eye on the scoreboard saw that while reigning champs Pat Vellner and Tia-Clair Toomey finished at the top of the podium once again, it wasn’t without a fight. In fact, Vellner was tied with Cole Sager but ultimately took the tie-breaker.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B87-VAdHTNR/

Things were a little different for the ladies. Toomey won by quite a comfortable margin, finishing with 808 points. In second came Sara Sigmundsdottir, with 770, always a show of incredible athleticism.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B87izd2H4lW/

The team competition was a real nail-biter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mayhem Freedom walked away victorious — but only two points ahead of Team GOWOD.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B82j52zJ057/

Epic!

It was a weekend of not just incredible speed, strength, and determination, but also one of inspiration and hope.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B876a1qH29R/

Congrats to all the competitors!

Main image: Wodapalooza/Instagram

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Everything You Need to Know About the 2019 Competitive Season

patrick vellner

All of the changes coming to the 2019 competitive season have left a lot of people scratching their heads, so we’re going to help you stay on top of it. We’ll keep this blog updated with all the most important details about what’s happening leading up to the 2019 Games.

11/2/19

With so many questions raised regarding the 2019 competitive season, one of the biggest was about the live Open announcements. Will they still happen? Are they changing in any way?

We finally have the answer.

Breathe easy, friends, because live Open announcements aren’t going anywhere — but there is one catch: they’re changing quite drastically.

As opposed to HQ managing them, the responsibility now belongs to the individual affiliates where the live events are being hosted. This means we can expect each announcement to look quite unique. Furthermore, we’re not sure we can expect to see Castro there.

What remains the same is that you’ll be able to watch the announcements on the Games website, as well as on social media.

9/1/19

HQ released the 2019 competition rulebook, and it’s answered a lot of lingering questions. Here are some of the key takeaways.

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1. You Have to Be a Citizen of the Country You’re Representing

In the past, elite athletes have moved to different regions to better their odds of ranking higher. However, moving forward, citizenship will determine which country an athlete represents. If they have dual citizenship, they can choose which one to represent.

2. Athletes Don’t Have to Compete in the Open If They Get an Invite From a Sanctioned Event…

… but they probably should anyway. This is because seeding at the Games is based entirely on scores from the Open. If an athlete doesn’t compete in the Open, they automatically get the lowest seeding at the Games.

3. There Are 4 Ways to Qualify for the Games

(1) Be in the top 20 in the Open, (2) be the top athlete in your country (even if you’re not in the top 20 worldwide), (3) win a sanctioned event, or (4) receive one of the four invites HQ will give away at their own discretion.

28/12/18

Good news from Iceland: the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship is officially happening, and we now have another sanctioned event to add to the list. Annie Thorisdottir confirmed the exciting news on Instagram, and the event now has its own page.


17/12/18

After a heated competition, the Dubai CrossFit Championship crowned its winners: Mat Fraser, Samantha Briggs, and CrossFit Invictus, consisting of Lauren Fisher, Regan Huckaby, Rasmus Anderson, and Tommy Vinas. This marks the end of the first-ever sanctioned event.

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According to the event’s leaderboard, Fraser won by a landslide, with more than 100 points separating him and
Björgvin Karl Gudmundsson, who came in second place.

The women’s competition was much closer, with Jamie Greene finishing in second place just six points behind Briggs

Ultimately, Invictus finished on top with 47 points putting them ahead of second place. What a week it was!

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15/12/18

Have you been keeping up with the Dubai CrossFit Championship? The competition isn’t over yet but there are already clear leaders claiming their spots. Will they stay at the front of the pack through the end of the competition?

For the men, Mat Fraser is (unsurprisingly) leading the way, with 535 points. Did anyone happen to catch that 137kg max snatch?

Samantha Briggs leads the women, with 509 points. For the team division, Invictus is currently in first, with 555 points.

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The competition is quickly coming to a close — do you expect any major changes in the leaderboard?

8/12/18

The Open is fast approaching, and HQ has confirmed the dates. The online competition starts on Thursday, February 21, and ends Monday, March 25. Here’s what the week-to-week schedule looks like:

  • Week 1 – Thursday, Feb. 21 – Monday, Feb. 25
  • Week 2 – Thursday, Feb. 28 – Monday, Mar. 4
  • Week 3 – Thursday, Mar. 7 – Monday, Mar. 11
  • Week 4 – Thursday, Mar. 14 – Monday, Mar. 18
  • Week 5 – Thursday, Mar. 21 – Monday, Mar. 25

Ultimately, the top 20 men and women in the world will get an invite to Madison, along with the fittest male and female in each country.

Mark your calendars!

6/12/18

A few days ago, Annie Thorisdottir shared with her fans that she had undergone a procedure to assess her heart arrhythmia. While the procedure came and went, it turns out her recovery has taken longer than expected, and it’s going to keep her out of the Dubai CrossFit Championship. In a post on Instagram today, Thorisdottir gave her followers all the details.

We’ll certainly miss seeing her compete there, but health comes first. Feel better, Annie!

5/12/18

The 2019 competitive is about to officially kick off, with the Dubai CrossFit Championship taking place December 12th to the 15th. This will be the first sanctioned event that sends athletes to the 2019 Games, naming the best male, female, and team.

The event team has released two of the workouts.

Workout 1: Gulf Swim

21-15-9

  • Dual KB snatch (24/16kg)
  • Dual KB front squat (24/16kg)

Then

350m swim

Score for time


Workout 3: 4 x 4

  • 4k run with tactical vest
  • 4k run without vest

Score for time

1/12/18

We lasted reported that Tia-Clair Toomey withdrew from the Australian CrossFit Championship, to which she received an automatic invite. It was safe to assume it was due to her move to the United States, and Toomey has now confirmed that getting to Australia simply doesn’t work with her schedule.

According to the Morning Chalk Up, Toomey says, “I would finish competing at Wodapalooza on (Sunday) the 20th of January, and then we would need to fly from Miami to Brisbane on the 21st and we would arrive into Brisbane Wednesday. The Aussie Championship, however, starts on Thursday leaving me minimal time to adjust or recover from the travel and competing days prior.”

Toomey adds, “As much as I would love to compete in Australia during Australia day (26th of January), I need to prioritize my goals.”

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In other news related to the 2019 season, the Dubai CrossFit Championship starts December 12th, and it’ll be the first sanctioned event happening under the newly structured season format. If you can’t be there in person but want to keep up with all the action, you can watch it on the Dubai CrossFit Championship website as well as their YouTube channel and RedBull TV.

29/11/18

The Australian CrossFit Championship online qualifier is officially finished and ironically, it was American athletes that ended up on top for the individuals. Jacob Heppner took a strong lead for the men, finishing with 19 points. James Newbury was behind him in second place, with 48 points.

For the women, Hilary Steele dominated the pack, with 32 points. In second place behind her is Ashleigh Corby, with 45 points.

The team events were nailbiting. Australia’s Project X — consisting of Khan Porter, Brandon Swan, Jessica Coughlan, and Harriet Roberts, dominated with 8 points total, with Reebok CrossFit Frankston just four points behind in second place.

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While plenty of big names competed, there are two we’ll be missing. Kara Saunders will be sitting out this season, after announcing she’s pregnant with her first child. Tia-Clair Toomey also announced she’s declining her automatic invitation to the championship in January. Disappointing? Of course. But considering Toomey and husband Shane Orr’s recent move to Cookeville, Tennessee, it’s perhaps unsurprising she doesn’t want to make the trip back to Australia unless she absolutely has to. Instead, she’ll be heading to Miami for Wodapalooza, and we can’t wait to see her crush it.

8/11/18

There are still so many unanswered questions surrounding the 2019 competitive season, but we’ve now got one more bit of information: the dates of the CrossFit Games. Morning Chalk Up noticed that Alliant Energy Center had posted the dates on their website:

Event Start Date: 7/31/2019

Event End Date: 8/4/2019

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Go ahead and book your hotel rooms, friends. It’s on.

31/10/18

CrossFit has announced five more sanctioned events, and there’s exciting news for Australians: two of them will be happening right at home!

The events are as follows:

  • Australian CrossFit Championship — January 2019
  • Down Under CrossFit Championship — May 2019
  • Asia CrossFit Championship — April 2019
  • Reykjavik CrossFit Championship — May 2019
  • Pandaland CrossFit — December 2019 (This will be to qualify for the 2020 Games.)

The Australian CrossFit Championship will take place in Queensland. It starts with an online qualifier to select 32 men and women and 16 teams. Those who move on in the competition will receive spots to compete at the Gold Coast Convention and Entertainment Centre for a ticket to the Games.

The Down Under CrossFit Championship will take place in Wollongong over the span of three days.

Australia, are you ready?

27/10/2018

Here is the schedule of the 2019 competitive season, based on the information released thus far.

2019 competitive season schedule

The first sanctioned event qualifier is in the books, and the Dubai CrossFit Championship qualifying athletes have (unofficially) been named. 37 males and 37 females (plus 10 teams) have prevailed after three weeks of events, and it’s these people who will move onto the Championship in Dubai later in December. Out of the bunch, one male, female, and team will be selected to go to the Games.

Here are the qualifying athletes, according to Morning Chalk Up.

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Men

  1. Mathew Fraser
  2. BK Gudmundsson
  3. Streat Hoerner
  4. Willy Georges
  5. Jacob Heppner
  6. Colten Mertens
  7. Dean Linder-Leighton
  8. Giorgos Karavis
  9. Connor Duddy
  10. Ben Smith
  11. Alex Anderson
  12. Alex Kotoulas
  13. Travis Mayer
  14. Luke Schafer
  15. Mitch Wagner
  16. Paul Castillo
  17. Casper Gammelmark
  18. Ruan Duvenage
  19. Jake Marconi
  20. Alec Smith
  21. Matt McLeod
  22. Uldis Upenieks
  23. Jason Smith
  24. Brandon Swan
  25. Roman Khrennikov
  26. Brendan Willis
  27. Frederik Aegidius
  28. Bayden Brown
  29. Jeffrey Adler
  30. Paul Tremblay
  31. Eric Carmody
  32. Bartek Lipka
  33. Viktor Langsved
  34. Samuel Cournoyer
  35. Josh Gervais
  36. Justin Ahrens
  37. Tyler Tosunian

Women

  1. Annie Thorisdottir
  2. Sara Sigmundsdottir
  3. Laura Horvath
  4. Jamie Greene
  5. Dani Speegle
  6. Chantelle Loehner
  7. Karin Frey
  8. Eik Gylfadottir
  9. Carolyne Prevost
  10. Jessica Coughlan
  11. Samantha Briggs
  12. Brooke Haas
  13. Gabriela Migala
  14. Keston Mendoza
  15. Kelley Jackson
  16. Pip Malone
  17. Bethany Shadburne
  18. Chelsey Hughes
  19. Camilla Salomonsson Hellman
  20. Harriet Roberts
  21. Carmen Bosmans
  22. Jaime Goodwin
  23. Hilary Steele
  24. Laken Watt
  25. Emma McQuaid
  26. Christina Agerbeck
  27. Samantha Pugh
  28. Paige Henry
  29. Mikaela Norman
  30. Alessandra Pichelli
  31. Mia Akerlund
  32. Casey Campbell
  33. Hayley Murillo
  34. Anna Fragkou
  35. Caroline Dardini
  36. Angonese Manon
  37. Ashleigh Wosny

Teams

  1. Cassidy Lance-Mcwherter, Jenn Smith, Adrian Mundwiler, Lukas Esslinger
  2. Joseph Tortora, Zach Sowder, Emma Chapman, Nicole Holcomb
  3. Lauren Fisher, Regan Huckaby, Tommy Vinas, Rasmus Anderson
  4. Chandler Smith, Travis Williams, Andrea Nisler, Taylor Williamson
  5. Marcus Erixon, Elin Rova, Emelie Lundberg, Linus Johansson
  6. Simon Mantyla, Amanda Franden, Sara Armanius, Alexander Elebro
  7. Manon Lesur, David Fontaine, Tola Morakinyo, Lorraine Allard
  8. Jennifer Dancer, Holden Rethwill, Kaitlin Kassis, Sam Dancer
  9. Philip Then Bisgaard, Frederikke Frandsen, Rebecka Vitteson, Klaus Uggerhoj
  10. Callerina Natori, Joey Szwec, Kyle Zozaya, Brandi McGoldrick

Wodapalooza, the second sanctioned event, also wrapped up its qualifiers this week, with 20 qualifying males and 20 females moving onto the main event in Miami in January of 2019.

Male

  1. Norman Woodring
  2. Nik Hecht
  3. Samuel Cournoyer
  4. Travis Mead
  5. Drew Wayman
  6. Paul Castillo
  7. Ryan Reeves
  8. Dex Hopkins
  9. Mitch Barnard
  10. Trevor James
  11. Josh Gervais
  12. Justin Medeiros
  13. George Sanchez
  14. Dylan Martin
  15. Nick Bloch
  16. Josh Woodhull
  17. Logan Southard
  18. Jeffrey Adler
  19. Hunter Wood
  20. Austin Spencer

Female

  1. Dani Speegle
  2. Kristine Best
  3. Hayley Murillo
  4. Chantelle Loehner
  5. Gabriela Migala
  6. KT Trombetta
  7. Taylor Streid
  8. Emma Ferreira
  9. Taylor Kinsley
  10. Colleen Fotsch
  11. Kelsey Kiel
  12. Samantha Pugh
  13. Leah Irons
  14. Lindsey Valenzuela
  15. Anna Rode
  16. Amanda Hardeman
  17. Chelsea Nicholas
  18. Keston Mendoza
  19. Constanza Cabrera
  20. Emily Tanner

Main image: Patrick Vellner/Instagram

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Wodapalooza is the Latest CrossFit Sanctioned Event

More exciting news comes about the 2019 competitive season. In a press release, CrossFit just announced that Wodapalooza has officially become the seventh CrossFit-sanctioned event. Next year, the competition will award the top male and female athletes, along with the top four-person team, with an invitation to the Games in Madison, Wisconsin.

CrossFit’s founder and chairman Greg Glassman previously spoke about wanting to get CrossFit back to its roots: community. Community is where it starts and ends. No competition better highlights that than Wodapalooza, possibly the most massive and inclusive community-based fitness event, which brings tens of thousands of athletes of all levels from all over the world together each year.

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Wodapalooza actually starts this week, with their online qualifier.

Aside from the winners at the individual sanctioned events, athletes can also make it to the Games by placing in the top 20 in the Open, winning in their country in the Open, or being selected as one of the four at-large athletes who will receive passes from CrossFit to attend.

Main image: Wodapalooza/Instagram

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TWL Gear at WZA Miami

The WODapalooza Miami

TWL Gear at WZA Miami

The WOD Life joined forces with our USA Team (TWLGear.com) to take on The WODapalooza Fitness Festival in Miami, Florida.

Thanks to everyone who came past, hung out and picked up some new threads at The WODapalooza in Miami, Florida!

The weekend was actioned packed, it was great to meet so many people from across the USA and internationally all while witnessing some of the best fitness!

For everyone who missed out on the new releases, good news is that we are currently reloading for everything to be restocked in our warehouse in the coming two weeks!

In the meantime, check out some of our favourites here!

Here’s some of the action from TWL Gear at WZA Miami

TWL-WZA-1800x1800_1

TWL-WZA-1800x1800_2

TWL-WZA-1800x1800_4

Don’t forget to check out TWLGear.com. It’s our curated range available exclusively in the USA! With faster shipping

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Wodapalooza MIAMI 2016

Screenshot 2015-10-13 10.03.42

Wodapalooza MIAMI 2016

The Wodpalooza 2016 online qualifiers are in full swing and it’s going off! TWL is here to give you the deets on one of the biggest CrossFit comps of the year based out of Miami, Florida.

Here’s the rundown for Wodapalooza 2016:

Screenshot 2015-10-16 13.53.36

WHEN:

January 15 – 17 2016

WHERE:

Miami, Flordia

DIVISIONS:

  • Elite
  • Rx
  • Intermediate
  • Master’s 40-49
  • Elite Team

Registration:

Individual – Closed
Elite Team – Open (Starts Oct. 29)

Prize Purse:

Individual 
1st – $30,000
2nd – $10,000
3rd – $6,000
4th – $4,000
5th – $3,500

Team
1st – $20,000
2nd – $10,000
3rd – $5,000
4th – $2,000
5th – $1,000

Invited Athletes:

  • Chad Melton
  • Wes Piatt
  • Becca Vogit
  • Anna Tunnicliffe
  • Emily Bridgers
  • Noah Ohlsen
  • Stacie Tovar

 

Individual WORKOUTS:

WOD 1

For Max Load:

3 Rep Max, 3 Position Snatch in a 3min Clock

https://vimeo.com/140949276

WOD 2

12min AMRAP of:

12 Thrusters
Double-unders

Each round, increasing load.

https://vimeo.com/140957892

WOD 3

7min AMRAP of:

21-15-9

HSPU
Chest-to-bar Pull-ups

https://vimeo.com/141574117

WOD 4

Complete for time:

30 Calorie Row
30 Wallballs (20lbs, 14lbs)
30 Toes to Bar
30 Deadlifts (185lbs, 135lbs)
30 Burpee Box Jump Overs (24″, 20″)
30 Deadlifts
30 Toes to Bar
30 Wallballs
30 Calorie Row

https://vimeo.com/141574544

 

WOD 5

In 5 minutes, complete for total cumulative load:
5 Clean & Jerks

https://vimeo.com/142464050

 

WOD 6  

6 min AMRAP, ascending by 2 reps each round, of:
(ie. 2/2, 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 12/12, etc…)

Muscle-ups
Squat Snatches (135, 95)

https://vimeo.com/142409332

For different division WODs, division standards, current leaderboard, and all other details check out the Wodapalooza site link below for the nitty gritty: www.thewodapalooza.com/compete.html

https://vimeo.com/120644385
Wodapalooza 2015 Highlight Reel