Following the Pacific team’s win at the CrossFit Invitational, Dave Castro took time at the end of the Cool Down show to announce several changes to the 2018 CrossFit Games season. While we don’t have all of the details, there will be changes to the team format as well as several regional boundaries.
Teams of 4
The first change announced by Castro is that in the 2018 CrossFit Games season, teams will now be only 4 members. No longer will the teams consist of 6 members. When asked why, Castro said that the 4-member format of the Invitational has received great feedback. Additionally, the competition is easier to follow the action on the floor and to program for teams with only four team members. The change will also make it easier for affiliates to create “super teams” because it will be easier to create a smaller team.
South American Regional
Instead of sending only 10 Latin American athletes to the South Regional, Latin America will get its own Regional in 2018. The decision to give Latin America its own Regional was based on the number of participants in the Latin American region.
California and West Regionals Combined
The next change will see the combination of the California and West Regionals. The Northern California, Southern California, West and Canada West regions will all funnel to one regional in 2018. It is unclear if the four regions will stay as-is during the CrossFit Open or if California will be one region and the West and Canada West regions will be combined.
Meridian Regional Split into two Regionals
The Meridian Regional that consists of all of Europe, Africa and the Middle East will now be broken up into two Regionals. Several of the southern European countries, all of Africa and the Middle East will make up a “Southern” Regional. The northern European countries will have a “Northern” Regional.
Regional Allocations to the CrossFit Games
With the changes to the number of regional competitions, the allocation of athletes to the CrossFit Games will also change. The Latin America Regional will send one male and female athlete to the Games. The Northern European Regional will get five spots while the Southern European Regional will only get four spots. The rest of the regionals will still receive five spots to send to the Games.
This change will keep the number of athletes competing at the CrossFit Games at 40. However, it will increase the number of international athletes competing. The previous format allowed for 30 athletes from the United States, Canada and Latin America while only 10 spots were reserved for Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Now, 14 spots will come from overseas.
Castro said that he and his team will continue to evaluate the regional boundaries and allocations to the CrossFit Games based on growth within the regions. He continued by saying that Asia could be the next area to receive its own regional if their growth continues.
Castro also commented on the 2018 CrossFit Open saying that it would be a “very exciting Open season.” He continued by saying that “18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4 and 18.5 will all be very special.” Of course, he did not share any more details so stay tuned.
