The top 25% of athletes (Open individual and age group athletes) have advanced to the 2026 CrossFit Quarterfinals. The Quarterfinals this year is the second stage of the season and will be used to qualify athletes to one of the in-person Semifinals or the online Semifinals later this year.
With Quarterfinals coming back this year after taking a hiatus in 2025, there are a few things different this year thanks to a different season format and just overall changes to how CrossFit is managing this year’s second stage.
Here’s what to expect…
Multiple Divisions
For those age group athletes who qualified for Quarterfinals in both the Open division and their age group, only one registration fee will be required to compete in both divisions.
Official Start
The official start of Quarterfinals this year is Thursday, March 26.
However…
Workouts Released
The workouts are going to be released today, Monday, March 23, on the Sport of Fitness Podcast at 3:00 pm Eastern Time.
Back in 2024, the floor plans were released ahead of the official window to complete the workouts. However, this year it appears full workouts will be released.
Number of Workouts
TBD…but it’s almost certainly going to be four or five.Â
In 2021 and 2022 there were five workouts. In 2023 and 2024 there were four workouts. We obviously skipped last year.
No Password Required
With the workouts released three days before the start of Quarterfinals, you might expect a password to be required during the video submission.
However, you would be wrong.
I have confirmed with CrossFit that there will be no password requirements to complete this year’s Quarterfinals.
So how will CrossFit prevent athletes from doing the workouts before the official start of Quarterfinals on Thursday? Good question…I have no idea.
Video Submissions Required?
No. Unlike Individual In-Affiliate Semifinals last year where all workouts were required to include a video submission, this year’s Quarterfinals will not have that requirement.
However, athletes who think they may have one of the top performances in the world should have a video available in case CrossFit requests it.
According to the rulebook, the video review process “will be primary used for prize money purposes.”
So while it does not appear that CrossFit will conduct an exhaustive video review of scores, athletes should have a video available in the event it is requested. If a video is requested and the athlete is unable to provide the video, that score may be adjusted to 0.
In-Affiliate Only
Unlike the CrossFit Open, athletes must complete each Quarterfinals workout inside a CrossFit affiliate in good standing. Athletes are not permitted to do workouts elsewhere and just submit a video (like in the Open).
Additionally, each athlete must use a registered judge who has either [i] passed the 2026 Judges Course, or [ii] holds a current Advanced Judges Course certificate.
Score Deadline
All scores must be submitted by Monday, March 30, at 3:00 pm Eastern Time.
Scores submitted early will be hidden from public view until the score submission window closes. That is, an athlete can submit a score on Friday and it will not be visible to their competitors until the competition has concluded. This is different than how the Open leaderboard works.
Leaderboard Finalization
In the rulebook, CrossFit has said the individual and age group leaderboards will be finalized by no later than April 10, 2026. However, with only the top scores likely to be subject to video review, it appears the leaderboard could be finalized a bit earlier.
Prize Money
This year the top 5 overall winners will receive prize money in the Quarterfinals.
1st: $5,000
2nd: $4,000
3rd: $3,000
4th: $2,000
5th: $1,000
Advancement to Semifinals
The top 2,000 athletes in the Open division will be invited to compete in the Online Semifinals.
For age group divisions, the top 400 in the 35-54 divisions and the top 300 in the 14-17 and 55+ divisions will qualify for Online Semifinals.
Additionally, the top athletes in Quarterfinals may also qualify for select in-person Semifinals. Those qualifying spots will vary based on each Semifinal.
