Before I get into all of this, let it be known that I knew something was brewing for a few weeks ago. I was trying to be respectful and not try to play the ‘gotcha’ game.
But fortunately after waiting for Scott Vander Sloot’s approval, I can now talk about this!
Ok, kidding aside, ever since Dave Castro’s Week in Review on January 13 it was clear the math wasn’t mathing.
See, the 30 spots to the CrossFit Games are to be split between the Qualifier Events and the online Semifinals. At the time, the Qualifier Events were to send 18 athletes to the Games, meaning that the remaining 12 would come from the online Semifinals.
However, in that WIR, Dave said that all athletes who qualify out of Semifinals would receive prize money.
The problem was that the rulebook that had just been published showed only 11 athletes would receive prize money.
That would mean that either the rulebook was incorrect, or there was some unknown In-Person Qualifier Event to be announced. OR…there would be a last chance qualifier.
Then on The Rich Froning Podcast on Monday, Rich Froning said, “They’re doing a last chance qualifier, too, I saw.” Rory McKernan then added without skipping a beat, “There’s a last chance qualifier but still…”
After Angelo DiCicco asked if that was really happening, Froning said, “I don’t know if that’s announced by I’m pretty sure. You heard it here first!”
Then on last night’s Week in Review, Dave Castro was asked whether a scenario where the top six athletes from the Open who haven’t already qualified for the CrossFit Games go into a last chance qualifier.
Dave’s response…”That’s a good idea. I like it.”
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There was a last chance qualifier in 2021 and 2022. However, it was eliminated for the 2023 season. Maybe we see a return of the LCQ…stay tuned!
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