Since 2014, athletes competing at the CrossFit Games were required to wear Reebok-branded shoes. That year, Reebok, the title sponsor, began providing Games athletes with shoes to wear during the competition. This meant that athletes who were sponsored by other footwear brands like Nike (i.e. Mat Fraser) had to compete in Reebok Nanos and Lifters.
The 2019 CrossFit Games will be different. CrossFit has announced that athletes competing at the Games will not be restricted to just Reebok shoes. The policy change opens the door for athletes to wear their sponsored shoes from Nike, Under Armour, Inov8 or any other brand they so choose.
This should be good news to athletes with non-Reebok sponsorships as they can now wear their preferred footwear and hopefully increase the sponsorship opportunities (and compensation) for the top athletes in the sport. Last year over eight million people watched the 2018 CrossFit Games live stream.
This policy change, however, will only apply to footwear. Athletes will still required to wear the apparel/jerseys provided to them by Reebok at check-in.
We are excited to see how the shoe manufacturers respond to this change. Who else can’t wait to see what Nike has in store for Fraser on Sunday at the Games?!?!
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