In an email sent to its members today, CrossFit Munich shared that it will not be an official registered affiliate for the 2025 CrossFit Open. The owners of CrossFit Munich stated the reasons behind the decision were related to the changes to the season structure, specifically the removal of Quarterfinals and in-person Semifinals, and CrossFit’s “handling of the tragic death of Lazar Đukić at the 2024 Games.”
But while CrossFit Munich will not be an active affiliate in the Open, the gym will continue to host its Friday Night Lights events so members can participate in the annual fitness test. Members will not be required to officially sign up for the Open to participate this year.
CrossFit Munich operates four CrossFit affiliates within Munich, Germany. Between the four locations, CrossFit Munich has had the most Open registrations in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) in recent years. In 2024, 216 members registered for the CrossFit Open.
In the email, CrossFit Munich did tell members that they can still register for the Open if they still choose to do so, but that they will create an internal CrossFit Munich Leaderboard for all of its members who participate (with or without officially registering for the Open).
The email, sent to its members in German, has been translated to English below:
The CrossFit Open starts again at the end of February and with it our Friday Night Lights events. As in the past 10 years, we would like to celebrate this annual fitness test with you over 3 weeks. However, this year no official registration with CrossFit Inc. will be required. Background: CrossFit Inc. has once again changed the procedure and abolished the Quarterfinals introduced 3 years ago, which were a challenging but achievable goal for many athletes. At the same time, the semi-finals, which used to take place in person, have been converted into a video qualification and are therefore only moderately attractive for many, with only 1% qualifying for them anyway.
Regardless of these changes, CrossFit Inc. and many of the people involved there have, in our opinion, morally disqualified themselves as an organization in the clarification and handling of the tragic death of Lazar Dukic at the Games 2024, so we do not want to support this format with our registrations. Even though we have always been very proud of the highest number of registrations in the DACH region in recent years, participation in the Friday Night Lights events this year is independent of actual registration for the CrossFit Open. If you still want to register and appear on the international leaderboard, you can of course still do so. We will create an internal CrossFit Munich Leaderboard and thus create an incentive to participate in the events. This information in advance and more information in the next newsletter.
After speaking with a member from CrossFit Munich, apparently the owners were considering whether to end their affiliate with CrossFit, LLC, shortly after the CrossFit Games. However, deaffiliation has not been discussed amongst members in the past couple months.
Registration for the 2025 CrossFit Open begins January 15. The first week of the 2025 Open begins Thursday, February 27, with the announcement of 25.1.
