It’s official! The Dubai Fitness Championship is now called the Dubai CrossFit Championship. In a press release by CrossFit Inc., the Dubai CrossFit Championship (DCC) will be the first official CrossFit sanctioned event that will qualify athletes to the 2019 CrossFit Games.
The top male, female and team at the DCC will all earn their invitation to Madison, Wisconsin in August 2019. The DCC Online Qualifier begins in October with the finals taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on December 12-15, 2018.
Greg Glassman, CrossFit’s Founder and Chairman said, “The Dubai CrossFit Championship marks the beginning of a new chapter for CrossFit. Through CrossFit sanctioned events like the Dubai CrossFit Championship, we’ll be able to keep pace with the growth of this international sport.”
As expected, events like the DCC are replacing the CrossFit Regional competitions typically held in late May and early June each year. CrossFit expects to announce additional CrossFit sanctioned events over the next several months. In addition, CrossFit has confirmed that the top finisher from each country with at least one CrossFit affiliate will earn a spot at the CrossFit Games the following summer.
Prior to this change, the Dubai Fitness Championship has grown since its first competition in 2012. Over the years the Dubai Fitness Championship has grown to be one of the most elite fitness competitions outside of the CrossFit Games. With a prize purse of over $600,000 and the winners taking home $50,000, many of the top CrossFit Games athletes traveled around the world to compete.
In 2016, Mat Fraser and Sara Sigmundsdottir won the Dubai Fitness Championship. Last year Annie Thorisdottir and Bjorgvin Gudmundsson walked away with the title.
Now with a ticket to the CrossFit Games, the stakes are even higher. Who will throw down in Dubai in December? Stay tuned to The Barbell Spin as we cover the Online Qualifier and the first CrossFit sanctioned competition in December.
