In a press release yesterday, the CrossFit Fittest in Capetown competition announced the postponement of the event, originally scheduled for February 6-9, 2020 at the Green Point Athletics Stadium. The City of Cape Town cancelled the event’s confirmed booking due to a conflicting date with a charity tennis match between greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“After numerous meetings and engagements with the City of Cape Town Events Department officials, we were unable to secure an alternative date and/or suitable venue. We raised this issue with both the Premier and MEC of Cultural Affairs and Sport in the Western Cape, but they were unable to assist in reaching a resolution,” the FiCT management team said in the statement.
The team said they will be seeking legal action and are “devastated” they will not be able to put on the 2020 event.
Fittest in Cape Town has operated since 2011, drawing the fittest athletes from South Africa and later around the globe as it grew from a box-hosted competition to a stadium-worthy event, hosting open water swims and even a stand-up paddleboard event. It became a CrossFit-sanctioned event last year, sending 2019 champion Sean Sweeney to the 2019 CrossFit Games.
Sweeney took to Instagram to voice his support of the event after the team posted the news of the postponement.
“Man.. can’t imagine the position you guys are in with that. I’m confident you will have a great showing when you get the dates and venue nailed down. The entire event staff was absolutely amazing, competition was very well ran, and Cape Town was an incredible place to be able to experience. This is just a set back, know you guys will knock the next FiCT out of the park!” Sweeney said.
