The inaugural CrossFit Games, which took place during the summer of 2007, included participants completing three workouts to be crowned the CrossFit Games champion. Since that first CrossFit competition, the CrossFit Games have been held annually with qualifying competitions held around the world. With the rapid growth of the CrossFit Games, similar CrossFit competitions have been developed by various CrossFit affiliate gyms and fitness equipment companies. The various CrossFit competitions range from fundraisers to nutrition, but every competition focuses on CrossFit-inspired workouts and the goal for "forging elite fitness."
CrossFit Games
The CrossFit Games is the main CrossFit competition with the best CrossFitters competing to be crowned "The World's Fittest." The competition grew so rapidly during the first three years that the 2010 competition was moved to the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. As of 2011, athletes must qualify during the CrossFit Games Open by submitting online scores for six posted workouts. The top 60 male and female athletes from various regions around the world qualify for the regional competition. At regionals, the top three males and females advance to the CrossFit Games at the Home Depot Center.
Affiliate Challenges
With the widespread growth of the CrossFit Games, CrossFit affiliates started forming their own scaled-down versions of the games in local and area affiliate challenges. The challenges range from individual to team competitions and one-day to multi-day adventures. The OC ThrowDown, for example, is a local competition held annually in Orange County, California. This competition is a contest of sports and fitness with athletes coming from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. Similarly, CrossFit Lincoln hosted the first "Girls" Affiliate Throwdown in 2010 where affiliates formed teams to complete the various "Girl" workouts such as the Angie, Cindy and Helen.
Fundraisers
The CrossFit community supports the military and other organizations, which have led to the development of various fundraising CrossFit competitions. For example, on May 30, 2011, the "Memorial Day Murph" will take place with CrossFit affiliates from around the world completing the "Murph" workout and raising funds for Medal of Honor recipient Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, of Patchogue, New York, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005. Another CrossFit competition is Fight Gone Bad 5, a fundraising event starting in 2006 that has raised more than $2 million as of 2011. Other fundraising competitions focus on funding mammograms for young women, supporting the Wounded Warrior Project or supporting cancer research.
Paleo Challenge
Nutrition plays an important role in the CrossFit workout program, and as a result, affiliate gyms have organized "Paleo Challenges" to their members for a small entry fee. During a Paleo Challenge, which typically last 30 days, you follow a strict paleo diet by eliminating all dairy products, grains, processed foods and refined sugars. During the challenge, you eat meat such as chicken, beef and pork for a protein source; fresh fruits and vegetables for carbohydrates; and nuts and seeds such as almonds, macadamia nuts and sunflower seeds for healthy fats. The competition includes a before-and-after photo with winners being decided by weight lost or overall changes to their appearance. Members have the opportunity to develop, research and share recipes.
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