The 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games are scheduled for July 27 through August 1, 2021, in Madison, WI. It will be a live, in-person competition that will allow spectators to watch the best CrossFit athletes worldwide compete for the title of Fittest on Earth®. Fortunately, all qualified athletes will be able to travel to the United States.
A source provided BarBend with a copy of an email CrossFit sent to athletes that confirms they have “received approval from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for National Interest Exception (NIE) travel waivers for CrossFit Games athletes and their authorized support person [a coach, significant other, or physical therapist] to travel to Madison” for the CrossFit Games.
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According to the email, CrossFit Games qualified athletes traveling from outside the US will need to fill out a Foreign Athlete Travel Exception Form (FATE) with “accurate information” for CrossFit HQ to provide to DHS. The DHS will then issue travel waivers that will allow athletes to travel to the US despite any COVID-19 travel restrictions that might still be in place between the US and their home countries. Anyone traveling from outside the US will need to “abide by all Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for pre-travel testing.”
DHS will “conduct a background check on each individual” and input the necessary information from the FATEs into their system to “confirm NIE travel exception.” The email urges qualified Games athletes and their support personnel who need either a US visa or Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) clearance to apply for them as soon as possible.
CrossFit used a continent-based qualifying system to determine who could earn a spot at the Games. Without this ease of restrictions from the DHS, the roster for the Games would have been significantly impacted as six of the 10 Semifinals events took place outside the US.
The 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games
All 10 CrossFit Games Semifinals are complete. The roster for the CrossFit Games is set except for the Last Chance Qualifier competition for athletes who narrowly missed earning a spot. That contest will take place virtually July 2-4, 2021. Here were the 10 completed Semifinals:
2021 CrossFit Semifinals
- Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge — Washington D.C., U.S.
- Torian Pro — Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Granite Games — Minnesota, U.S.
- CrossFit Fittest In Capetown — Cape Town, South Africa
- CrossFit Lowland Throwdown — Apeldoorn, Netherlands
- Brazil CrossFit Championship — São Paulo, Brazil
- CrossFit GermanThrowdown — Berlin, Germany
- West Coast Classic — California, U.S.
- CrossFit Atlas Games — Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- CrossFit Asia Invitational — South Korea
In total, 40 men, 40 women, and 38 teams will compete for the title of Fittest on Earth®. Also, CrossFit announced on May 5, 2021, that the top five men and top five women from the Open in three adaptive divisions — Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Neuromuscular — will compete at the Games.
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