The 2021 CrossFit Games Semifinals are fast approaching. They are scheduled to take place over four weeks spanning May 28 through June 20, 2021. With four events in North America, two events in Europe, and one event each in Africa, Asia, South America, and Oceania, the question became: Which Semifinal will each qualified athlete be designated to?
For the latter four continents with one Semifinal each, the answer is easy. For Europe and North America, a bit less so. Any uncertainty has been put to rest as CrossFit HQ released the seedings for the Semifinals on April 28, 2021. We’ll dive into how they determined which athletes would compete in which Semifinal, but first, take a look at the entire Semifinals field and which event each qualified athlete is competing at, courtesy of CrossFit Games’ Instagram page:
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[Related: 2021 CrossFit Games Team Quarterfinals Results]
Semifinals Seeding
Several of the Semifinals have been moved online as safety precautions against COVID-19, including both events in Europe. To “evenly” distribute the competitive field, athletes were placed into either the CrossFit German Throwdown or the CrossFit Lowland Throwdown (Netherlands) based on their Quarterfinal rank and past Games performances.
North America Semifinals
CrossFit HQ followed four guidelines to determine which event would host which athletes:
- The top 10 ranked men and top 10 ranked women from the Quarterfinals were given their first Semifinal choice.
- Athletes living in the same state (USA-specific) as an event will compete in that event (unless their first choice was elsewhere).
- Qualified athletes from Canada and Mexico will compete in the CrossFit Atlas Games (virtual event) due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19.
- The remaining athletes were seeded based on a combination of stated preferences, Quarterfinal leaderboard positions, and past Games performances to “ensure an equitable distribution of the competitive field.”
Per CrossFit HQ, “the overwhelming majority” of qualified athletes in North America were seeded to one of their top two Semifinal choices.
Exceptions
In addition to moving half of the Semifinals events online in response to travel restrictions to combat COVID-19, six athletes (five women and one man) living outside of their designated continents cannot travel back to compete in the corresponding Semifinal. Instead, they have been seeded to an event that they can compete in based on their location. Those athletes are:
- Christina Livaditakis — CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town ➔ CrossFit Asia Invitational
- Lee Keyrouz — CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town ➔ CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown
- Carla Henriet — CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town ➔ CrossFit Atlas Games
- Tafadzwa Mushandu — CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town ➔ CrossFit Atlas Games
- Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr — Torian Pro ➔ CrossFit Atlas Games
- Emma Chapman — Torian Pro ➔ CrossFit Atlas Games
As the above three Semifinals will feature at least one athlete from another continental region, those events will receive an additional spot at the Last-Chance Qualifier (now four spots instead of three). CrossFit HQ made clear, however, that the number of spots at the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games will remain unchanged.
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[Related: What It Takes to Coach a CrossFit Games Athlete]
CrossFit Games Semifinals Schedule
Here is the schedule for the Semifinals:
Week One — May 28-30, 2021
- Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge — Washington D.C., U.S.
- Torian Pro — Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Week Two — June 4-6, 2021
- Granite Games — Minnesota, U.S.
- CrossFit Fittest In Capetown — Cape Town, South Africa
Week Three — June 11-13, 2021
- CrossFit Lowland Throwdown — Apeldoorn, Netherlands — Virtual Event
- Brazil CrossFit Championship — São Paulo, Brazil — Virtual Event
- CrossFit GermanThrowdown — Berlin, Germany — Virtual Event
Week Four — June 18-20, 2021
- West Coast Classic — California, U.S.
- CrossFit Atlas Games — Montreal, Quebec, Canada — Virtual Event
- CrossFit Asia Invitational — South Korea — Virtual Event
As all qualified athletes have been seeded into one of the 10 Semifinal events, the Catch-All Virtual Semifinal event has been canceled.
[Related: Fitness Apparel Company NOBULL Raises Funding at $500 Million Valuation]
The Final Stage
The 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games are scheduled for July 27 through August 1. After the Semifinals events, 38 men, 38 women, and 38 teams qualify for the Games. Two additional men and two additional women will qualify via the Last-Chance Qualifier.
Featured image: @tiaclair1 on Instagram