Five 2021 CrossFit Games Semifinal Events Will Now Be Virtual
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CrossFit HQ decided to take the necessary safety precaution of shifting five of the CrossFit Games Semifinals events from in-person to virtual. The following two Semifinals are affected:
- The Atlas Games
- German Throwdown
- CrossFit Asia Invitational
- CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown
- Brazil CrossFit Championship
Initially, just the Atlas Games and German Throwdown were shifted to online competitions. On April 20, 2021, CrossFit HQ announced that the CrossFit Asia Invitational, CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown, and Brazil CrossFit Championship would join them as virtual contests. The shift from in-person to online competition is due to travel restrictions and safety measures for live sporting events imposed by each country’s respective government to slow the spread of COVID-19. The remaining five Semifinals will still move ahead as in-person competitions.
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Catchall Virtual Semifinal
In addition, CrossFit HQ added the “Catchall Virtual Semifinal” to take place during week four of the Semifinals (June 14-20, 2021). It will function as a Semifinal for athletes who are unable to travel to their respective in-person Semifinal event due to travel complications or COVID-related restrictions. Athletes who participate in the Catchall Semifinal will only compete against each other for a chance to advance to the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games.
There are more details to come regarding this added Semifinal event. Presumably, they will include specifics about how the Catchall Semifinal might change the number of Games qualifications that can be earned at each Semifinal.
The addition of the Catchall Semifinal is likely a relief to athletes who are worried about how traveling around the globe could negatively impact their training. In particular, the four-time reigning Fittest Woman on Earth® Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr voiced concern about the difficulties and financial burden she would incur to fly to Australia from Nashville, TN, to compete at the Torian Pro.
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CrossFit Games Semifinals Schedule
Here is the schedule for the Semifinals. The number of participants in each event is subject to change pending additional information about the Catchall Semifinal.
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 — Sao 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
- Catchall Virtual Event
Following the completion of the Semifinals events, athletes who finish within three spots of qualifying for the 2021 CrossFit Games earn an invite to a Last-Chance Qualifier held on the week of June 28, 2021. Although the Catchall Virtual Event will presumably follow this same standard, it has not specifically been confirmed yet.
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CrossFit HQ, across their various platforms, will host “broad coverage” of the Semifinal events. We will update this article with further details as they are made available.
Featured image: @crossfitgames on Instagram