The Teenage CrossFit Games, which will determine the division champions, takes place from August 30 through September 1 in Three Rivers and Kalamazoo, MI.
This is the first year that the “Divisional Games” — the Age Group and Adaptive CrossFit Games — have been held separately from the elite individual and team competition, which was hosted earlier this month in Texas.
For 2024, CrossFit HQ handed the reins over to major competition hosts, who will handle the coordination, programming, and execution of these events. In this case, the Pit Teen Throwdown is hosting the Teenage CrossFit Games.
- Throughout the competition, teenage athletes in two different age divisions will be tested across seven workouts, released in full last week.
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The programming is well-balanced, combining bodyweight movements and gymnastics with strength and monostructural components. Athletes will face barbells, heavy d-balls, dumbbells, sleds, and machines. They’ll also complete a trail run, take on an obstacle course, and max out on the Olympic lifts.
Let’s take a look at a few of our favorite workouts and dig into some details.
Event 2
For time:
- 20 alternating d-ball squat cleans (100/70 pounds for 14-15, 150/100 pounds for 16-17)
- D-ball carry 2 lengths
- Sprint 1 length to finish
Time cap: 9 minutes
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Analysis: This is going to be a quick one, with a low volume of reps making up the entire workout. However, the d-ball is heavy, which could slow many athletes down.
This workout will be all about quick, strategic rests. Athletes need to take a moment for some deep breaths in between sets before reaching fatigue.
Competitors should thrive here if they’re accustomed to training with odd objects and if they’ve been practicing movements beyond the standard carries, cleans, and shoulder-overs.
- We don’t often see squat cleans with d-balls or sandbags, so the novelty will make this a great workout to watch. For some of the young athletes, it could become an “adapting on the fly” situation.
Event 5
Elimination sprint:
Round 1 — All competitors
- Sled down and back x3
- 40-foot handstand walk
Round 2 — Top 15 competitors in each division
- Sled down and back x2
- 40-foot handstand walk
Round 3 — Top 5 competitors in each division
- Sled down and back x1
- 40-foot handstand walk
Time cap: 4 minutes per round
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Analysis: This event is all about precision, as each segment will be treated like an all-out sprint.
- Athletes will need to push the pace to make it to the next round and get to the rest periods faster.
Some athletes will kick down methodically during their handstand walk, while others will try to go unbroken. Either way, they need to be precise in their movements to avoid no-reps, which would be extremely costly in this fast, elimination-style workout.
Event 6
4 rounds for time:
2 minutes work, 1 minute rest until 75 thrusters are completed. The final round extends to three minutes of work.
- 2 rope climbs
- 10/7 Echo Bike calories
- Max thrusters in remaining time (75/55 pounds for 14-15, 95/65 pounds for 16-17)
Time cap: 12 minutes
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Analysis: This workout will test the athletes mentally, as they have to decide how to pace.
Execution needs to be on point, and the key to success will be remaining conservative in the first round and possibly even throughout the first two rounds.
- This test harkens back to “2223 Intervals” from the 2017 CrossFit Games when competitors completed 75 overhead squats. This time, the overhead squats are replaced by thrusters.
That year, those who started hot crashed and burned as athletes who held a more strategic pace overtook them and were able to put the pedal down in the final round.
How To Watch the 2024 Teenage CrossFit Games
To keep up with all the action, follow the Pit Media YouTube channel, the CrossFit Games website, and the CrossFit Games app, where the events will be live-streamed. Also, follow our Instagram account to get highlights of the athletes and end-of-day leaderboards.
Featured image: Pit Teen Throwdown
