Norweigan Sanctional Taps Open as 2019-2020 Season Qualifier

The Norwegian CrossFit Championships have joined the ranks of sanctioned events opting to use the CrossFit Games Open as in lieu of their own online qualifier next season. The first-year Sanctional made the development official when registrations went live for the event on their competition corner event page. 

Why they’re doing it. Director Roger Nilsson: “The reason is to make it as simple as possible for the athletes. We, together with several sanctioned events, have chosen to use Open which is an online qualifier, so it has worked for many years and it is a process that by and large all athletes know.”

Additional details: Athletes and teams wanting to participate will have to register for the event separately through the competition event page listed, and then submit their score directly to the event. 

The Norwegian CrossFit Championships are just the latest in a string of events working to streamline the qualification process next year.

• The Brazil CrossFit Championships made the change to using the Open as a qualifier in 2019-2020.
• The Down Under CrossFit Championships was the first and only event to utilize the Open this season, and will do so again next season.
• The CrossFit Filthy 150, Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival, and CrossFit Atlas Games have all formed an International Qualifier Coalition to allow athletes to qualify for multiple events through a single qualifier. 

Rumor Mill: We’ve heard talk that other European events are potentially on board with using the Open as an online qualifier, so don’t be surprised if more follow suit in the coming months.

Hot Take: The choice by the Norwegian CrossFit Championship to use the Open while still running registration through their own competition page is a win for everyone. Athletes don’t have to do an extra online qualifier, the event still gets registration money while cutting back on operating costs to provide qualifier videos, and it encourages more athletes to sign up for the Open.