Sanctional Cancelation Tally Hits Double-Digits, ELFIT CrossFit Championship Follows in Other Hosts’ Financial Footsteps
The ELFIT CrossFit Championship alerted athletes via email and followers on Instagram on Tuesday, that its Sanctioned event was officially canceled for the 2019-2020 season. It was originally scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt on April 8-11, but had previously been postponed until June without a specific date. Ten Sanctionals have now been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One big thing: It should go without saying by now, that the cancelation puts the ELFIT CrossFit Championship and its organizers in a financially exigent position. Although ELFIT director, Adam Elzoghby did not go into as much detail as the CanWest organizers a few weeks ago, in his email to athletes, he stated “the 2020 event cancelation is costing us thousands of dollars which is putting us in a really hard financial situation. So we simply cannot refund everyone and we cannot refund the full amount — or it would mean an end to the ELFIT forever.”
A new development: This is the first cancelation announcement to officially acknowledge CrossFit HQ’s decision to reset invitations for the 2020 CrossFit. In that statement, HQ said, “The ten Sanctionals that were able to host in-person competitions this season will be invited to send their champions to this year’s CrossFit Games,” indirectly declaring that no more Sanctional invitations would be awarded for 2020.
- In the email, Elzoghby wrote, “with everything happening in the world due to the COVID-19, and after the CrossFit HQ latest announcement, we don’t think it makes any sense nor is it responsible to hold ELFIT 2020 in June as previously announced.”
- While we have yet to hear the official word on the status of the remaining Loud and Live Sanctioned events (Madrid CrossFit Championship, West Coast Classic, Granite Games and the Mayan CrossFit Classic) or the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship, the fact that HQ announced that no Games invitations would result from them makes it unlikely that any of them will take place in 2020.
Registration fees and refunds: Following a model very similar to that laid out by CanWest, registered athletes for the 2020 ELFIT CrossFit Championship have the following options, according to the email.
- Option 1: “Keep my registration fee with ELFIT and keep my qualifying spot”: If you choose this option, your registration for ELFIT 2020 will automatically transfer to the 2021 event, which means that you will be automatically qualified for the 2021 finals, you will not be required to redo a qualifier.
- Option 2: “Withdraw but leave your funds with ELFIT:” Due to the current COVID-19 crisis and in support for ELFIT, any consideration for leaving your funds with [them] is greatly appreciated.
- Option 3: “I’ll Pass my Fee to another qualified athlete:”
- Individuals: you can pass your registration fees to another individual athlete that qualified through the 2021 qualifiers.
- Teams: If you think you can find an Athlete to replace one or more of your teammates, that’s great, [they will] have a flexible deadline for the replacement requests. More details about the replacement will be shared soon.
- Option 4: “I prefer to be refunded:” If you don’t want to be part of the 2021 event, but you would like a refund, [they’ll] be offering a delayed option.
The delayed refund process will take place between December 2020, when an email will be sent out to currently registered athletes, and February 2021 when the qualification process for the 2021 event is completed.
The message to athletes addressed the 2021 event too: “COVID-19 is likely to continue to affect sports till when no one knows. At this very moment, we cannot tell you exactly when the event will be held,” it said.
- “Things are constantly changing in terms of governmental rules and regulations around the world in fight of this pandemic. We are working with the local authorities and the CrossFit HQ to discuss the best time to hold ELFIT CrossFit Championship in 2021,” it continued.
- The message concluded, “We’ll keep monitoring the current situation and we’re taking into account every new escalation not only in Egypt but across the globe. We will have to work within the new reality of COVID-19 and whatever that means in the coming months.”