On June 25, nine-time CrossFit Games athlete Brent Fikowski appeared on The Rich Froning Podcast to discuss a new initiative he’s been working on with a team of expert coaches and judges.
- The initiative involves developing a movement standards database to improve judging consistency, ensure athlete safety, and promote athlete representation across events.
The initiative is led by:
- The Association of Fitness Judges (AFJ)
- J.R. Howell, owner of WPTH programming/online coaching.
- The Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association, including its coaches on the Advisory Committee:
- Justin Cotler
- Caroline Lambray
- John Singleton
The Details
Fikowski called the initiatve an “important first step in trying to move this sport forward.” The purpose of the database, he explained, isn’t to force it upon competition organizers.
Instead, it’s simply a trustworthy resource they can use to ensure they’re implementing proven and reliable movement standards at their events that can be easily judged and followed.
- “I think it’s a really good first step to just get some consistency at competitions [and] share some best practice from experts,” said Fikowski, the President of the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA).
Ultimately, Fikowski hopes the database will establish consistent standards and best practices for the most commonly programmed movements, which he said are still missing at competitions today.
Fikowski cited the handstand push-up as an example, highlighting how many different movement standards have been used over the past decade. The movement standards database might then suggest only two or three of the best standard options to choose from.
- In an email to the Morning Chalk Up, PFAA Chief Operating Officer, Grace Paulus added, “This [iniative] underscores the PFAA’s role as a voice for athletes, who are directly affected when standards on the field of play are unclear or inconsistently applied. We’re grateful to the AFJ and to J.R. Howell for recognizing this gap and taking steps to address it with this initiative.”
PFAA Updates
Fikowski also shared some insights into what else the PFAA has been doing in recent months.
- Two examples included “expanding our relationship with Wodapalooza” to ensure athletes have a great experience, and a new safety initiative.
PFAA and TYR Wodapalooza: Before TYR Wodapalooza in January, the PFAA sent the organizers a list of 50 things the athletes wanted, or didn’t want.
- One of the more controversial things on the list was that athletes don’t want cuts, as they’re paying for the experience and feel it undermines the legitimacy of the points system. Ultimately, after some back and forth, TYR Wodapalooza adhered to the PFAA’s request.
Further, TYR Wodapalooza SoCal has agreed to use the movement standard database for their upcoming competition this fall, Fikowski revealed.
PFAA and Safety: The PFAA has also been working with Joshua Hicks – the WFP Director of Safety – to create a Functional Sport Safety Working Group “to share best practices about safety at competitions,” Fikowski said.
The Big Picture
After retiring last year, Fikowski dedicated himself to his role with the PFAA, with his primary goal being to support the needs of athletes.
In this context, the movement standards initiative and his ongoing work with the PFAA around safety and competition fairness should be seen as him reinforcing his commitment to athletes by promoting greater consistency and ensuring safe conditions in the sport.
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