CrossFit released some pretty big news yesterday about the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Invitational’s location. This year the Invitational will take place in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The official date of the invitational is set for November 5th, and the event is set to begin at 4 P.M AEST.
From CrossFit’s press release, they state that the two hour event will be streamed live. If the stream starts live at 4 P.M. AEST with no delay, as they generally do, then fans in other countries will need to set their alarms accordingly. Assuming the stream starts live at the set time; check out the time differences below for fans living in the United States.
- Pacific Standard Time: 10 P.M.
- Mountain Standard Time: 11 P.M.
- Central Standard Time: 12 A.M.
- Eastern Standard Time: 1 A.M.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY9NUwcg04d/
Similar to past years, CrossFit will host an affiliate competition that takes place earlier in the day, along with a lottery invitation sent to local affiliates. Additionally, the top five teams will be invited to compete from the male/female pairs in Australia’s CrossFit Team Series.
What’s the CrossFit Invitational?
The Reebok CrossFit Invitational is often considered as CrossFit’s all-star game. Similar to other sports, CrossFit invites top Games athletes to compete on teams from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Pacific regions.
There has been speculation regarding who this year’s teams will be comprised of, but CrossFit has yet to release the official rosters. Also, there’s been no official announcement for the events.
Why Australia?
Firstly, the Reebok CrossFit Invitational is in its fifth year, and Australia has yet to play host. Last year, the Invitational was hosted in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, and in 2016, Madrid, Spain. Previously, it was hosted on American soil.
Secondly, Australia had three athletes with top three podium finishes in the individual women and men’s competition. These athletes include Tia-Clair Toomey (1st for women), Kara Webb (second for women), and Ricky Garard (3rd for men).
For fans outside of Australia, set your alarms, because it’s going to be a late night.
Feature image from @crossfitgames Instagram page.