In an announcement posted by coach and ECC organizer Ben Bergeron, it was announced today that the yearly functional fitness competition in Boston has come to an end.
The competition’s homepage has been replaced with a simple message from Ben and his team, which also appeared on his and the ECC’s Facebook fan pages.
After three fun, busy, successful years of hosting the ECC, my team and I have made the tough decision to cancel the show for 2017. We took an honest assessment of the opportunities before us, and after some long conversations and some soul-searching realized our passions were pointing us toward continuing to make CFNE better, to make our athletes better, and to help affiliates run better businesses.
I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and beyond excited at what’s to come. Thanks to everybody who ever came out or watched one of our events, thanks to the athletes who put on such a good show year after year, and thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors, vendors, and partners who helped make it so special.
Ben and the ECC team
While the announcement doesn’t explicitly say if there’s a chance the event could come back in subsequent years, the tone and “Thanks for the Memories” banner implies 2016 was the last year we’d see it.
In 2014, 2015, and 2016, the East Coast Championships — sponsored by Kill Cliff and branded as the Kill Cliff East Coast Championships — was held at Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center in January of each year. The competition featured individual competitors on Saturdays and team competition on Sundays.
Past champions included Mat Fraser (2014, 2015, and 2016 individual champion), Sara Sigmundsdottir (2015 and 2016 individual), and Rich Froning (2014 team, along with Chris Spealler, Stacie Tovar, and Elisabeth Akinwale).
Katrin Davidsdottir — who is, along with Mat Fraser and several other to functional fitness athletes, coached by Bergeron — was also a multi-time competitor.
Featured image: @builtbybergeron on Facebook / Jordan Samuel Photography
