After a vote that ended Sunday evening, the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA) announced its new Athlete Board.
Here are the six athletes representing various regions of the world:
- Pat Vellner, Canada, nine-time CrossFit Games athlete
- Danielle Brandon, United States, six-time Games athlete
- Victoria Campos, Brazil, three-time Games athlete
- Jelle Hoste, Belgium, two-time Games athlete
- Jake Douglas, Australia, 2023 Games athlete
- Christina Livaditakis, Zimbabwe, four-time Semifinal athlete
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What About Brent Fikowski?
The recently retired Brent Fikowski is no longer eligible to be on the Athlete Board, as he’s no longer competing. However, he was elected by the board to serve as the PFAA President and is committed to pushing the sport to where the athletes want it to go.
- The nine-time Games competitor has been involved with the PFAA from the start. In fact, Fikowski helped get the PFAA up and running in 2020 amid a dramatic ownership change at CrossFit Inc.
One of Fikowski and the PFAA’s main goals is to professionalize the sport, while other priorities have always been about athlete safety and competitive fairness.
The New PFAA Board Details
The athletes on the Board of Directors (Athlete Board) will act as athlete representatives, meaning they will advocate for the athletes in their region.
- They were selected by the 103 voting members of the PFAA and will serve for two years. That being said, a board member is able to step out of their role at any time.
- Board members may be re-elected for multiple terms, as is the case with Vellner and Campos. This will be Vellner’s third term serving on the Athlete Board.
- The number of athletes on the Board can vary, but the PFAA requires three to nine people to make up the board, including the Chair (Fikowski).
Though the Board represents these athletes, they are not responsible for running the PFAA. Instead, they select an Executive Committee to run the PFAA’s day-to-day operations.
The Big Picture
Never has the PFAA seemed more relevant than today in the aftermath of competitor Lazar Đukić’s death at the 2024 CrossFit Games. That tragic event ultimately led to athletes demanding change from CrossFit Inc. and to the PFAA demanding CrossFit remove the Director of the CrossFit Games, Dave Castro, from the sport side of the company.
With so much uncertainty still in the air about the 2025 season, it seems the PFAA’s role is only going to become more important in shaping the future of the sport.
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Featured image: Carlos Fleury
