Rogue Invitational Seeks Athlete Input in Advance of Online Competition

Rogue Invitational event organizers sent out an email to their confirmed and invited individual athletes on Wednesday afternoon. The email asked the athletes to fill out a survey as they continue to prepare to hold their online competition on June 13-14.

The bottom line: Multiple athletes who the Morning Chalk Up reached out to regarding the email and the linked survey confirmed that the survey asked them to list the type and kinds of equipment they had access to and whether they were still planning on competing at the event.

• The email also gave the athletes an April 21 deadline to answer the questions on the survey, stating that further information would be available soon regarding the details of the competition.
• After initially changing their date from May 15-17 to June 13-14, the Rogue Invitational then announced they were switching to an online format.
• The move online forfeited the Rogue Invitational’s automatic invites to the Games that CrossFit sanctioned events receive for both individuals and team winners.
• Rogue has announced that the prize money would not change despite the shift online.
• With an individual prize purse of over $350,000 including $5,000 for event wins on the line, it’s hard to see any of the confirmed athletes in the star-studded roster turning down the potential of earning money.
• With the status of the Sanctional season in doubt, a huge source of revenue in the form of prize money has been eliminated for athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rogue prize purse could be one of the last chances athletes get to earn money from competing in the 2020 Games season.
• The format for the competition is still being worked out, but Rogue did state that all athletes will do the required workouts in their respective locations and that fans will be able to watch the competition through a live stream.
• We reached out to multiple team athletes who were confirmed to compete at the Rogue Invitational and they stated that they have not received any information from Rogue on whether or not the team division would be included.
• With CrossFit HQ announcing that it is concentrating its efforts on throwing a live competition at “the Ranch” in Aromas, CA, as well as considering virtual and online competitions, the success of the online Rogue Invitational could play a factor in how it approaches the 2020 Games. HQ could use the Rogue Invitational as a blueprint they can and cannot do as they look to crown the Fittest on Earth.