WHOOP No Longer Listed as Sponsor or Partner of the CrossFit Games, “Box Fitness” Replaces CrossFit

WHOOP users can no longer select CrossFit Training, a trademarked term, as a strain activity on the fitness tracker’s list of 85 activities (the list ranges from things like running and elliptical to parkour, circus arts and gaming).  

Going forward, CrossFit athletes will have to select “Box Fitness.” 

One big thing: In addition to the activity list change on the WHOOP app, WHOOP is no longer listed among the partners and sponsors of the CrossFit Games.

• Currently the partners listed on the CrossFit Games website include: Airrosti, CrossFit Training, NOBULL, ROGUE, Thorne and Trifecta.
• The sponsors include: O2, Monster Hydro, and GOWOD.

Remind me: WHOOP became the “Official Wearable of CrossFit” on March 4, 2021. In a press release, the deal was described as a “multiyear partnership.”

• “WHOOP and CrossFit today announced a multiyear partnership naming WHOOP the Official Wearable of CrossFit,” the release read. “The partnership will help CrossFit athletes at all levels benefit from WHOOP data around training, sleep, and recovery. CrossFit also plans to share data from the world’s fittest athletes via integrations into its broadcast programming and other digital and on-site channels.”
• Will Ahmed, WHOOP founder and CEO said “CrossFit athletes were some of the earliest WHOOP adopters and have continued to be an integral part of our growing global membership.” 
• Among the CrossFit athletes sponsored by WHOOP are Katrin Davidsdottir, Noah Ohlsen, Brooke Wells and Rich Froning.
• Ahmed continued, “WHOOP is the ideal partner for CrossFit training as it provides the information that athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike need to understand their bodies, prioritize recovery, and ultimately optimize performance. We are incredibly excited to become an official partner of CrossFit and bring our communities even closer together.”

The details so far: The director of public relations and communications at WHOOP, Alex Jacobs, in an email to the Morning Chalk Up stated that users received an in-app update on April 29 making the change from CrossFit to “Box Fitness.”

• Jacobs provided the following explanation for the change, which is also available on the WHOOP website: “There are many gyms and boxes that offer exercises similar to CrossFit gyms, and we updated the activity to Box Fitness to create a more encompassing category to track these activities alongside Functional Fitness.” 
• “Members will continue to have access to all of their previously tracked CrossFit Training activities and data under the new label Box Fitness,” the explanation continued. “We will continue to support the CrossFit community and our members engaging in similar activities, allowing all athletes to benefit from WHOOP data around training, sleep and recovery.”

Andrew Weinstein, director of public policy and communications at CrossFit, in response to a request from the Morning Chalk Up, commented: “CrossFit and WHOOP are currently working to resolve the status of our relationship, but we have no further comment at this time.”

The Morning Chalk Up has reached out to WHOOP for a comment on the status of its partnership with CrossFit and has not received a comment as of the time of publication.

Why this matters: If WHOOP and CrossFit part ways, the fitness wearable company will become the newest in a growing list of sponsors who have made that choice, including LIFEAID (maker of FITAID), ROMWOD, RAM Trucks, and WIT Fitness. With Semifinals starting in 16 days and CrossFit Games in 92, it is not the time for uncertain relationships with partners and sponsors.

For WHOOP, it remains to be seen how significant its relationship with CrossFit is to the continued growth of its global brand. It has partnered with the PGA Tour, and sponsors globally famous athletes like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Patrick Mahomes, and Rory McIlroy among many others.