Wodapalooza Details Emerge: Free Livestream, Bigger Fan Experience

Several weeks ago, athletes and organizers descended in Miami to film content for the 10th iteration of the Wodapalooza festival, which returns to action in January 2022. 

Why it matters: In addition to filming the online qualifier videos — scheduled for October 4-13 for individuals and November 1-10 for teams — the annual Wodapalooza summit serves as a meeting ground for top athletes and stakeholders in the sport. 

• “We use the Online Qualifier filming weekend as an opportunity to yes, show them a good time, but also get feedback from some of the best in the sport so we can continue to improve the experience,” a Wodapalooza spokesperson said. 

Athlete perspective: This year’s group of athletes were Justin Medeiros, Jayson Hopper, Tola Morakinyo, Danielle Brandon, Kristi Eramo, and Baylee Rayl. 

• Hopper: “We did filming and testing for the online qualifier workouts, but we also just hung out and had a lot of fun. It was cool to hangout with other athletes off the competition floor and become good friends with some of them. Wodapalooza has some great stuff planned for this year!”
• Brandon: “It was a great time. It was for Loud and Live, filming for the Wodapalooza qualifier. It is chill working out; it’s not like we have to do the full workouts when demoing them. They wanted us to test some of them. There was no pressure; it’s more like they want to get an even better idea of a few things.”

A couple of other important details Matt O’Keefe, President of Loud & Live, dropped in a podcast with Sevan Matossian: 

• Livestream: “We are broadcasting it for free this year for the first time. We’ve taken heat for that in the past because we had a pay wall. 
• On-site experience: “We are building bigger stands and new stages this year. We were down there recently checking it out, it’s a blast down there. We will have a desk for live podcasts from the partner quad. People can hear it on site too. We’d like to build a desk for live broadcasts between events as well.”
• Elite invites: “We set some criteria for invites based on Games finishes this year, performances in other major competitions in recent years. We try to take that professional group and not require the bigger name athletes to do the qualifiers.
• Prize purse: “Our prize money has not been announced yet, but it’s going to be massive; nobody will be competitive with Rogue, but we’ll be competitive with everybody else in terms of prize purse.” 

The Big Picture: Wodapalooza has become a staple on the calendar for everyone who loves CrossFit. There’s more opportunity to compete, volunteer, or spectate (from near or far) this year than anywhere else in the competitive CrossFit space. Loud And Live has continued to walk the line of catering to the athletes at the forefront of pushing things more and more in the direction of a recognized professional sport on the floor; while also embracing the massive community around them which is also critical in terms of forward progress. With so many ways to be involved in the WZA ecosystem; which way will you choose this year? Qualifiers start in less than a month.