Days till the 2024 CrossFit Open: 14!
Days till the 2024 CrossFit Quarterfinals: 34
What Was Your First Open Like?
Do you do not forget that day? I keep in mind mine.
I began CrossFit in my storage, as many individuals might have, in 2020 after my native YMCA shut down. I picked up random exercises to do from Instagram.
By the tip of 2020, I signed up for Mayhem Athlete programming, had watched all of the Video games documentaries and Behind the Scenes, and was excited for my first Open.
In November 2020, 4 months earlier than the Open, I broke my wrist in a mountain boarding accident and had surgical procedure a few days earlier than Christmas. For no matter cause, whereas sitting in rehab in early January, slowly stretching my wrist, I had the brilliant thought to make use of the Open as a purpose to get again into motion. Professional tip: don’t do that; seek the advice of your physician.
Past the literal stretch purpose, I signed as much as be a part of one thing bigger than “me in my storage” and to push myself to do one thing “For Time” that I knew could be difficult.
A variety of rehab and wrist stretching from January by means of early March, minimize to:
Friday, March 11 — 21.1
Standing in my storage, having by no means carried out a wall stroll earlier than and with no likelihood at double-unders, I scaled my first-ever Open exercise. Brief wall walks and single-unders, I pushed myself to not stop after seeing wrist-heavy actions.
- Time: 11:55 (scaled) — 96,523rd place
Friday, March 18 — 21.2
I solely had adjustable dumbbells, however I like burpee field jumpovers. I ran to Dick’s Sporting Items to purchase a single 50-pound dumbbell to do my first Rx Open exercise. I accomplished 50 dumbbell snatches on a 2.5-month post-surgery wrist, hitting the timecap simply earlier than beginning the final 15 burpee field jumpovers.
- Reps: 210 — 67,022nd place
Friday, March 25 — 21.3 & 21.4
I wasn’t anticipating a two-parter. I actually didn’t know that was a chance. Having by no means carried out greater than a few toes-to-bar and chest-to-bar or a single-bar muscle-up and never feeling assured about all these thrusters or entrance squats, I scaled once more.
I needed to do the entrance squats with my arms crossed as a result of I couldn’t maintain my wrist within the entrance rack (it nonetheless offers me issues). I powered by means of on that 65-pound barbell and all of the hanging knee raises and pull-ups after which slowly moved by means of the 30 chest-to-bar pull-ups to complete with seven seconds left on the clock.
- Time: 14:53 (scaled) — 87,529th place
The one factor between me and ending my first Open was one deadlift, one clear, one cling clear, and one jerk. My wrist was being an actual jerk, screaming at me. I bought as much as 115 kilos, and my first Open ended.
- Weight: 115 kilos — 96,543rd place.
If you wish to see what 90,153rd place appears like, all 4 exercises can be found on the CrossFit Video games website. Belief me; you don’t wish to see what that appears like. It’s ugly. However I beloved it, and I’m pleased with it.
[Related: Caitlin Stevenson: From 350 Pounds Bodyweight and Bariatric Surgery to the CrossFit Open]
Do You Have a Story of Your First 12 months?
I’d love to listen to about it. Within the subsequent 24-72 hours, for a lot of, their first Open will come to an finish. Hopefully, with so much to be pleased with and so much to work on for the subsequent competitors, whether or not that subsequent competitors is the 2025 Open or discovering methods to compete and drive depth within the health club each day.
This concept of being a new athlete within the Open had me deeply dive into one thing after I occurred upon a determine. Right here is the preliminary determine I posted on my Instagram story the opposite day, @Known_Knowable:
2023 Open Complete Registrations — 322,670
- 2023 Open Athlete / Didn’t register in 2024 — 142,277
- 2023 Open Athlete — Did register in 2024 — 180,393
2024 Open Complete Registrations — 342,792
- 2024 Open Athlete / Didn’t register in 2023 — 162,399
- 2024 Open Athlete — Did register in 2023 — 180,393
Between 2023 and 2024, there have been solely 180,393 athletes who competed in each years. Meaning the turnover fee for Open registration is almost half the sector.
This determine is barely partially true. It solely appears again a single 12 months, so it takes anybody who didn’t compete in 2023 as a “New Athlete” when there are a lot. For instance, Taylor Self put out two blazing-fast 24.1 and 24.2 performances. He didn’t compete in 2023 however has competed for years within the Open and the Video games season.
That Led Me to a Reality-Discovering Mission
If solely somebody had an account of each season Open registration and who was actually a ‘New Athlete’ and a ‘Returning Athlete’ from the inaugural Open in 2011 by means of 24.2 final week. If solely…
After two days on and off of pulling knowledge from CrossFit and placing it into an almost 600MB Excel file, I’ve each registration from 2011-2024 (as much as 24.2) throughout tens of millions of athletes. I can pinpoint when a person athlete began within the Open, in the event that they ever missed a 12 months, and even when they modified associates.
Here’s what that appears like on the backend utilizing my pal, Joe Genetin-Pilawa. Joe began the Open in 2017, so utilizing his CrossFit ID, I can see which years he registered and didn’t, which I indicated as ‘NEW.’ Different athletes, as you’ll be able to see, haven’t any historical past earlier than 2024, whereas a small few go all the best way again to 2011.
That every one will get compiled right down to current this single chart:
Clearly, in 2011, everybody is taken into account new. Even in the event you had carried out CrossFit for the reason that early 2000s, it was everybody’s first Open. From there, momentum grew.
What looks as if an not possible determine of tons of of hundreds of latest athletes annually reveals out 12 months over 12 months from 2015 by means of in the present day.
This Is What the CrossFit Video games Lives On
There’s additionally churn that gyms see on a month-to-month and annual foundation. Go searching your health club; what number of have been there in March 2023 versus March 2024? I hope they’re there in March 2025.
We are able to see that the Video games are gaining new athletes and bringing earlier athletes again. It’s near the all-time excessive of 2018 when “Return Athletes.”
That’s the stickiness that CrossFit must maintain momentum going and rising.
- From 2011-2024, 462 athletes registered for yearly of the Open.
- Noah Ohlsen and Maddie Sturt are on the highest of that record and nonetheless killin’ it in the present day!
These “New Athlete” figures bought a number of odd feedback and DMs from the tin-foil hat wearers within the CrossFit area.
Is CrossFit shopping for bots??
How might they’ve such an inflow of latest registrations in 2024, not to mention 12 months after 12 months? No, they aren’t shopping for bots. That is how different mass sporting occasions look; they reside on that year-over-year (YoY) churn.
It’s exhausting to speak about who’s new with out referring to who isn’t. 2024 is a bizarre 12 months; it seems like we’re lacking many associates as we anticipate the three..2..1…Go!
Some In style Names Aren’t within the 2023 Open
In some circumstances, the reasoning is understood, or at the very least the athlete has addressed stepping away or working by means of an harm. I needed to share some athletes who’ve traditionally carried out the Open however aren’t registered for Open 2024. This doesn’t embody athletes who might have registered and bowed out earlier than or after the 2024 Open began.
Athlete Title (Latest Video games/Notable Look)
- Mal O’Brien (’22 Ladies) | Kelly Baker (’23 Ladies) | Sola Sigurdardottir (’22 Ladies)
- Emma Cary (’23 Ladies) | Alexis Johnson (’23 Crew) | Alexia Williams (’23 Ladies)
- Taylor Williamson (’23 Crew) | Michelle Basnett (’23 Ladies) | Erin Habeck (O’Donnell) (’23 Crew)
- Svetlana Veselova (’23 35-39 fifth) | Kristi O’Connell (’22 Ladies) | Allison Weiss (’16 16-17 1st) | Shahad Budebs (’23 Ladies)
- Sam Briggs (‘23 40-44 1st) | Leka Fineman (’23 55-59 1st) | Susan Clarke (‘23 60-64; notice: Susan solely does odd years. See you subsequent 12 months, Susan!)
- Reggie Fasa (‘23 Open ninth) | Andre Houdet (’23 Crew) | Scott Panchik (’23 35-39 4th)
- Wealthy Froning Jr. (’22 Crew, 4x Fittest Man on Earth; 6x Crew Champion) | Mitchell Stevenson (’21 Crew) | Hamza Abdalfatah (’19 Males)
- Bryan Wong (’23 35-39 third) | Tadhg Lawless (’18 16-17 14th) | Ste Fawcett (’23 35-39 ninth)
- Julian Alcaraz (’15 Males / Avenue Parking) | Sean Patrick (’23 50-54 2nd) | Kevin Koester (’23 55-59 1st)
- Ryan Joe Hamby (’23 55-59 third) | Lincoln Lafaver (’23 14-15 2nd)
Everybody has a narrative; I received’t learn into any of those.
I’ve heard that a number of are working by means of bodily or psychological hurdles and plan to return. I hope to see them again competing or discovering methods to proceed the methodology of CrossFit; discovering methods to problem themselves and construct that into the household, associates, and group. That’s what the Open is about, no matter whether or not or not your title is on the leaderboard.
Are You a New Athlete in 2024?
Rely your self as a part of the numbers beneath for week eight of Open registration monitoring: Reminder: Dates and information for the 2024 Open:
- Registration began on January 9 at midday PT
- Open Exercise 24.1 began on February 29 at midday PT
- Open Exercise 24.3 ends on March 18 at 5 p.m. PT
That offers us a window of 52 complete days for registration earlier than the primary exercise plus 19 days between exercises 24.1 and 24.3.
(Editor’s Be aware: Credit score: Morning Chalk Up. All knowledge inside this report for the 2024 CrossFit Open was pulled from the CrossFit leaderboard on Monday, March 4 at 2:00 p.m. ET. We’ve stopped formally counting new registrations till the tip of the Open.)
The 2024 registration complete grew at a median fee of round 5,951 every day after the preliminary day-one complete of 20,982. Try @known_knowable on Instagram for each day check-ins.
Each Quantity Counts!
I’ve been monitoring further knowledge and some recommendations from readers and commentators on Instagram.
NEW! Exercise Breakdown by Males and Ladies for twenty-four.1 and 24.2.
The Particular person divisions are athletes that might have the Rx weight and actions. For instance, the 50-/35-pound dumbbell in 24.1 and the 185-/125-pound barbell in 24.2. ‘Non-Particular person’ divisions are the age group divisions with a scaled weight or motion as a part of their Rx model.
| Particular person 16-54 – Males | 24.1 | % of Complete | 24.2 | % of Complete | Diff .1 to .2 |
| Rx | 134,879 | 76.12% | 124,506 | 70.26% | -5.85% |
| Scaled | 24,107 | 13.60% | 29,385 | 16.58% | 2.98% |
| Basis | 1,573 | 0.89% | 813 | 0.46% | -0.43% |
| No Rating Submitted | 16,643 | 9.39% | 22,498 | 12.70% | 3.30% |
| Particular person 16-54 – Ladies | 24.1 | % of Complete | 24.2 | % of Complete | Diff .1 to .2 |
| Rx | 91,488 | 64.86% | 85,713 | 64.56% | -0.31% |
| Scaled | 36,465 | 25.85% | 29,385 | 22.13% | -3.72% |
| Basis | 1,573 | 1.12% | 2,299 | 1.73% | 0.62% |
| No Rating Submitted | 11,520 | 8.17% | 15,376 | 11.58% | 3.41% |
| Non-Particular person 14-15&55+ – Males | 24.1 | % of Complete | 24.2 | % of Complete | Diff .1 to .2 |
| Rx | 8472 | 69.14% | 6487 | 52.94% | -16.20% |
| Scaled | 2080 | 16.98% | 3747 | 30.58% | 13.60% |
| Basis | 357 | 2.91% | 282 | 2.30% | -0.61% |
| No Rating Submitted | 1344 | 10.97% | 1737 | 14.18% | 3.21% |
| Non-Particular person 14-15&55+ – Ladies | 24.1 | % of Complete | 24.2 | % of Complete | Diff .1 to .2 |
| Rx | 6377 | 65.91% | 4676 | 45.83% | -20.09% |
| Scaled | 1982 | 20.49% | 3747 | 36.72% | 16.24% |
| Basis | 357 | 3.69% | 645 | 6.32% | 2.63% |
| No Rating Submitted | 959 | 9.91% | 1136 | 11.13% | 1.22% |
2024 Open Division – Registration by Area and Division, then 10% Lower and 25% Lower
I’ve added what a one p.c transfer would take, so shifting from 26 p.c to 25 p.c for North America East Males could be roughly 627 spots.
MEN
| Area | Complete Males Registered | 10% Lower Line | 25% Lower Line | 1% Price |
| Europe | 62,735 | 6,274 | 15,684 | 627 |
| North America East | 44,026 | 4,403 | 11,007 | 440 |
| North America West | 31,818 | 3,182 | 7,955 | 318 |
| South America | 13,104 | 1,310 | 3,276 | 131 |
| Asia | 12,387 | 1,239 | 3,097 | 124 |
| Oceania | 9,545 | 955 | 2,386 | 95 |
| Africa | 3587 | 359 | 897 | 36 |
WOMEN
| Area | Complete Ladies Registered | 10% Lower Line | 25% Lower Line | 1% Price |
| Europe | 44,231 | 4,423 | 11,058 | 442 |
| North America East | 40,722 | 4,072 | 10,181 | 407 |
| North America West | 28,874 | 2,887 | 7,219 | 289 |
| South America | 11,197 | 1,120 | 2,799 | 112 |
| Asia | 6,595 | 660 | 1,649 | 66 |
| Oceania | 9,264 | 926 | 2,316 | 93 |
| Africa | 2965 | 297 | 741 | 30 |
High 15 Nations by Athlete Nationality
| RANK | COUNTRY | COUNT |
| 1 | United States | 136,528 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 24,772 |
| 3 | France | 24,106 |
| 4 | Brazil | 19,992 |
| 5 | Australia | 16,548 |
| 6 | Canada | 15076 |
| 7 | Korea, Republic of | 9,386 |
| 8 | Spain | 8,586 |
| 9 | Germany | 7,605 |
| 10 | Italy | 7,544 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 6,658 |
| 12 | South Africa | 5,558 |
| 13 | Eire | 4,289 |
| 14 | Sweden | 4,134 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 3,993 |
Complete Affiliate Rely 2018-2024
| 12 months | Affiliate Rely |
| 2020 | 11,992* |
| 2021 | 10,534* |
| 2022 | 10,567 |
| 2023 | 10,982 |
| 2024 | 10,753 |
*Be aware: For these two years, the rely of registrations for every affiliate is clean, so it’s not potential to see if associates might have been listed with zero registrations, which does present up on ‘22-’24.
High 10 Associates Registered for 2024
| Rank | Affiliate | Complete Registered | Nation |
| 1 | SuperForce CrossFit | 613 | Brazil |
| 2 | Full CrossFit | 361 | Spain |
| 3 | CrossFit Gerland | 314 | France |
| 4 | CrossFit Glasgow | 309 | United Kingdom |
| 5 | CrossFit Crown SVV | 286 | Brazil |
| 6 | CrossFit Bua | 282 | Eire |
| 7 | CrossFit Black Version | 275 | Portugal |
| 8 | CrossFit Shapesmiths | 270 | United Kingdom |
| 9 | CrossFit Boqueirao | 269 | Brazil |
| 10 | Punk CrossFit | 268 | Brazil |
*Be aware: SuperForce CrossFit seems to be a 16 location franchise throughout totally different areas of Brazil. It seems that they’re submitting all registrations below a single affiliate on the leaderboard.
High 10 Ages of Registered Athletes
| Age | Rely |
| 33 | 15,543 |
| 32 | 15,504 |
| 34 | 15,274 |
| 31 | 15,274 |
| 35 | 14,949 |
| 30 | 14,826 |
| 36 | 13,926 |
| 29 | 13,868 |
| 37 | 12,920 |
| 28 | 12,783 |
Registrations by Age Group Divisions
| Division | Rely |
| Males 18-34 | 82,592 |
| Males 35-39 | 37,635 |
| Males 40-44 | 27,822 |
| Males 45-49 | 17,086 |
| Males 50-54 | 10,398 |
| Males 55-59 | 5,857 |
| Males 60-64 | 2,987 |
| Males 65+ | 1,929 |
| Boys 16-17 | 1,669 |
| Boys 14-15 | 1,480 |
| Division | Rely |
| Ladies 18-34 | 73,153 |
| Ladies 35-39 | 28,222 |
| Ladies 40-44 | 20,872 |
| Ladies 45-49 | 12,716 |
| Ladies 50-54 | 7,282 |
| Ladies 55-59 | 4,414 |
| Ladies 60-64 | 2,690 |
| Ladies 65+ | 1,774 |
| Women 16-17 | 1,603 |
| Women 14-15 | 1,316 |
Featured picture courtesy of Gina Cafiero.