Find out what’s new in the 2019 CrossFit Rulebook.
1. CrossFit Will Allow Transgender Athletes to Compete in 2019 Season
2019 signals big changes for the CrossFit season, and one of the most forward thinking is the full inclusion of transgender athletes.
CrossFit has always been an inclusive sport, founded on principles of fairness and equality between sexes.
“In the 2019 CrossFit competitive season, starting with the Open, transgender athletes are welcome to participate in the division with which they identify,” said Greg Glassman. “This is the right thing to do. CrossFit believes in the potential, capacity, and dignity of every athlete. We are proud of our LGBT community, including our transgender athletes, and we want you here with us.”
In 2018, Russ Berger was fired from the company for his intolerant views against the LGBTQ community.
Russell Berger is Fired from CrossFit HQ For Saying LGBTQ Pride is a Sin
Greg Glassman has been outspoken about his support for making CrossFit accessible to all.
The following text is from the Official 2019 CrossFit Games Rulebook.
CrossFit Rulebook: The Official Rules
CrossFit is committed to ensuring that all CrossFit athletes have equal access and opportunities to participate in CrossFit events in a manner that is fair to all competitors while preserving the integrity of the sport. Transgender athletes are welcome to participate in the CrossFit Games in accordance with the requirements set forth below.
6.02 – PARTICIPATION IN THE OPEN
All athletes may select their gender. Athletes who register in a gender category other than the gender assigned to them at birth, or different than
the gender by which they have identified on CrossFit’s website, are representing to CrossFit that:
- Their gender in their everyday life matches their registration gender.
- They have obtained civil documents with their registration gender identified. (e.g., state ID or driver’s license).
Athletes who cannot meet the criteria above may provide medical or other evidence satisfactory to CrossFit establishing that they self-identify
as the gender stated in their registration.
6.03 – PARTICIPATION IN EVENTS OTHER THAN THE OPEN (E.G., THE ONLINE QUALIFIER AND THE GAMES)
Transgender males: Athletes who transition from female to male must satisfy the requirements set forth in section 6.02 above.
Transgender females: Athletes who transition from male to female must satisfy the requirements set forth in section 6.02 above and meet the following requirements (full rules)
Copyright © 2019 CrossFit Inc. All Rights Reserved. CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit Inc [ 22 ] COMPETITION RULEBOOK
2. National Champions will be Going to The CrossFit Games
The top male and female athletes from every country will be sent invitations to The 2019 CrossFit Games. They must place first on the Open Leaderboard of their respective country in order to claim this title. An athlete must finish all of the prescribed Open workouts, verify their residency, and win their country’s Open.
3. Athletes will be Seeded Going into The CrossFit Games
All athletes that qualify for the CrossFit Games will be seeded according to their ranking in the Open. Although it has not been confirmed yet, there have been rumours of an elimination style event at The CrossFit Games in order to reduce the large number of athletes that will qualify as National Champions.
If an athlete within the top 20 is also a National Champion, CrossFit Inc. will backfill the top 20 position to the next athlete in line. If an athlete declines to compete in the Games or is a member of a team that has been invited to compete, CrossFit Inc will backfill the position to the next athlete in line.
Should an athlete within the top 20 receive an invitation to compete in the Games by winning a Sanctionals competition, CrossFit Inc. will not backfill the top 20 position to the next athlete.
4. CrossFit Rulebook: Only Concept2 Rowers May be Used
After problems with rowers from different companies during 18.1, CrossFit have been quick to clarify that Concept2 must be used. Good for Box owners to know.
5. You Must Claim Your Citizenship to a Country in Order to Compete in The Open
To qualify for the 2019 CrossFit Games you need to either finish in the top 20 worldwide in the Open, win a CrossFit Sanctioned Event or place highest in the Open rankings in your own respective country. CrossFit Inc. also reserves the right to invite four individual athletes to compete at the Games.
The CrossFit Open 2019 will begin in February, and run for 5 weeks through to March 25th.
- Week 1 – Thursday, Feb. 21st – Monday, Feb. 25th
- Week 2 – Thursday, Feb. 28th – Monday, Mar. 4th
- Week 3 – Thursday, Mar. 7th – Monday, Mar. 11th
- Week 4 – Thursday, Mar. 14h – Monday, Mar. 18th
- Week 5 – Thursday, Mar. 21st – Monday, Mar. 25th
Stay tuned to BOXROX for the latest workout announcements.
Clearly this has much wider implications than the previous qualifying process, as it is obviously harder to qualify as the highest ranked US Athlete than it is to qualify the highest ranked athlete from Lichtenstein, for example, in the Open. This means that the CrossFit Games is now open to a much wider field of athletes.
For the majority of people, they will be registered to compete in the country in which they live, work and train. but there are many anomalies and details that are important to note if you are are in the military, living and/or working abroad, travelling etc. Make sure you read the exact rules properly. The following are from the brand new CrossFit 2019 rulebook.
1.07 – OPEN REGISTRATION – COUNTRY SELECTION
During the registration process, athletes will provide information to establish their competition country for the Open. Athletes will remain assigned to this country throughout the competition season up through the Games.
Requirements used to determine an athlete’s competition country are based on citizenship at the close of the first Open workout. For the vast majority of athletes, their country will coincide with where they live, work and train on a daily basis.
Any country that has at least one active CrossFit affiliate in good standing with CrossFit Inc. at the close of the first Open workout will have a chance to send a qualified athlete to the Games.
Athletes do not need to be living in the country with which they claim citizenship. So long as the athlete is a citizen of a country with an active CrossFit affiliate in good standing with CrossFit Inc., that athlete may register to represent said country.
1.08 – OPEN REGISTRATION – COUNTRY SELECTION – EXAMPLES FOR UNCOMMON SITUATIONS
For certain individuals, selecting a competition country may not be so straightforward. The guidelines below address some uncommon examples for selecting an athlete’s competition country.
Military personnel (active duty and reserve in all branches) will compete for the country where they hold citizenship. Military personnel will compete for that country regardless of Temporary Duty Assignments (TDA/TDY) and/or deployment.
Athletes with dual citizenship will have the ability to choose which country they would like to represent for the season. Athletes can only compete for one country.
Athletes in the middle of applying for new citizenship/adjusted status will compete for the country where they are a current citizen at the end of the first week of the Open.
Athletes who gain new citizenship after the conclusion of the first week of the Open will not be able to change their country and will compete for the original country for which they registered. Errors in choosing the appropriate country may result in the disqualification of an athlete. For any questions concerning country selection, please contact support@crossfitgames.com PRIOR to the registration deadline.¹
¹Copyright © 2019 CrossFit Inc. All Rights Reserved. CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit Inc, COMPETITION RULEBOOK
6. New Cash Prizes
CrossFit Rulebook: THE 2019 CROSSFIT OPEN
A cash prize of US$2,019.00 will be awarded each week for the top score by an individual man and individual woman worldwide.
In order to claim this prize, athletes must submit a video of the workout before the announced deadline to CrossFit Inc., even if the workout was completed at an affiliate with a registered judge.
(Note: Top athletes are advised to record and retain videos of all their Open performances should these be required by CrossFit Inc.) All prizes are subject to applicable taxes and withholding, and the prize winner’s compliance with and agreement to CrossFit Inc.’s prize affidavit.¹
CrossFit Rulebook: THE CROSSFIT GAMES
Cash prizes will be awarded to the top performers. All cash prizes will be paid in U.S. dollars.
Top Overall Finish – Individual Athletes (men and women)
- First Place: $300,000
- Second Place: $115,000
- Third Place: $75,000
- Fourth Place: $50,000
- Fifth Through Eighth Place: $35,000, $30,000, $27,000 and $25,000, respectively
- Ninth Through 20th Place: $23,000, $21,000, $18,000, $16,000, $15,000, $14,000, $13,000, $12,000, $11,000, $10,000, $9,000 and $8,000, respectively
Top Finish by Event – Individual Athletes (men and women)
- First Place: $3,000
- Second Place: $2,000
- Third Place: $1,000
Top Overall Finish – Masters Athletes, 35-39 Division (men and women)
- First Place: $25,000
- Second Place: $10,000
- Third Place: $5,000
Top Overall Finish – Masters Athletes (men and women, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60+ age divisions)
- First Place: $10,000
- Second Place: $5,000
- Third Place: $3,000
Top Overall Finish – Teams (prize per team)
- First Place: $100,000
- Second Place: $70,000
- Third Place: $40,000
- Fourth Place: $25,000²
¹ Copyright © 2019 CrossFit Inc 2019 Rulebook. All Rights Reserved. CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit Inc
²IBID
