The Affiliate Cup is back for the 2021 CrossFit Games competitive season, CrossFit announced this week with the release of this year’s competition rulebook.
“Any CrossFit affiliate in good standing with CrossFit, LLC will have the ability to register a team for the Affiliate Cup team competition,” states the document.
Up to 2018, the Affiliate Cup served as the official team competition for the CrossFit Games and allowed athletes training under the same affiliate to represent their communities at the highest level of competition. It was then replaced by a clause allowing athletes to form a team regardless of where they trained.
The 2021 Affiliate Cup starts with the CrossFit Open, where athletes training together can form a team and compete. Based on their Open rank, the top 25% of the total number of teams per continent (with a minimum of at least 50 teams from each continent) will be eligible to participate in the new Quarterfinals.
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More details about who can join a team below.
What is the CrossFit Affiliate Cup?
The Affiliate Cup is the official team competition of the CrossFit Games. It allows teams of four athletes – two men and two women – who train primarily in the same CrossFit-affiliated gym to compete together and represent their communities.
The Affiliate Cup starts with the Open, then top teams qualify to the Quarterfinals, which begin on Thursday, April 22, Semifinals, and ultimately the CrossFit Games.
CrossFit affiliates can have more than one team as long as all members of each team consistently train at that affiliate. Team members may not switch between teams.
Who can be part of an Affiliate Cup team?
Teams will consist of at least two men and two women who validly register for the Open and train primarily at the same CrossFit affiliate starting no later than Jan. 1 of the current competition season. Athletes may only compete for one team during each CrossFit Games season.
Athletes who do not train at a CrossFit affiliate are not eligible to register a team for the Affiliate Cup competition.
Eligibility requirements for Affiliate Cup teams
- Athletes competing for a team must be active members of that team’s CrossFit affiliate for the duration of the CrossFit Games season. Team members are required to continue being active members of the team’s CrossFit affiliate until the team is eliminated from competition or until the start of the Games.
- In addition to being active members of the team’s CrossFit affiliate, team athletes all must live within 100 miles of the CrossFit affiliate they are representing. They also need to be able to prove that they regularly train in that affiliate.
- Ultimately, the Licensee of Record (LOR) for an affiliate may not compete on any team other than a team from their own affiliate. The LOR for an affiliate may not be changed in order to allow the original LOR to compete for a different team. If it is changed between January 1 and the close of the first Open workout, either the original LOR nor the new LOR may compete on a different team for the season.
CrossFit Games 2021 Competition Rulebook: What Has Changed?
Image Sources
- obstacle running: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.