Individual Quarterfinals: New National Champions, Smartest Strategy, and Participation Percentage

Now that Individual Quarterfinals is done and over, it is possible to look back at the numbers and see what changed with the new CrossFit season. After the individual Quarterfinals, we can discover 10 new national champions, the participation percentage of males and females that qualified but did not compete in the Quarterfinals, and also who managed to use the new rulebook in his/her advantage.

CrossFit Inc. has released the participation percentage of athletes who qualified for the Quarterfinals, but ultimately did not finish a single test and, therefore, did not compete in the inaugural event.

Just over half of all athletes eligible competed in the Quarterfinals. 52% of women and 55% of men participated in the event. Africa was the continent with the highest participation in both male (61%) and female (55%) divisions

In total, 25,021 athletes received the invitation to the Quarterfinals, but 13,368 participated in at least one test. There is a possibility that athlete’s chose not to participate in the Quarterfinals because they will compete in a team, instead of individual.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Saving Energy During the Open Proves a Smart Strategy

An athlete’s result during the Open was reset into the Quarterfinals, meaning many elite athletes did not push to the limit during Open workouts revealed by Dave Castro, assuming he/she would be above the cutline without making 100% of effort.

The best example of this strategy is Adam Klink, an American athlete from CrossFit Krypton who finished the Open in 901^st position in North America during 2021 Open, qualified for the Quarterfinals and finished in 102^nd place, guaranteeing his invitation to the Semifinals.

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In the women’s division, the athlete who finished the lowest in the Open, but managed to qualify for the Semifinals is Sierra Cameron, from the United States. She ended up in 730th place during the Open in North America, and qualified for the Semifinals after ending up in 92^nd place in the Quarterfinals.

That strategy can also end the dream of some athletes to compete in the Semifinals who did well in the Open. Across both genders, a total of 101 women and 121 men who finished in top position in the Open (top 120 in North America, top 60 in Europe, and top 30 in Oceania, South America, Asia and Africa) did not qualify for the Semifinals. Of those athletes, 81 did not participate at all in any of the Quarterfinals’ test.

Source: Cros

Individual Quarterfinals – Who Did Not Participate?

As you’ve read above, not all athletes participated in the Quarterfinals. In total, 128 countries qualified athletes to the Individual Quarterfinals, but only athletes from 118 countries completed at least one of the Quarterfinals’ test. As a comparison, 159 countries participated in the Open this season.

The countries that did not manage to get a single athlete to compete in the Quarterfinals are:

• Barbados
• Ivory Coast
• Kosovo
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• Qatar
• San Marino
• Senegal
• Tonga
• Vietnam

Most of the countries above managed to qualify only one athlete for the Quarterfinals, except for Kosovo and Montenegro, which had two athletes invited to the event.

Newest National Champions

Previously, BOXROX has named 32 men and 30 women from their respective country as the National Champions because nobody qualified for the Quarterfinals and they were the best placed athletes in the Open.

Now with the end of Individual Quarterfinals, and the new rules regarding a country’s fittest, we can add a few more names to the growing list of National Champions. Here they are:

Male

Female