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Why the CrossFit Quarterfinals Became So Important

It influences directly the CrossFit Games.

The CrossFit Quarterfinals begins today and used to be argued that it is the least important/exciting competition of the official season. Not any more. Find out why the CrossFit Quarterfinals became so important for the Sport.

In short words:

  • After Quarterfinals, the ranking worldwide system will be updated.
  • If an athlete does not compete in individual Quarterfinals, he/she will be removed from the ranking worldwide system.
  • The top 100 athletes from the updated worldwide ranking system are used to determine the strength-of-field of each Semifinal.
  • The “stronger” a Semifinal is, with more athletes from the top 100 , the more Games-qualifying spots it can have.
  • A few notable athletes from the top 100 ranking will not be participating this year, which could impact the outcome of Games-qualifying spots to that Semifinal – most notably 1st place Tia-Clair Toomey is not competing due to her pregnancy.

The Quarterfinals are incredibly important for the season because of one special thing called “new worldwide ranking system.” The first time it was mentioned was in November last year – CrossFit HQ said it was going to be implementing something titled strength-of-field.

According to a press release, the strength-of-field determines the final number of qualifying spots at each Semifinal event. Later in February, CrossFit revealed the missing puzzle piece that made the Quarterfinals one of the most important competitions of the season.

Remind me: Out of the 40 total qualifying spots available for the CrossFit Games, only 23 were previously assigned and spread to the 7 Semifinals. The last 17 spots will be determined by CrossFit’s new worldwide ranking system.

Read More: Top 5 Hardest CrossFit Open Workouts EVER

“The top 100 athletes in the worldwide rankings after the 2023 Quarterfinals will be used to determine the relative strength-of-field at each Semifinal. Semifinals with more athletes within the top 100 worldwide will be more likely to earn additional Games-qualifying positions.”

This means that, after the Quarterfinals, the worldwide ranking system will be updated and we will know how many Games-qualifying spots each Semifinal will have depending on the Quarterfinals.

Because of these new changes, Quarterfinals used to be the competition that would separate intermediate athletes from advanced – Semifinals would then separate the advanced from elite competitors. Now Quarterfinals has the implication of dictating how many spots each Semifinal around the world could have.

new worldwide ranking system CrossFitSource: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

The Quarterfinals workouts will be revealed according to the schedule below.

Individuals

Thursday, March 16 – Workouts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Announced

Teams

Wednesday, March 29 – Workouts 1 and 2 Announced

Thursday, March 30 – Workouts 3 and 4 Announced

Age Groups

Friday, March 31 – Workouts 1 and 2 Announced

Saturday, April 1 – Workouts 3 and 4 Announced

Read More: Official 2023 CrossFit Semifinal Dates and Locations

How Can The Next Week Influence The Games Outcome?

As we mentioned before, the Quarterfinals will impact directly the number of Games-qualifying spots each Semifinal around the globe will have.

BOXROX has made calculations according to the D’Hondt method, the same utilised by CrossFit to determine the strength-of-field at each Semifinal, with the current top 100 athletes in the ranking system.

As it stands, Semifinals from both men’s and women’s divisions would have the following Games-spot qualifying:

  • North America East – 12
  • Europe – 11
  • South America – 2
  • Asia – 2
  • Africa – 1

The qualifying Spots differ from men’s and women’s divisions for Semifinals in Oceania and the North America West.

  • North America West – 8 men / 7 women
  • Oceania – 3 men / 4 women

CrossFit warned that qualifying spots could be different from the two divisions as it all depends on where in the world the athletes from the top 100 are.

You can check out the current top 100 athletes from the men’s division here and for the women’s division here.

Kara Saunders and Tia-Clair ToomeySource: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

There are a few notable names that are featured in the top 100 ranking system that we know will not be competing this year. They are:

  • Tia-Clair Toomey – 1st place
  • Haley Adams – 4th
  • Kara Saunders – 10th
  • Kristi Eramo O’Connell – 12th
  • Seungyeon Choi – 25th
  • Samantha Briggs – 29th
  • Lucy Campbell – 30th

These are just some of the names we can remember from the top of our heads. In contrast, one elite-level athlete we know will be featured in the top 100 this year is Annie Thorisdotir. The 2x Fittest on Earth has announced she won’t be spearheading her team again this year, but rather going back to competing as an individual.

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