Thursday, October 10, 2013

The Granite Games: Putting Crossfit On The Map In St. Cloud, MN

The past weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at The Granite Games in St. Cloud, MN. The crossfit competition attracted over 500 athletes from around the United States.  Twenty of the individuals have participated in the "CrossFit Games", which you may have seen on ESPN at one point or another. WOW, talk about being able to witness some amazing talent and strength!  It was rather humbling watching athletes from the scaled division all the way up to the elite perform the intense WODs. My volunteer position allowed me a front row seat to see all the action!

Ready to spring into action!

You are probably wondering what my job was for the day.  Well, I was on the "WOD Setup Team."  My day consisted of arriving at 6:15 AM on Sunday and being briefed on the details of the two WODs that were to be undertaken on the final day. The event kept my team very busy and on our toes. The first WOD consisted of toes to bar, back squats, and deadlifts.  Between each heat we had a few minutes to run out and wipe off all the equipment in order to keep the schedule on track. There were also four divisions- elite, as RX, scaled, and team.  In between each division we were required to roll out different weights and properly set up the bars!  Every eight minutes we sprung into action to prepare for the next heat and/or division. The first WOD took us all through the morning and into the early afternoon. 

Elite females tackling the first WOD on Sunday.

Next up were the finals!  This WOD consisted of a 500 m row, wall balls, chest to bar pull-ups, ground to overhead, pistols, burpee box jump overs, single arm overhead kettlebell squats, heavy cleans, and shoulder to overheads!  Yes, that is all!  These heats took a little longer and had a 20 minute time cap. Setup became even more interesting as all the bar work caused many athletes to tear open their hands and bleed. Our team was busy wiping up blood, disinfecting equipment, and even picking up the occasional piece of skin.  After tear down and cleanup, my volunteer day ended at about 9 PM. 

The finals!

Our WOD setup team was amazing and worked together well!  We lifted a lot of weight ourselves no additional workout needed for me that day to setup and provide a class act for the athletes competing. I was able to watch friends from my home box, Crossfit Fast Factory, compete along with friends from Crossfit Mendota and Crossfit 701!  I don't have the crossfit competition itch yet, but it may happen one day. 

Checkout more details and results of the event at: www.thegranitegames.com


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