"There was no question about the quality of the teams taking to the floor to start Day 1, with many affiliates fielding athletes who declined individual invites to the 2014 Regionals for the chance to compete as part of a team."
Anticipation was high on Day 1 of the 2014 Australia Regional.
The talk around the chalk bucket in the lead up to the competition had been dominated by speculation—Will the inclusion of movements such as handstand walks and strict handstand push-ups create some upsets on the floor? Will new, emerging talent in the region overtake some long-time favorites to finish on the podium?
The crowd was slow to trickle in to the WIN Entertainment Centre in the beachside town of Wollongong on Australia's east coast, but the excitement quickly grew as spectators from far and wide arrived to cheer on the fittest athletes from Australia and New Zealand.
The national anthems were followed by a spine-tingling Haka, a traditional Maori war cry or dance from New Zealand that demonstrates strength and prowess, and is often performed before sporting events to intimidate the opposition.
There was no question about the quality of the teams taking to the floor to start Day 1, with many affiliates fielding athletes who declined individual invites to the 2014 Regionals for the chance to compete as part of a team. This included Alahna Marshall of Tropic Thunder (17th in the Open), and Sam Joraslafsky of CrossFit Loaded (48th in the Open) whose decisions saw their respective teams placed in the top 10 at the start of competition.
Team Event 1
Event 1 was all about CrossFit Active's Orange Army with three teams—CrossFit Active, CrossFit Active Units and CrossFit Active Dream—dominating the opening heats.
However, it was the CrossFit Active team, which placed 12th at the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games, that demolished the event in an impressive time of 6:23—the fastest time worldwide to date and the new event record.
Team member George Sechos said the plan was to hit their numbers unbroken.
“We were able to do that and hit our numbers well and were able to remain composed,” he said.
CrossFit Athletic crossed the line almost two minutes later, but together with CrossFit Active, they were by far the standouts in the opening event with the muscle-ups causing problems for the women on almost all other teams.
Sammy Wood from CrossFit Athletic said the team was doing better than they expected and fellow athlete Christie Jenkins agreed.
“We did it all in training and came out and did it exactly as we did in training,” she said.
The final heat showed just how big a difference there was between the top 10 teams and the other 20 qualifiers with six finishing well inside the time cap.
Unlike 2013, every member of each team was able to complete at least one muscle-up, however, the movement still brought several teams unstuck, including Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne who returned from the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games with a 14th-place finish.
Schwartzs came into the regional with high expectations having made two consecutive Games appearances. They started the 2014 Regional ranked third, finishing Event 1 in fourth place overall.
In Heat 1, a new look CrossFit Moorabbin team was the standout, however they couldn’t complete the event inside the time cap with the muscle-ups troubling their women.
In Heat 2, Southern CrossFit Green looked sure to be the first team to finish under the time cap, but with just two muscle-ups to go, their final female competitor struggled on the rings and ended with three failed attempts leaving them tied for seventh with CrossFit Active Units.
Overall, there were no real surprises in Event 1 with CrossFit Active and CrossFit Athletic the standout affiliates with more than one athlete on each team having qualified as an individual.
2012 Reebok CrossFit Games qualifiers Tropic Thunder showed they were again contenders with a strong finish for third place.
Team Event 1 Results
1. CrossFit Active (6:22)
2. CrossFit Athletic (8:08)
3. Tropic Thunder (10:35)
Team Events 2 & 3
The biggest team lift of the day came from Heat 1, with the bearded giant Daniel Tinitali from CrossFit Geelong smashing out a massive 275-lb. lift with just 10 seconds left on the clock.
“That was a PB for me, but I probably could have added another 10 kg (22 lb.) if it was from the floor,” Tinitali said.
The snatches were a mixed bag for all teams.
CrossFit Athletic showed their skill on the bar, with the women dominating. Two of their female lifters hit an impressive 150 lb.
Wood said it was literally a weight off the team's shoulders to be finished with Event 2.
“It was the event with the most pressure and we’re happy with how we went,” she said.
The judges were quick to no-rep athletes who attempted to ride a power snatch into an overhead squat rather than completing the hang snatch as prescribed.
When it came to the handstand walk, it was a case of the tortoise and the hare, with some team members racing to the finish and others opting for the slow, safe and steady approach. Interesting techniques were a surprisingly regular sight with one of the members of CrossFit Geelong air-walking with his legs and one of the girls from CrossFit 2444, Breeanna Stone, walking the length of the stadium backwards.
Team Event 2 Results
1. CrossFit Athletic (1030)
2. Tropic Thunder (1010)
3T. CrossFit Geelong (1005)
3T. Southern CrossFit - Green (1005)
Team Event 3 Results
1. CrossFit Active (540)
2. CrossFit Athletic (495)
3. Tropic Thunder (455)
Overall Standings
1. CrossFit Athletic (5)
2. CrossFit Active (7)
3. Tropic Thunder (8)
4. Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne (24)
5. Reebok CrossFit Frankston (24)
6. Raw Commando (26)
7. Southern CrossFit Green (27)
8. CrossFit HPU (29)
9. CrossFit Active Units (32)
10. Team ALIVE (37)
The team athletes have taken to the stands for a well-earned rest or headed home for recovery, and the top three teams have secured a comfortable lead with the fourth- and fifth-placed teams, Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne and Reebok CrossFit Frankston, trailing by 16 points with 24 points each.
Although injury precluded Matt Healey from participating in the Open this year, the crowd was not deprived of his lively presence on the floor. Healey joined the commentary team and mixed expert insight with entertainment as he critiqued competitor fashion and encouraged the crowd to get up and dance between heats. As the crowd waited for the individual men to start, Healey treated the crowd to a dancing display of his own and proved that he is well on the road to recovery by finishing with an impressive backflip.