A mistake during the morning's athlete briefing affected the official scoring for Event 2.
Fans watching the SoCal Regional saw two very different Leaderboards following Events 2 and 3 this afternoon. The first showed six female athletes as DNF (Did Not Finish) after Event 2. Not long after, placements were changed and there were no longer Event 2 DNFs shown. A mistake during the morning’s athlete briefing affected the official scoring.
“This was a mistake on my behalf,” Head Judge Adrian Bozman said. “During the mandatory morning athlete briefing, I incorrectly answered a question by saying that there was no minimum work requirement for Individual Event 2. I made a mistake, clear and simple.”
The correct standard for Individual Event 2 is that athletes complete three successful overhead squats at their opening weight in order to advance in the competition. While the standard for individuals in SoCal was briefed differently than the worldwide standard, all SoCal athletes were held to the same set of rules as relayed by Bozman.
“Despite the inconsistency with other competitions over these four weeks, the SoCal Regional is between these athletes,” said Justin Bergh, GM of the CrossFit Games. “They’re competing for three very tough spots, and all athletes were held to the same standards here today.”
“We understand the implications here,” Bergh continued. “If even one event has a different standard, it’s a big deal. We’re taking every measure to ensure this cannot happen again.”
In response, the six athletes who did not complete a set of three-reps will be ranked below all athletes who successfully completed three reps at any weight. The Leaderboard will be adjusted before Day 2 of the SoCal Regional begins, but all heats for Event 4 will remain the same.