“We would love to shoot for the top 10 or top 15, especially if the workouts are in our favor ... . Ultimately, we truly hope to just stay in the moment and really enjoy the opportunity.” ~Michelle Crawford
As the 2014 Open came to a close and athletes were preparing for regional invites, the members of Rising CrossFit Ballantyne were ecstatic that two teams from its affiliate had the opportunity to attend the Mid Atlantic Regional: Rising Orange and Rising Blue.
Games veteran Michelle Crawford was especially thankful for the community of members who surrounded both of teams all season.
“They’re so into it and they are so supportive,” Crawford said. “Their constant encouragement has been unbelievable, especially on those training days that just kind of drag. We are so thankful for them.”
Fueled with community support and humble ambition, Rising Orange made it to the podium on the third day of regional competition and will travel to Carson, California, to compete for the Affiliate Cup.
Rising at Regionals
The Rising Orange team combines former college athletes, current coaching staff and veteran CrossFitters.
“We all come from different athletic backgrounds and levels of competition experience,” Crawford said. “At the end of the day, we work together for the team and because we love to compete and support one another.”
Crawford has three years of individual regional experience and said she feels a little more pressure as part of a team.
“Going into it I thought I was going to be way more calm and not as stressed as I was in previous years,” Crawford said. “But competition is competition. This may sound crazy, but I almost felt more pressure because there are five other people involved and it wasn’t just for me anymore. At the end of the day, I am going to let myself down way before I am going to let five other teammates down.”
Lorraine Castle, fellow team member and Crawford’s sister, has had just the opposite regional experience the past three years. While Crawford was competing as an individual, Castle spent the last several years on the regional team for Ballantyne YMCA CrossFit.
“I love competing as part of a team,” Castle said. “Playing team sports all my life, it’s been such a cool experience to re-create that team experience as an adult. Nothing picks you up more than your teammates cheering you on. It’s always more fun to suffer through a workout when you're doing it as part of a group.”
The members of Rising Orange appeared to suffer very little throughout the weekend. Their goal was to perform the events with precision and stick to the plan that was outlined during team practice. Remaining in the top five for almost the entire weekend with first-place finishes in Events 5 and 6, Rising Orange gave its all.
“Things pretty much went as we’d hoped,” Crawford said. “But we knew we were in a battle there and definitely didn’t take any workout lightly. We knew we were going to have to push and pull our way to the podium.”
David Borrelli, head coach at Rising CrossFit and fellow team member, believed Event 6 was important for Rising Orange. Borrelli has competed as an individual in previous years and this was his first experience on a regional team.
“I just love competing as a team and having that opportunity to bond was great,” Borrelli said. “I knew Event 6 was also going to be a highlight because that is where we made a big jump for the podium.”
Their win in Event 6 put Rising Orange in fourth place going into Day 3 with a 1-point gap from CrossFit Syndicate. Crawford agreed this event was a boost of confidence for the team.
“The handstand push-up workout was the biggest highlight for me because we came from behind,” Crawford said. “It’s the coolest thing to be out there and realize that no one is announcing your name, but you know you’re catching up. To win that workout was really great.”
Perhaps the most memorable moment for the team came from its final appearance in Event 8, the couplet of pull-ups and overhead squats. Castle took the anchor position, which proved to be the determining factor in final points and podium placement.
“Finishing the pull-up and overhead squat workout and running home to my screaming teammates is something I will never forget,” Castle said.
Castle was always optimistic about the final day of competition, but originally doubted her placement as anchor for the workout. Crawford said the team believed in her all along.
“We knew my sister would do ridiculous on her pull-ups and so I had pulled her aside in the week before to tell her she was going last—she would be the anchor,” Crawford explained. “I told her, ‘You’re gonna surprise everyone and this will be your moment.’ I gave her this whole pep talk and so to watch her have that moment and see her cross the line for the team was just incredible.”
Once the Rising Orange members returned to Charlotte, North Carolina, the community at Rising CrossFit Ballantyne showered the team with cakes, balloons and supportive celebration.
“When we got back from competition that next day was Memorial Day,” Castle said. “We were all beat and had no plans to actually work out, but we went over to Rising to be a part of the excitement and see our members. The love and support we felt from home all weekend was truly incredible.”
Crawford agreed.
“After it was all over with the camaraderie and feeling of accomplishment was so great,” Crawford said. “Even now, it just keeps going because we can share the experience with each other. I really loved being a part of that regional experience.”
Gearing Up for the Games
As Rising Orange prepares for its debut at the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games, the events are still a mystery. Despite the unknown, the team stays focused on the heart of CrossFit programming.
“It’s hard to program for the Games because we have no idea what workouts we will have to do,” Crawford said. “We have been doing traditional strength work, traditional gymnastics, traditional CrossFit. We have also added in some more swimming, tire flips and jumping fences. Once a week we have a team workout at a local field just to get practice doing everything possible.”
Borrelli believes keeping the workouts a mystery will work to the team’s advantage, that it will prepare them for just about anything. However, Castle takes a slightly different approach.
“I’m kind of a control freak, so the unknown definitely worries me a bit,” Castle admitted. “Going into regionals at least you have the chance to digest and tackle the WODs before going out there, and mentally that helped me a lot. The Games could be—and likely will be—anything under the sun.”
As a Games veteran, Crawford took on the role of programming for the team and hoped to eliminate some of the anxiety going into the Games experience. She believes it is important to keep an open mind and expect anything.
“The mindset is to just get to the Games as fit as we can be,” Crawford said. “Then hopefully once we are there we can adapt to anything. One of our members made us cement cylinders and we have been carrying those suckers around everywhere.”
Although the team is taking its training seriously, it also realizes the importance of fun.
“To be honest, though, sometimes you just have to shake things up and have a fun day,” Crawford laughed. “I try to gauge the way the team is feeling, but there are times where you just need to have a water balloon fight.”
Since team members are not sure what to expect at the Games, they remain hopeful that some of the workouts will fall into the team’s wheelhouse.
“If I could handpick a workout for our team it would most definitely be some sort of 200-m sprint relay,” Crawford said. “We have a lot of great runners on our team. Not like the Burden Run, that doesn’t count. We don’t want to run carrying something.”
Borrelli and Castle agreed anything with running would give their team an amazing advantage.
Castle added: “I would also say a longer chipper, more leg-dominant workouts, with lots of gymnastics movements.”
The team is excited for the Games experience and members recently sat down to set goals.
“I would love for us to make it into the top 10 … to stand by one another throughout the experience is a bonus,” Borrelli said.
Castle is not sure what to expect from her first trip to the Games or how Rising Orange will stack up against other teams. But she plans to “give it all we have out there, work together as a team, and proudly represent Rising and its members.”
She agreed with Crawford in that having a little fun wouldn’t hurt either.
“We would love to shoot for the top 10 or top 15, especially if the workouts are in our favor,” Crawford said. “The Games is a long event and we are really looking to just keep in the present, stay positive and keep each other encouraged. We are bound to have a bad event, but it’s likely we will have a good event, as well. Ultimately, we truly hope to just stay in the moment and really enjoy the opportunity.”
For now, the team will continue to meet on a weekly basis. They are continually practicing the art of communication and purposeful training. Crawford said the team’s members coach each other.
“Everyone one of us is a coach at our box, in some way or another,” Crawford said. “When we all got together we decided we were just gonna try and recreate intensity, high-level intensity, every single time we train. Every single day we are going after each other. Everyone is kind of coaching each other, but we don’t have a traditional coach for the team.”
Before leaving for California, Rising Orange plans to return a small portion of the support and a token of appreciation to the members of Rising CrossFit Ballantyne.
“The weekend before we leave for the Games we are doing a ‘Rising Games’ for our members,” Crawford said. “We are holding a little mini competition just to thank them for all of the support they have given us. It’s just a way for the coaches and the members of Rising Orange to compete as a community and give back to them. We are truly thankful for this experience.”
