“Some people get so intimidated, but what they need to know is that CrossFit can be for everyone."
Photos courtesy of Katie Werchek
In 2012, River North CrossFit was less than a year old. Still, the affiliate gathered 145 people to compete on its team in the 2012 Open. Even with its big numbers, RNCF’s North Central presence was overshadowed by CrossFit Enhance’s huge Open roster of 520 — enough to earn the title of “World’s Largest Team.”
This year, CrossFit Enhance is out of the picture, and River North shines as North Central’s new big kid on the block. Numbers are up more than 25 percent with a 2013 roster of 197 people.
Generating the numbers
Just under half of the RNCF community is signed up for the Open.
Katie Werchek, owner and coach, encouraged everyone to sign up, but she found a lot of athletes hesitant.
“Some people get so intimidated, but what they need to know is that CrossFit can be for everyone,” she explains.
She fueled interest in the Open with a smaller-scale, box-wide competition. There are three divisions: Rx (Open standards), Ry (modified Open standards) and Rz (beginner).
“(The Ry and Rz divisions) make it so everyone has a group of people they can feel competitive against,” Werchek says.
Ry and Rz athletes are not eligible for official scoring or advancing to the Regional.
But that doesn’t kill the spirit of competition. The winner of each division wins bragging rights and a free month of CrossFit at RNCF. More importantly, it eliminates self-doubt.
Werchek also found that tokenism generates enthusiasm for the Open.
Following the 2012 Open, she made shirts with every participating athlete’s name on them. This small gesture paid dividends in generating interest in competing in the 2013 Open.
“It was a big hit. People wanted to ‘make the shirt’ this year,” Werchek explains.
Team unity
Teams the size of RNCF have the potential to pull enough talent to send two teams to the Regional.
Werchek rejects the idea of splitting the RNCF team. Every athlete who wants to compete is a valued part of the well-oiled machine, she says.
Seasoned athletes and CrossFit newbies are found side-by-side every day, in every class at RNCF.
“Just because someone has been CrossFitting longer … doesn’t mean they need to be in a separate class or have their own hour in the gym,” she says.
Werchek also believes a big team keeps athletes on their toes.
“I think it’s really cool when an athlete that people don’t even recognize … posts a top Open score, and everyone is like, ‘Who is this Molly chick?’” she says.
“It keeps everyone pushing to do their best — especially the athletes that want to be on the RNCF Regional team,” she says.
The logistics of herding 200 athletes through a highly organized, standardized workout is a science RNCF has down to a tee.
The 5,200-square-foot facility runs workouts on the hour, every hour, daily. Open Workouts are no exception. Werchek programs the workout as the Friday workout, and the walls are packed with intensity and excitement.
“Having a group get warmed up for the (workout) and then compete every hour, on the hour is a really cool way to experience the Open,” she says.
See you at the Regional
With the first three workouts done, RNCF sits in ninth place in North Central. River North looks forward to a huge presence at Navy Pier, regardless of whether the team advances to Regionals or not.
Werchek feels a sense of responsibility to put her athletes in a position where they can get the most out of their CrossFit experience, and that means getting North Central’s best athletes in front of them.
“I know what it’s like to go and see the top CrossFit athletes perform and how motivating it is … So yes, we will have a huge presence at the Regional,” she says.
