Most live shows offer production crews some predictability, some opportunity to plan minute details. Not a live CrossFit event.

“Every competition is different, and especially in the Open there’s the element of surprise,” says Kutcher Miller, director of live Open announcements.

Miller has been behind the scenes on numerous events, including the X Games.

The live Open announcements, he emphasizes, keep the crew on its toes.

“You can plan as much as you can plan, but until you know the workout and until the athletes hit the field of play … you just don’t know everything.”

Get a sneak peek at what happens on the production side of things in this fourth installment of Backstage Pass. This time, we’re in Seattle for Open Workout 14.4, featuring Games athletes Josh Bridges and Scott Panchik.

Fellow Games athlete Rory Zambard—a coach at CrossFit Bellevue, the venue for the announcement—says spectating can be more enjoyable than competing.

“It takes the stress off you, and then I get to learn from their mistakes and then go do it myself,” she says, laughing.

Video by Jordan Gravatt.