CrossFit, Inc. today announced the first-ever CrossFit-sanctioned event, the Dubai CrossFit Championship, a four-day, official CrossFit competition taking place Dec. 12-15, 2018, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The event will bring athletes from around the world together to compete for a spot at the CrossFit Games.
The announcement is part of recent changes designed to refocus CrossFit on its core mission of preventing and reversing chronic disease while expanding the opportunities for athletes to qualify for the CrossFit Games through sanctioned events.
"The Dubai CrossFit Championship marks the beginning of a new chapter for CrossFit," said CrossFit Founder Greg Glassman. "The miracle of CrossFit happens in each one of our affiliates that help people get healthy and stay that way. Partnering with organizations like the folks in Dubai means we can really focus on that core mission. Through CrossFit-sanctioned events like the Dubai CrossFit Championship, we'll be able to keep pace with the growth of this international sport."
CrossFit-sanctioned competitions are replacing CrossFit's Regional events and will become a direct pathway for the top men, women and team competitors to receive invitations to compete at the CrossFit Games. The Dubai CrossFit Championship is the first sanctioned event to be announced. CrossFit anticipates that additional sanctioned events will be announced in the coming months.
In addition to the qualifiers from sanctioned events, the top male, female and team competitors in the CrossFit Games Open from each country that is home to at least one CrossFit affiliate will earn spots to compete at the CrossFit Games the following summer.
The Dubai CrossFit Championship, previously known as the Dubai Fitness Championship, has attracted CrossFit athletes of the highest caliber since its initiation in 2012, and it continues to provide the excitement and challenge sought by athletes internationally in the heart of one of the world's most dynamic and important global centers of commerce and trade.
Stay tuned for additional announcements and the release of the 2019 Rulebook for details about the 2019 CrossFit Games season.