In 2020, age-group athletes (masters and teenagers) made up close to 50 percent of Open participants. Some do it for fun, for the challenge, or to push themselves to be a little better than they were yesterday. Others do it for a chance to advance in the competition and compete on the big stage at the CrossFit Games.
Whichever camp you fall in, the 2021 CrossFit Open is for you. This year’s competition is the most accessible to date, offering basic equipment and no-equipment options, Rx’d, scaled, and foundations versions of each workout, and for the first time including an adaptive athletes division that will give athletes with a variety of impairments a chance to compete against athletes with similar disabilities.
Masters Athletes: How to Play
The CrossFit Open includes several masters divisions starting at age 35. Once you register for the Open, you’ll be placed in the appropriate division based on your birthday.
The Open competition kicks off on Thursday, March 11, at 5 p.m. PT, with the announcement of Open Event 21.1. Masters athletes will compete in Open events specific to the masters divisions. Scaled or foundations versions of the Open events will be provided, so each masters athlete can choose the workout most appropriate for their ability level.
Some masters age groups may be tasked with the same workout versions as the individual athletes. These masters athletes will be able to see their rank among the individual athletes and their fellow masters division athletes on the official CrossFit Games Leaderboard.
The CrossFit community is host to some of the most inspiring fitness journeys in the world, and masters athletes enrich our global community with their emphasis on longevity, fitness, and fun.
Masters: How to Advance
If your goal in the 2021 CrossFit Games season is to advance past the Open, here are a few key things to keep in mind.
Based on Open finish rank, the top 10 percent of masters athletes worldwide in each age division will qualify to compete in the Age-Group Online Qualifier.
After the close of the Open, invitations will be sent out to those who have qualified to advance to the Age-Group Online Qualifier, and those athletes must complete registration for the Qualifier prior to submitting any scores. It is important to note that in order to qualify for the Age-Group Online Qualifier, masters athletes must complete the version of each of the Open workouts that requires equipment. Most often, athletes who advance to the Age-Group Online Qualifier will also perform all of the Open workouts as Rx’d, although it is possible to qualify otherwise. As noted in the Rulebook, advancement to the Age-Group Online Qualifier is determined by placement on the overall CrossFit Games Leaderboard, where Rx’d event scores are ranked higher than scaled scores.
The Online Qualifier workouts will be released on Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 5 p.m. PT. Masters athletes will have until Monday, May 10, 2021, at 5 p.m. PT, to submit their scores and any videos requested by CrossFit for these workouts. Please note that any score submissions for workouts not performed at a CrossFit affiliate must be accompanied by a video in order to be judged and validated.
At the start of the Online Qualifier, ranks will reset and each athlete will start with the same rank. At the close of the Online Qualifier, the top 20 men and 20 women in each age-group division will qualify to compete at the Games.
It’s an exciting year to be a masters athlete! CrossFit CEO Eric Roza expressed his intent to provide stellar representation of the masters divisions in the 2021 CrossFit Games season when he and Dave Castro, CrossFit General Manager of Sport, met with the Masters Fitness Collective back in December.
We’re nine weeks out from the start of the world’s largest participatory sporting event in history. The CrossFit Open unites hundreds of thousands of athletes from more than 150 countries in an all-inclusive competition that celebrates community, camaraderie, and fitness.
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