In 2010, the CrossFit Gold Coast team finished second to last at the Australia Regional. This year they finished second at their Regional and are heading to the Games. We interviewed them to find out the secrets behind their team's improved performance.
How does your team feel about your Regionals performance? What surprised you? What do you feel your could have done better on as a team?
After sitting 13th from 14 at last years Regionals, we had a more focused approach to the Affiliate Competition this year. The top 3 male and female qualifiers from CrossFit Gold Coast in the Open opted to give the team every chance of making it to the Games. Our performance at Regionals was as good as we had hoped for and after Day 1 we knew we had a great chance of getting on the plane to LA. We prepared as well as we could have and we wouldn’t have done anything differently looking back. The programming leading up to the Regionals was spot on and we didn’t have any real weaknesses across the board.
How did Regionals compare to the Open?
The Open was quite different this year and it’s reassuring working out in your own familiar surroundings. Our judging was harsh and only Level 1 Trainers were permitted to judge athletes, as we knew the standard would be the same in Sydney. Regionals are always the pinnacle of CrossFit in Australia and the atmosphere and facilities were sensational. We really enjoyed the standard of competition of the Regional and it’s great to see how much everyone across Australia has improved since last year.
If you've been to the Games before, what lessons did you learn from that experience that you're carrying into this year?
None of the team has been to the Games before, so this is unchartered territory for us. Having Coach Jeremy Austin travel through the US for six weeks earlier this year is invaluable in regards to managing jetlag and fatigue. We have some seasoned travelers in the team as well as some first timers and having Karise Wilson as a physio we can also benefit from any treatment we may need in the lead up. We will leave nothing to chance and be ready for any outcome. Preparation will be the key!
Are you doing anything differently in your training in the lead-up to the Games?
We are not doing anything differently in preparation for the Games, just increasing the number of times the team gets together. Different modalities, time domains, movement patterns and training in different times and places will hopefully cover all eventualities.
Does your team pay much attention to the other Regionals? What did you think of them?
We kept an eye on what others were doing but did not dwell on it too much. We debriefed on the Regional workouts and how and where we could improve and hopefully we can be very competitive at the end of July. It was good to be one of the first Regionals to complete the competition, as I’m not sure if our preparation would have been different if we had a few more weeks under our belts. There were some great results from some Affiliates and we are looking forward to rubbing shoulders with some great athletes.