CrossFit will use the worldwide rankings to finalize the number of Games-qualifying positions at each Semifinal. Each competition region has the opportunity to add to their minimum number of guaranteed Games-qualifying position(s).
The top 100 athletes in the worldwide rankings* after the Quarterfinals will be used to determine the relative strength of field at each Semifinal. Semifinals with more athletes within the top 100 worldwide will be more likely to earn additional Games-qualifying positions.
(*Note: the top 100 in the worldwide rankings are based on the previous two years of competition results. This list is not simply the top 100 athletes from the Quarterfinals competition.)
Related: Watch "Strength of Field & Qualifying for the CrossFit Games Explained"
Since there are 40 total Games positions available, the remaining 17 will be allocated based on the top 100 worldwide. Within each Semifinal, strength-of-field calculations will be made separately for men and women. For example, it is possible for a Semifinal to gain one additional position for the men, but the women may not earn any additional positions, or vice versa.
The strength-of-field calculation implemented to distribute the 17 remaining Games spots is based on the D’Hondt method, which is used by governments around the world to award seats based on proportional representation. The method uses rounds of calculation, awarding one seat after each round of calculation. So, for the 17 remaining Games positions, 17 rounds of calculations will be completed.
Each round of calculation will award a score to each region by dividing the number of athletes within the top 100 worldwide by the number of seats awarded (above the number of guaranteed positions) plus one.
| Score = Athletes Within the Top 100 Worldwide Additional Positions Awarded + 1 |
The region with the highest score during a round of calculation will be awarded an additional qualifying position. Then, the next round of calculation is completed and the process continues.
The calculation is illustrated below using a hypothetical distribution of the top 100 women:
Number of women in the top 100 of the worldwide ranking by region:
- 34 - N. America East
- 18 - N. America West
- 31 - Europe
- 5 - Oceania
- 4 - S. America
- 4 - Asia
- 4 - Africa
The formula is then applied to each region. In this case, the number of women in the top 100 worldwide in each region is divided by 1 since each region has not had any seats awarded above the minimum (the divisor in the formula is the number of seats awarded above the minimum + 1).
| Score = Athletes Within the Top 100 Worldwide Additional Positions Awarded + 1 |
N.A East = 34 0+1 |
North America East has the highest score in the first round and is therefore awarded one additional qualifying position.
The second round of calculations now begins and the formula is again applied to all regions. Any region that is not awarded a position in the previous round will maintain its score since there is no change to its divisor. Any region that was awarded a position will see its score changed as its divisor has now changed.
For example, in the second round of calculations, North America East’s score becomes 17 since its original score of 34 is now divided by 2 (1 awarded position + 1).
| Score = Athletes Within the Top 100 Worldwide Additional Positions Awarded + 1 |
N.A East = 34 1+1 |
In the second round, Europe has the highest score and is therefore awarded one additional qualifying position.
In the third round, Europe’s new divisor becomes 2, changing its score to 15.5. The other region’s scores carry over from the previous round, resulting in North America West being awarded the third qualifying position, as it has the highest score of the round.
The process is repeated until all 17 qualifying positions have been distributed. The full 17 rounds of calculation in this scenario can be seen below. The bolded score in each column represents the winner of each round. The columns on the right show the number of awarded positions and the final number of positions at each Semifinal. The same process would then be repeated for the men’s division based on the regional distribution of men in the top 100 worldwide.
Any ties during the rounds of calculation will be awarded to the Semifinal with the fewer number of Games positions already awarded. If a tie still exists, it will be broken by awarding the qualifying position to the region with the highest individually ranked athlete.
Note that in the final round, South America, Asia, and Africa would have needed a score higher than 4.86 to be awarded an additional qualifying position. Said another way, if any of those regions had just one more athlete within the top 100 worldwide, bringing their original score to 5, it is likely they would have been awarded an additional qualifying position. This illustrates the ability of Semifinal competitions to gain more qualifying positions as more athletes in their region enter the top 100 worldwide.
The bottom line for athletes and fans: The more athletes who are within the top 100 worldwide ranking in your region, the more likely your Semifinal will gain additional Games-qualifying positions.
For more information regarding the strength of field, please contact support@crossfitgames.com.