2013 CrossFit Games: New Rule Changes

With next year’s CrossFit Season just 10 weeks away, HQ has now released the revised rulebook for the 2013 CrossFit Games.

As predicted by many people, there has been a number of changes to both the team and individual competitions for the 2013 season.

Here is a breakdown of some of the major changes:

Videos During the CrossFit Open

For the first time ever, CrossFit has introduced a new ‘five-rep’ rule for all video submissions during the 2013 CrossFit Open. The new rule means that if any workout video posted online is off by more than five reps, the entire workout will be invalid. The validation process also takes a bit of time, meaning that if your video is invalidated after the workout deadline, you will miss out for the week.

The new rule will encourage athletes to be extra careful when posting videos online, meaning we will hopefully see less controversial submissions.

Validating Scores During the Open

In 2013, any affiliate manager who intends to validate scores during the CrossFit Open will have to pass a Judges Course. This same course must be completed by any person wishing to be a judge at the Regionals. Regional judges will also be expected to validate workouts during the Open.

At this stage we don’t know exactly when the courses will be held, or what will be included in the tests, but we are being told they will run at the beginning of 2013.

Cash Prizes During the Open

Just like last year there will be a cash prize for the male and female winners of each weeks workouts worldwide. But to be eligible you will have to submit a video of your workout, even if you completed it at an affiliate. This year the cash prize will be $2,013.

Regionals

Unlike last year, only the top 48 male and female competitors from each region will be given a direct invite to the Regionals. However, if a large number of competitors pull out, CrossFit may invite additional athletes to compete. That means all athletes who finish in the top 70 of each region should pay attention to the CrossFit Games website to keep up to date with all announcements.

Team Competition

Next year, CrossFit is trying to avoid top class athletes creating ‘all-star’ teams through affiliates. So in order for athletes to participate on any team, they must meet the ‘more than half’ rule. This basically means that the majority of that athletes training needs to take place at that gym.

In addition, team members must also train together for the entire CrossFit Games season (beginning January 1, 2013). Athletes are being encouraged to keep a detailed training log, and keep photos/videos of them training at their affiliate to help validate this.

You can check out all the changes by reading the full rule book here on CrossFit.com.