It was an early start for the two CrossFit Empower teams as they arrived at Percy Perry Stadium at 6am Sunday morning to prepare for their first event.  At least they didn’t have to battle the midday heat as they took on the team version of We the North which provided the Barbell Ninjas their best Games finish as they beat more than half the 50 competing scaled teams with the help of The Nuke’s great coaching!

The next team event was a one rep max hang clean.  First day jitters behind them and seasoned by Saturday’s experience with the snatch, both teams showed much improved coordination, planning, communication and team work executing with precision.  Personal bests all around as our 6 women all hit their bests making us proud.

End Game was the final event for the teams and here the Barbell Ninja’s great team work was really on display as they coordinated partner wall balls and synchronized knee raises with precision.  Sprite overcame the box jump.  She’d struggled with it in training but blasted through with no pauses and no missed reps when it came time to perform!  The 3 Decades weren’t as coordinated but HeeHee saved them from a last place finish when she skillfully attacked the rope climb in the closing seconds of the event.

End Game was a good event for our Masters athletes as well.

With a 1o minute time cap:
4 rounds of
1 rope climb
15 Wall balls @14/20lbs
10 T2B
then, 4 rounds of
5 Bar Muscle Ups
7 HSPU
9 Box Jump Overs @20/24″

WOD Father led his heat through the first 4 rounds but Tom, in the lane beside him passed him by at the bar muscle ups.  Undeterred, WOD Father caught and passed Tom at the box jump overs only to be passed again in the second set of bar muscle ups.  The time ran out with WOD Father trailing in the HSPU taking second place in the heat.

Colossus came into this event dreading the rope climb, but despite his inexperience with this skill he was able to complete all four rounds of rope climbs successfully without a missed rep!

By the time the Masters women got to this event, the heat was oppressive.  That didn’t stop them from performing though.  Motor took her best finish of the Games here with a 2nd place.  Silk pushed past her previous attempts at this WOD to earn her a 4th place finish overall.

Max Hang Snatch was the 2nd event for the Masters and here Super Mario took his first top finish of the Games with a 180lb hang power snatch.  WOD Father had to settle for 3rd with 170lbs.  Waterboy set a big personal best with 160lbs and Colossus with 150lbs.

Once again, our Masters women had big break throughs on the lifting events as they both scored Personal Bests.  Motor with 90lbs, Silk with 105lbs.

We the North, and 8 minutes, workout with 3 rounds of Ski Erg, Handstand Walk and Shuttle Run was the last event of the day for the Masters.  Not expecting to finish all 3 rounds inside the time cap WOD Father surprised himself when he scored a personal best in round 1 with an unbroken 30ft handstand walk and then bested that with 40ft unbroken in round 2.  Round three didn’t go as smoothly but WOD Father was still able to finish with just less than a minute remaining taking second in the heat for the second time Sunday.

Silk, no doubt buoyed by her throng of admiring fans, put on a handstand walk clinic complete with graceful roll out into a shuttle run.  To no one’s surprise, this was her best Games event as she finished 3rd place.

Colossus and Motor took the coaching advice and avoided potentially injurious attempts at the handstand walk.  Sometimes it’s better to walk away.

It was a long, busy, hot day with 3 events apiece but, in the end, there were smiles all around.  Our rookies were pleasantly surprised to discover how much fun it is to compete.  The camaraderie between competitors is fun and fulfilling.  New friendships were forged, memories made, lessons learned and horizons expanded.

Barbell Ninjas (48th) finished ahead of 49th placed 3 Decades.

Silk improved from last year to 9th place.

The men 45-49 finished WOD Father 13th, Sandman 16th, Super Mario 17th and Waterboy 18th.

And Motor stepped up to carry on Mr. Fantastic’s tradition of ensuring Empower always has an athlete on the podium as she took 3rd place in her rookie year.

Best Finishes
Barbell Ninjas: 22nd We the North
3 Decades: 41st Bullet Proof
Colossus: 13th Get After It (6:36!)
Motor: 2nd End Game
Silk: 3rd We the North
WOD Father: 7th Going Big (Clean & Jerk 1 rep max, of course)
Sandman: 12th Axle
Super Mario: 13th Going Big (again, no surprise)
Waterboy: 14th Suns Out, Guns Out (hang snatch)

But it’s not about the rankings or medals we’re bringing home.  It is about the personal best performances every Empower athlete experienced, the new friendships, fun memories, motivation, experience, confidence and excitement.  As Mom said, “It is great to watch grown ups playing.”

Next June the 2020 CanWest Sanctionals will be hosted in our own backyard at UBC.  We hope you will join us as a volunteer, an athlete or a spectator so that you can experience it for yourself!