The last three weeks were a test of communication and organizational skills.  Some teams excelled, others struggled.  Some started out strong and then stumbled, others struggled at the start but pulled themselves together.  Each event rewarded those teams that did the best job of planning and communicating.  Weeks 1 and 2 we kept the events short so teams could practice communicating and organizing.  In week three we threw a bigger event your way hoping the skills developed in the first two weeks would assist you in managing the logistics of a longer workout.  It went better for some than for others.
   
DT came prepared with a colour coded flowchart to help manage her team’s transitions.  Team Stampeders, completing all the WODs outside the gym, had to improvise equipment and cleverly used a bucket and ball with Sandman’s face for a bum target!  Starting their event late, Team Here for the Coffee gave us a glimpse of what might have been.  Sure, they might have been near the bottom of leaderboard with only 236/300 reps but they did all those reps in only 10 minutes!!!  

Of course, the main impetus of this whole make-work project for the WOD Father was to have a few weeks with members discussing something other than masks and restrictions and vaccines.  And it worked.  As much extra work as it created on the back end, it was worth it to come in daily to see and hear the excitement, the drama and the laughs created by the first annual Empower COVID Games so thank you to all who participated! 

And while we certainly do not hope to have a pandemic annually, there is no reason why we have to abandon fun ideas born of the pandemic after it has passed.  This year’s event was a trial run to test the scaling of movements and the scalability of the event.  In 2022 we may try inviting a select few other gyms to participate along with us as there are few masters team events available locally and none as accessible to athletes of all levels. 

Kudos to you for coming out and giving it a try.  If you had fun, if you made some new friends, if you had a few good workouts that really pushed you, if you got a taste of that great Empower community spirit, then regardless of your rank on the leaderboard, you are a winner and you should celebrate and congratulate yourself for coming out to play!

Here are you winners by division:

I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up!  
In the coveted, rarefied air of our oldest division Team Snap, Crackle, Pop remained uncontested earning their place on the podium and our respect.  We should all grow up to be so healthy and active and committed to having fun!  They were already champs in my book before, the competition just gave them an opportunity to make it official.

Points Team
56 Snap, Crackle, Pop


Hey Kid, Get Off My Lawn!
The second oldest division offered up some fierce competition.  50 is the New 50 got off to an early lead while the Aged and Marbled Beef Boyz struggled to coordinate in week one.  But once the Beef Boyz got organized, they started creeping up the leaderboard.  Never far behind the two lead teams Team Bombaye lurked just behind with solid showings in all three weeks.  This turned out to be the tightest race of all and a come-from-behind-victory-story when the Beef Boyz pulled off their second consecutive third place finish in 21.3 to tie 50 is the New 50 on overall points (16) forcing us to resort to the tie break ruling that the best place finish wins.  In this case the Beef Boyz had two third place finishes (weeks 2 & 3) while 50 is the New 50’s best finish was fourth place in week 1.  What a nail biter!  Great job teams!

Points Team
16 Aged and Marbled Beef Boyz
16 50 is the New 50
21 Bombaye
27 Like Fine Whine
43 Cross(mis)Fitters
48 The Fem Fitales


40 is the new 20
In our most popular middle division, competition was the thickest with no less than 8 teams vying for the title.  But the outcome was never really in doubt as Two Young Chicks and an Old Dog never finished below second place in their division.  In week one Team Onyx edged them out for top spot but in weeks two and three the champs left nothing to chance as they put distance between themselves and runners up Team Huey, Dewey & Louie.  

Points Team
14 Two Young Chicks and an Old Dog
28 Huey, Dewey & Louie
33 White Onyx
48 Bats Out of Dumbhell
52 Here for the Coffee
(23) Sandbaggers Inc
(30) 5pm Old Guys
(33) Team Last Minute


Spring Chickens
The drama was high in our second youngest division as Team Stampeders battled it out with Empower villains Team The I’m-Peck-Able 3.  The Stampeders took the win in week one.  In week two drama and controversy ensued ast the I’m-Peck-Able 3 tried to claim a score of 27 rounds in 8 minutes or 17 seconds per round.  An official Empower inquiry was launched to uncover a scoring “error”.  Judge Derby and the nefarious trio were all found guilty of screwing sh!t up but innocent of intentional wrongdoing. Their actual, verifiable score, was enough to put them 2 points up on the Stampeders.  In week three the programming “luckily” favoured the Stampeders, almost as if the programming gods had reached down to punish the tricky trio.  The Stampeders as expected took the event win but would it be enough to win the overall points spread?  Only if another team or two could also beat the I’m-Peck-Able 3.  Well I hate to disillusion you kiddies but in the real world good does not always triumph over evil.  Though they didn’t win 21.3 that infamous trio did enough to edge out the competition by one slim point to top the overall leaderboard and win their division.    

Points Team
7 The I’m-Peck-Able 3
8 Stampeders
32 Spice Girls
      40 Not Fast Just Furious


Diaper Division
The Brody Bunch used their superior strength to take the lead in week one but in week two  Doomsday Divas showed off masterful rope skills launching themselves into the division lead.  All three teams in this division had solid showings through all three weeks but in the end, the Divas managed to stay far enough ahead in week three to secure their victory.

Points Team
31 Doomsday Divas
44 The Brody Bunch
48 Fit, Buff & Ready 2B Tough


There will be a formal awards ceremony later this summer which will also see the long overdue presentation of our Spirit of the 2021 Open award.  Stay tuned for the event announcement.  Meanwhile here is the overall leaderboard after three weeks of competition:

Points Team Division 21.1 21.2 21.3
7 The I’m-Peck-Able 3 Spring Chickens 5655 (3) 293 (2) 14:02 (2)
8 Stampeders Spring Chickens 5900 (2) 243 (5) 13:37 (1)
14 Two Young Chicks and an Old Dog 40 is the new 20 4160 (6) 249 (4) 16:34 (4)
16 Aged and Marbled Beef Boyz Hey Kid, Get Off My Lawn 3450 (10) 272 (3) 15:08 (3)
16 50 is the New 50 Hey Kid, Get Off My Lawn 4950 (4) 231 (6) 18:15 (6)
21 Bombaye Hey Kid, Get Off My Lawn 4615 (5) 164 (11) 17:28 (5)
27 Like Fine Whine Hey Kid, Get Off My Lawn 1925 (18) 298 (1) 18:35 (8)
28 Huey, Dewey & Louie 40 is the new 20 3450 (8) 188 (8) 277 (12)
31 Doomsday Divas Diaper Division 2035 (17) 210 (7) 18:15 (7)
32 Spice Girls Spring Chickens 2780 (14) 168 (9) 18:51 (9)
33 White Onyx 40 is the new 20 6560 (1) 116 (18) 266 (14)
40 Not Fast Just Furious Spring Chickens 2275 (15) 133 (14) 291 (11)
43 Cross(mis)Fitters Hey Kid, Get Off My Lawn 2060 (16) 126 (17) 19:48 (10)
44 The Brody Bunch Diaper Division 2820 (12) 112 (19) 274 (13)
48 The Fem Fitales Hey Kid, Get Off My Lawn 1110 (22) 167 (10) 260 (16)
48 Fit, Buff & Ready 2B Tough Diaper Division 1480 (19) 155 (12) 258 (17)
48 Bats Out of Dumbhell 40 is the New 20 1225 (20) 146 (13) 265 (15)
52 Here for the Coffee 40 is the new 20 2800 (13) 110 (21) 236 (18)
56 Snap, Crackle, Pop I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up 911 (21) 129 (16) 207 (19)
(23) Sandbaggers Inc 40 is the new 20 3472 (7) 132 (16) DNF
(30) 5pm Old Guys 40 is the new 20 3290 (10) 112 (20) DNF
(33) Team Last Minute 40 is the new 20 3280 (11) 65 (22) DNF


Monday WOD

Today we have a Tabata complex which we’ve done several times before, 3 times since 2020 if I’m not mistaken.  The key will be to organize your station.  Each Tabata interval is 8 rounds of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest (total 4 minutes).  We are counting total reps/calories and giving 1 rep per 5 seconds on the holds.

Warm Up
1 min each:
Belly Breathing
Head Nods/Rotations
Dead Bugs
Windshield Wipers
Bird Dogs
Forward/Backward Crawls
Leopard Crawl
Full Body Rocks
Cross Crawl Squats

Tech
Back Squat
L-Sit
Ring Rows
Handstand Hold
Row

WOD
Tabata Back Squat
1 min Rest
Tabata L-Sit
1 min Rest
Tabata Ring Rows
1 min Rest
Tabata Handstand Hold
1 min Rest
Tabata Row

Cool Down