If you’ve been keeping up with our posts about the Open, hopefully you’re getting excited, if you’ve missed some of the content, check out this post. Our Facebook page also has a few videos you can watch to get the gist of whats going on. For right now I wanted to let you know where we are with regard to teams. As you know this year we’re making the Open about fun and community with less emphasis on making it to regionals (which don’t exist anymore…tear).

Choosing teams is always a sensitive issue, but here at Thermal, we’re taking that right out of the equation; here’s how. Since your value as a participant is largely based on your ability to have fun, complete the workouts and show team support, randomizing teams from the outset is best. No one gets picked last, there are no clicks formed or people left out. That being said, you can still earn additional points for your team by crushing workouts in the Open. I’m all about inclusiveness but….it doesn’t suck to be good at CrossFit AND an awesome team player!! This methodology allows each teammate to have substantial impact regardless of ability.

THE CAPTAINS

We’ve selected 5 team captains for this event. Each team captain is a CFT veteran who showcases the ability to have fun, lead others, and drive the spirit of the Open. Congrats to Danielle Kugler, Ben Morosse, Colleen Hennessy, Mike Lanasa and Kevin Connolly. Thermal’s “Fire Breathers” have also been pre distributed to even things out in terms of performance. If you’ve competed in multiple CF competitions, multiple Open Seasons, and can likely complete every movement we could see in the Open, you may be on this list.

The Draft

The Draft will consist of taking everyone who initially signs up and placing them on teams at random. You are under no obligation to officially register for the Open on the CrossFit Games site to be part of this intramural event. Basically, if you plan to try even one Open workout, or you plan to be at the gym on any Friday in the month of March, you should throw your name in, why not, it will be fun, I promise!!

Recruitment

This is where it gets fun. After the initial draft is over and the teams are populated, teams may begin to recruit from the remaining membership base. For example lets say after the initial draft Ben’s Team – “Benny and the Jets”, sees Dave Root and Dan M hanging out doing some rowing after class, Ben, or anyone on Ben’s team can say “Hey Fellas, care to join Benny and the Jets and have a kick ass time for the Open this year?” If Dave and Dan say yes then they are in, Ben simply adds their names to the Google Sheet. Since you earn a point for each member of your team that completes the workout the bigger the team you have – the better! I will put some limits in place as needed so we don’t have major lopsided numbers. More to come…..