This morning I’m in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I pulled in late last night after a full twelve hours of driving. It shouldn’t have taken that long, but a guy’s gotta eat, right?
Community buzz has continued about yesterday’s Morning Chalk Up story on the Spanish Throwdown denying an athlete a prize after they were unable to stay for the award ceremony.
What’s important is that the community rallied. Morning Chalk Up and Noah Ohlsen hosted a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $1,200 at the time of this recording. Life Aid/Fit Aid donated the full value of the purse to the GoFundMe. Filthy 150, the Sanctional event from Cliona’s home nation of Ireland attempted to moderate discussions between the athlete and the event, and the Norwegian CrossFit Championship has given Cliona a free spot in their online qualifier and will pay for her hotel if she qualifies.
Also important is that I fix my no-rep yesterday on Cliona’s name pronunciation.
So: Cliona NíCheallacháin NicChárthaigh, I am sorry. And thank you for the do-over.
I spoke with Cliona over Instagram this morning and she mentioned she’s donating FitAid’s money to Down Syndrome Cork. The organization provides support and resources to families and individuals, along with community outreach. You can donate to them directly by visiting downsyndromecork.ie or to their parent organization, Down Syndrome Ireland at downsyndrome.ie. Cliona also receiving prize-purse-equivalent funds from Picsil Sport, which she’s going to donate to a cancer charity in Spain.
CrossFit is the seventh-largest franchise in the world. This year, over 200 affiliate gyms have hit the 10-year anniversary mark. On Friday, those affiliates will gather in Whistler for a conference with CrossFit Founder and Chairman Greg Glassman. It’s a loosely-planned event oriented at allowing Glassman to interact with and listen to this elite group of elite fitness gyms. Morning Chalk Up is one of the few media organizations granted access to the summit, so follow their social media for updates all weekend.
Did you know the city of Miami is a CrossFit competitor? Mayor Francis Suarez was featured in Men’s Health this week for his dedication to a healthy and fit lifestyle. I’ve put the link in my show notes at bengarves-staging.mystagingwebsite.com.
And that’s it for news about CrossFit on Wednesday, September 18th. Thanks for listening. Be sure to rate, review, subscribe. I’m Ben Garves.
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