Reflections on the 2014 Winter Chiller Competition

Yesterday was a big day for Industrial Athletics, the Home of CrossFit Alloy.  It was the 2014 Winter Chiller in Fairmont, WV and the first time Industrial Athletics had 7 athletes compete in one competition.  It also marked the largest Industrial Athletics cheering section for any competition outside of Pittsburgh.

The Athletes

Even though we had a few athletes withdraw from the competition for personal reasons, we still had 7 competitors.  This marked the most in our short history.  4 out of 7 were athletes who had little to no exposure to CrossFit before joining our community.  4 out of 7 were competing in their first competition.  6 out of 7 moved on to the semi finals (4th WOD).  2 out of 7 competed in the finals.  Jake, in his first competition made it to the finals in the Novice Division.  Coach Alicia made it to the finals in the Open Division.  JP, competing in his second competition, made it to the semi finals in the Intermediate Division.  Susan, her first competition, and one of Industrial Athletics’s oldest members, made it the semi finals in the Intermediate Division, to her great surprise.  Brian, in his first competition, made it to the semi finals in the Novice Division.  Steve, in his first competition, PR’ed his body weight workout (after testing it 3 or more times), overhead squatted 75lbs 13 times, (another PR) and shouldered a 200lb atlas stone (a third PR).  Coach Matt (CrimLaw) made it to the semi finals in the Open Division.

These accomplishments cannot be overstated.  Way to go everyone.  We are so proud of you.

The Crowd of Support

Those who were competing got there early.  For awhile, we were it, but we knew they were coming, and they did.  Before the first event, the Industrial Athletics/CrossFit Alloy crowd poured in.  The distance to the competition didn’t stop them and they were all covered in blue and white.  As an owner, it was amazing to see the supportive community we have built.  As an athlete, it was incredibly motivating and resulted in a lot of PR’s for the competitors.  The design of the competition floor permitted to spectators to be right next to the athletes and we abused this privilege.  During the rowing WOD, our competitive rowing team: Chelsea and Jackson, were positioned right behind our athletes screaming cues and coaching us for the entire 2000m.  Even though we are not a strong rowing box, their support helped our athletes be some of the first to come off the rowers in each heat.  The design of the competition also kept our crowd engaged from the time the first WOD started.  This kept everyone pumped up and loud.  At times, we were the loudest in the large gymnasium and everyone know when an Industrial Athletics/CrossFit Alloy competitor did something impressive.

A competitor can never thank his/her support crowd enough for coming and sticking out the long days.  We truly believe that our success is directly proportional to our size of support.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  We also received numerous messages on social media that did not go unnoticed.  If you were unable to make it, you were missed in person, but felt in spirit.  Thank you.

The Crossfit Open is next, so local Competitions will return this Spring.  In the meantime, the Open is a fantastic opportunity to introduce yourself to competition.  We will continue to grow as a gym and as a community.  This spring/summer we will continue to participate in local competitions and hope to have even more athletes and spectators.

— Matthew (CrimLaw) Becker