Wednesday, May 6, 2009

It's Not Over!


Angel, from CF San Francisco, at the top of a 315# deadlift during Sunday's workout


Photos

Before we get into the primary topic of this post, please take note that we've added a ton of links to online albums on the left-hand side of this page (just below the NorCal Bear). Enjoy!


NorCal Team Competitions (aka Throwdowns)

Even though the NorCal Qualifiers are over with, preparation for the Games is still in full swing.

We have two team competitions scheduled this month (we fondly refer to them as throwdowns):

May 9: San Francisco CrossFit
May 30: CrossFit One World

As you can see, the first one is happening this Saturday at SFCF. It would be great to get a big turnout there this Saturday, as well as down at CF One World at the end of the month. These throwdowns are a great way to hang out with other CFers, get a great workout in, and compete against some strong teams out there!

The throwdowns are governed by house rules, meaning the hosting facility gets to come up with the workout. As we get closer and closer to CF Games time, I'm sure the workouts will start to be centered around the format of the team competition at the Games.

Get some!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Final, Final Results: Some Changes!




Jocelyn Forest and Jeffrey Leonard, the 2009 NorCal Qualifer champions, in action.


Well after a weekend of things running just about as smoothly as we could hope, I'm afraid Murphy's Law caught up with us after the day's competition was over and everyone was long gone from the Ranch.

After completing a three-hour audit of the master scoresheet and comparing it against the time cards for all of our top male and female competitors, we have two material changes to report. Both of these changes were due to athletes being assigned the wrong point totals for the Sunday workout, and both affect the top-5 standings on the men's side.

  1. Angel Orozco has moved from sixth place to fifth place. Bevan Hart has moved from fifth place to seventh place.
  2. Justin Riley and Darren Rosten have switched places. Darren has moved from third place to second and Justin has moved from second place to third place.

In our rush to get the results out there for the medal ceremony, we dropped the ball and assigned points where we shouldn't have. Our deepest apologies to the four athletes affected.

So here are the final results:

Top 5 Women

  1. Jocelyn Forest
  2. Candace Hamilton
  3. Breanne Feudale
  4. Elyse Umeda
  5. Apollonia Helm

Top 5 Men

  1. Jeffrey Leonard
  2. Darren Rosten
  3. Justin Riley
  4. Joey Warren
  5. Angel Orozco

Below is a link to the master score sheet for the full field.

Men's and Women's Final Results

Congratulations to these five men and women. They'll represent NorCal extremely well in the Games!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Top Finishers and Tomorrow's Heat Times



So here's the lowdown on Day 1:

16 women advanced to day 2; 40 men advanced to day 2.

We'll be running the top 16/40 as follows. Please note that these times are approximate. The heats may run a lot quicker than the forty-five minutes we're allotting. There's a 30-minute cut-off, and we recommend that you show up at least an hour before your scheduled heat.

9:00am Heat, Men 31-40:

Jaymes Laughlin
Timothy Dymmel
Scott Mainini
Christopher Castillo
Michael Stahl
Kyle Haynes
JD Cafaro
Leonidas Pappas
Vince Carter
Myles Lewis

9:45am Heat, Men 21-30

Jordan Atwell
Gary Baron
Jason Feudale
Daniel Hester
Gabe Subry
Matthew Barnes
Brian Huberty
Adam Lambert
Brett Walberg
William Blaker

10:30am Heat, Women 10-16

Katie DeLuca
Vanessa Lambert
Olivia Cheriton
Carry Warner
Skylar Wensel
Brittany Williams
Joan Greve

11:15am Heat, Men 11-20

William Bybee
Victor Dowell
Michael Jenkins
William Dotterweich
Manwell Gali
Freddy Camacho
Daniel Burde
John Planow
Derick Shima
Jacob Kulyn

12pm Heat, Women 1-8

Jocelyn Forest
Candace Hamilton
Elyse Umeda
Apollonia Helm
Breanne Feudale
Michaela Xavier
Kimberly Rudnicki
Katie Heinrich
Megan Luk

[Explanatory note: Katie Heinrich and Megan Luk are tied for 8th place, thus they both get to go in this heat, which takes the total number of athletes up to 9.]

12:45pm Heat, Men 1-10

Jeffrey Leonard
Justin Riley
Joey Warren
Bevan Hart
Darren Rosten
John Fragoso
Angel Orozco
David Leys
Colin Jenkins
Travis Cassidy


For everyone else, we'll be running the workout in two different time slots:

7am-8:45am
1:30pm-whenever it gets done

Look for the sign-up sheets for the workout on the registration table. Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Everyone will have an opportunity to do the workout.

And finally, the Day 2 Workout:

22 deadlifts @ 315#/185#
Farmers walk with 45#/25# dumbbells to top of inner loop (hill)
22 thrusters with 45#/25# dumbbells
Farmers walk with 45#/25# dumbbells to bottom of inner loop (hill)
Run to pull-up bar and do 22 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Run to top of outer loop (hill)
22 overhead squats @ 95#/65#
Run to bottom of inner loop (hill)

Thank you to all who came out and gave it their all today. And thank you to all who came out to support the event. Can't wait for Day 2!

Shuttle Service to the Ranch



Just a quick note...there will be a shuttle service to and from the Ranch running over the weekend.

More on the shuttle service:

Monterey Limousine & At Your Service Event Planners, Your Global Destination Management Company is providing the Shuttle transportation from The Hilton Rose Garden Inn in Gilroy and The Courtyard in Salinas. To the CrossFit NorCal Regional's at the CrossFit Ranch in Aromas; Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May3rd. Because of the impending rain and ongoing traffic conditions, we highly recommend that you take advantage of the Shuttle Service. The Shuttle passes are $15.00 a day per person. Morning Shuttles start at 06:00am at the hotels and Evening Shuttles start at 15:30pm at the CrossFit Ranch. At Your Service Event Planners also offer a 10% discount to all members of the CrossFit Community (Competitors, Sponsors, Vendors, etc…), on transportation that is booked through the office. With our many Global Affiliates we can coordinate your Events and Transportation for both your Corporate and Personal needs, ANYWHERE in the world. To learn more Visit our website www.travelays.com.or give us a call at the office. For more information and to order your Shuttle Passes please call (831)625-5363, (24/7/365) or complete the form below and email to (clctranspo@sbcglobal.net) or fax it (831)622-9010 to our office Attn. Victoria.

Montery Limousine Shuttle Service Order Form

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Rain and Heat Info



If you haven't already checked yourself, the forecasts are calling for some showers this weekend. The workouts will go on as planned, and if necessary, we can run both Day 1 workouts indoors.

But we want you to be aware so that you'll come prepared, both as an athlete and a spectator. Pack some rain gear.


And now what you've all been waiting for, your heat assignments!

Just follow this link to open the PDF that contains heat assignments for every competitor this weekend (assuming you sent us that email).

Saturday Workout Times PDF


We've also posted the link to the PDF file on the right sidebar of this blog, just below the directions to the Ranch.

A few of you have been asking about the numbers, so here's some data for you to chew on.

  • 128 men will be doing Workout A as rx'd.
  • 19 men will be doing Workout A scaled.
  • 49 women will be doing Workout A as rx'd.
  • 3 women will be doing Workout A scaled.
  • 120 men will be doing Workout B as rx'd.
  • 27 men will be doing Workout B scaled.
  • 24 women will be doing Workout B as rx'd.
  • 28 women will be doing Workout B scaled.
(Careful readers will notice that the total count for female and male competitors is down slightly from the figure announced a few blog posts ago. This is due to some last-minute withdrawals.)

Here's what you need to check on the PDF:

  1. You need to make sure your name is on there and it's spelled correctly.
  2. You need to make sure you have an athlete number assigned to you.
  3. You need to make sure you've been assigned heat times for both workouts.
  4. You need to make sure that your workout times are exactly four hours apart from one another.
Contact us immediately at norcalcfregionals@gmail.com if there are any discrepancies in the list above for items 1-4.


Good luck to you all. It's going to be a great weekend!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Event Details!


The crew from Fuel2Go who will be on hand at the Ranch this weekend


***Reminder***

You only have a couple of minutes left! We need the following information from you by Wed 4/29 at midnight or you will not be placed in a heat:

Name
Age
Gender
Workout A: Rx'd or Scaled
Workout B: Rx'd or Scaled
Name of person who made credit card payment for registration (if other than yourself)

Email us that info at norcalcfregionals@gmail.com by Wed 4/29 at midnight and you're good to go.


And now, onto other matters...

Below is some information you may find useful for your weekend down on the Ranch.

In no particular order:

Food

Fuel2Go will be available at the NorCal Qualifiers! F2G will be there to provide healthy and delicious foods for spectators and participants on both Saturday and Sunday. All of their food is local, organic, and Zone friendly!

The following foods will be available:

Coffee!
Post-workout nutrition bars
Frittata muffins
Hard-boiled eggs & fruit
Persian lime & honey almonds
Paleo kits of jerky, berries & nuts
Heirloom tomato tuna salad with olives
Curried Fulton Valley chicken salad in whole wheat pita
Chicken/Prather Ranch beef skewers with vegetables and whole grain salad
Diestel turkey chili

More on Fuel2Go: http://fuel2go.blogspot.com/


Final Bits and Pieces Related to Day 1 Standards

First and foremost, we've released the PDF that details all of the movement standards for Day 1 workouts. You can find it on the righthand side of the blog (see Day 1 Workout Standards), as well as here: http://www.pennstatekarate.org/temp/NorCal_2009_Standards.pdf

Also, just to answer a question that's been batted around in the comments over the last couple of days, yes, you can go behind the neck for the shoulder-to-overhead movement in Workout A.

There's precedent for this type of allowance, from none other than CrossFit HQ in their "Freddy's Revenge" video:

Windows Media Version of Freddy's Revenge
Quicktime Version of Freddy's Revenge


What about tape and other things you might need for the workouts?

Medical providers will be on site, but only for emergency incidents. We will have a small crew and supplies are limited. Bring your own chalk, tape, band-aids, and antibiotic ointment for you hands. The last two years have seen numerous athletes at the Games tear their hands competing. Bring whatever medication you need, and if you even might need an inhaler, please bring it!

Incidentally, chalk, tape, and even gloves (if you can suffer through the teasing...kidding!) are allowed. Any lifting aids, such as straps, are not.


How It Will Go Down Over the Weekend


Saturday, May 2nd

Volunteer Check-In:
Begins at 6am SHARP! There will be a main registration booth for both volunteers and athletes. Please check in when you arrive!

Standards Meeting for Volunteers:
6:30am. This is a mandatory meeting for judges.

Competitor Check-In: 6:30am to 8am. Come to the registration tent to sign your waiver, get your athlete card, t-shirt, and competition number.

Competition Begins: We'll be running Workout A and Workout B simultaneously. We'll run both workouts from 9am to 12pm in the morning session. Then we'll take a 1-hour break, everyone will switch workouts (if you did Workout A in the morning, you'll do Workout B in the afternoon and vice-versa) and we'll run the afternoon session from 1pm to 4pm.

We'll be running 12-person heats for both workouts. You'll find out your heat time for the morning session and the afternoon session on the blog tomorrow (we're shooting for getting those details posted by no later than noon).

Saturday Night After the Day's Competition is Over

There will be two major happenings Saturday night:

  1. We'll be announcing the Sunday workout, along with a demonstration of the movement standards that will be in place for the workout.
  2. Pat Barber (4th place, 2008 CrossFit Games) and his band will be playing at the Ranch!
Judges: Also take note that we may be calling on you for a standards meeting either Saturday night or Sunday morning.


Sunday, May 3rd

We'll be running the top 40 men and top 20 women in heats for the Sunday workout from 9am to 1pm. A medal presentation will follow at the conclusion of the final heat.

All other competitors will have the chance to do the Sunday workout as well. It's optional, so you don't have to do the workout if you don't want to, but if you don't, you'll be missing out on a workout that will use the terrain of the Ranch in a way that's never been done in Games competition.

For competitors outside of the top 40/20, we'll be running the Sunday workout in two separate sessions:
  • From 7am to 8:45am (for all you early birds)
  • From 1pm 'til whenever the last heat is done (approximately 4pm if we have full participation in the morning heats)
We'll be providing a sign-up sheet for the two sessions Saturday night. Slots will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.


Directions

Address: The Ranch, 275 Dunbarton Rd, Aromas, CA 92115

Google Map of the Ranch


Can I bring my RV?

Yes, but all RVs need to be on the ranch by Friday night.


Can I camp overnight on site?

Yes. But please be respectful of the property and of those hosting this event. It's their land, after all.


What about spectators?

Spectators can come free of charge. Let's pack the house! The more fan support, the better.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Lowdown on Scoring



***Reminder***

Remember, we need the following information from you by Wed 4/29 at midnight or you will not be placed in a heat:

Name
Age
Gender
Workout A: Rx'd or Scaled
Workout B: Rx'd or Scaled
Name of person who made credit card payment for registration (if other than yourself)

Email us that info at norcalcfregionals@gmail.com by Wed 4/29 at midnight and you're good to go.


On to scoring...

We'll be using a points-based system for the Qualifiers this year, very similar to the system used in the Dirty South, explained here: http://www.crossfitdirtysouth.org/2009/03/dirty-south-event-scoring.html

Basically, you earn a certain number of points depending on your finish relative to the rest of the field in each workout. First place gets a certain number of points, as does tenth place, as does last place.

Here's a snapshot of how points will be allocated for the men's competition (152 men):

Men's Scoring Template

Here's a snapshot of how points will be allocated for the women's competition (55 women):

Women's Scoring Template


And here are some answers to questions that may arise after reviewing the templates.

What Happens in a Tie?

For a workout:

You get points based on how many competitors finish ahead of you. For example, if there's a four-way tie for 2nd place in a workout, those four competitors each get second-place points. The guy with the 3rd place time would get sixth-place points, because there are five competitors who finished ahead of him (the guy in 1st and the four guys tied for 2nd).

For the overall competition (i.e., determining the top 5 males and females):

  • The first tiebreaker would be Reps in Workout B/Time in Workout A + C. [And yes, we're giving you a clue on Sunday's workout (Workout C): it will be for time.]
  • If still tied, the second tiebreaker would be working back from Workout C. So first we look at time from Workout C. If still tied, we look at reps from Workout B. If still tied, we go to time from Workout A.
  • If still tied, then we have the tied competitors go head-to-head in a sudden-death workout at the conclusion of Sunday's competition.

What about the scoring for scaled workouts?

Competitors who complete a workout scaled, or who do a workout as rx'd but fail to meet the standard for the cut-off time (in the case of Workout A) or the minimum number of reps (in the case of Workout B) will be placed in the scaled pool for scoring. This means that they will receive points only after all of the rx'd competitors have received points. For example, if 100 men finish Workout A as rx'd (1o minutes or less), then the top competitor in the scaled division would receive points for 101st place (100 competitors are ahead of him). And the second-place finisher would receive points for 102nd place, etc.

What if someone fails to finish Workout A in 10 minutes?

The judge will make a note on the scorecard, indicating which rep of burpees or jerks (hopefully they're not still on the rower) the competitor had completed at the 10-minute mark. This will give us an accurate measure of how they performed for scoring purposes. Any competitors who do not complete all reps of Workout A in 10 minutes will be placed in the scaled pool for scoring (see above).

What if someone fails to meet the required minimum of reps in Workout B?

If someone fails to get 10 muscle-ups and 10 cleans in 10 minutes (Workout B), the judge will make a note on the scorecard, indicating how many muscle-ups and cleans the competitor completed at the 10-minute mark. Any competitors who do not complete the minimum number of reps in Workout B will be placed in the scaled pool for scoring (see above).

What about this top 40 men and top 20 women business?

The top 40 men who complete both workouts as rx'd on Saturday and the top 20 women who complete both workouts as rx'd on Saturday will move on with a chance to earn one of the top 5 spots, earning them a place in this year's CrossFit Games. If fewer than 40 men or 20 women complete the workouts as rx'd on Day 1, then we'll take only the number of people who complete the workout as rx'd. For example, if only 16 men get through Saturday as rx'd, then that's how many will move on to compete in the Day 2 workout for a spot in the Games.

This is a tough standard, to be sure, but we think if we're going to send the five best men and women to compete in the Games, that they should be able to get through the Day 1 workouts as prescribed.

The only scenario in which we'd send scaled competitors would be if we had a number less than five. In that case, we'd send scaled competitors through to Day 2.

Do the scores from Day 1 carry over to Day 2?

Yes. The top five men and women will be evaluated based on their performance in all three workouts.

Will all competitors have an option to do the Day 2 workout?

Yes! This is a topic worthy of its own post, so more on this later. Stay tuned!