The Intramural Open is now a staple for hundreds of gyms worldwide. It all started at Catalyst, and the idea has been tweaked or improved many times over. In 2017, the largest change is the timing: we’ll hold the draft much earlier. This will allow gym owners to plan at least one six-week specialty “Open Prep” group in their gym. Just in case this is your first time, the Intramural Open is a fantastic way to bring a “fraternity” feel to the CrossFit Games Open. Our focus is on inclusion instead of competition; points are awarded based on participation instead of finishing time. Captains are chosen from among the most FUN clients (not coaches), and they encourage others to play for their team. There’s no “last one picked”. It’s easy to run, and many affiliates say it’s the best thing they do all year. I’ll divide the Intramural Open season into four stages: Draft, Pre-Open, Open and Post-Open. Choose four Captains. These shouldn’t be the top athletes in your gym, but the members who you’d describe as “most fun.” Each Captain chooses a team name. Create five Facebook groups: one for each team, with you (the gym owner) and each captain as an ‘admin.’ Create the fifth for you and the Captains only, so you can get messages to Captains and teams quickly. Note: these aren’t your official Affiliate teams. I could still be on the official Catalyst team attempting to make Regionals AND the “Kipping It Real” squat (my Intramural team.) There’s no need to build all four teams on the Games site. Divide your “serious” competitors between the four teams with a Draft. In our draft, we presented the Captains with a list of athletes already registered for the Open on draft day. Each were allowed to “protect” two athletes–mostly spouses or best friends–for their team. The rest were thrown into a hat.Draft order was determined each round by randomization (e.g. 1-2-3-4, 4-2-1-3, ...
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