The 2016 CrossFit Open is upon us. For many of you, this will not be your first year. For some of you, this may be the first year.
What is the CrossFit Open?
In a nutshell, it is an open competition for all CrossFitters worldwide. The top athletes of the Open will advance to the Regional competitions for each region, and the top athletes from the Regionals advance to the CrossFit Games in July, located in Carson, CA.
From www.games.crossfit.com:
“The CrossFit Games stand alone as the ultimate test of fitness. No test, regardless of its lofty claims, can grant legitimate title to the best without first providing access to all.
The 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games season begins with the online Open. Anyone can sign up to compete in five workouts over five weeks and post their scores online. Last year, the Open reached more than 209,000 athletes from around the world.
You can either perform the Open workout at a participating CrossFit affiliate where you will be judged in person, or you can film your full performance and upload it to YouTube or another video-sharing site. The video will be displayed alongside your score so other CrossFit athletes can be your judge.
You are free to make as many attempts at the Open workout as you please. Your only limit is time. You have four days—96 hours—to complete the week’s workout and submit your best score to the Games site. The week’s workout is released each Thursday at 5 p.m.PST, and scores are due the following Monday at 5 p.m. PST.
The 2016 Open begins Thursday, Feb. 25. That evening, tune into the live Open announcement show streamed to Games.CrossFit.com. Director of the Games Dave Castro will announce Open Workout 16.1 and moments later top Games athletes will complete that workout going head to head.”
Why should we do the Open?
Short and sweet: To test your fitness, and compare yourself to others in the gym, city, state, country, age group, gender etc. www.games.crossfit.com has very versatile custom leaderboards that you can populate. Also, we will be doing the Open WOD every Friday at CrossFit 858 ANYWAY, so you might as well sign up!! 
But beyond that, you should do the Open because year after year, you will be stretched out of your comfort zone and go beyond your perceived limits. All of this is done TOGETHER with your teammates and fellow athletes at the gym. We will all be encouraging each other and feeding off each other’s energy. I’ve seen many many PRs and firsts in the Open and expect to see many more memorable moments this year. It builds our community, and reinforces our camaraderie.
WHO should do the Open?
EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the gym. Everyone. This year, there is even a “scaled” division, allowing those that are newer or those that may not have all the skills developed, to be able to compete with others in the gym. There are no excuses.
HOW do we enter the Open?
Its a simple step. Go to www.games.crossfit.com to register. Make sure to choose CrossFit 858 or CrossFit 858 Mission Gorge as your affiliate and team!
Every Friday night at 6pm, starting on Friday February 26th, we are holding “Friday Night Lights” at one of the CrossFit 858 locations, and a Saturday qualifier session at 12pm at the other location. The Friday Night Lights and Saturday qualifiers will alternate locations each week!
We will be going in heats, with athletes taking turns as judges. Most importantly, we will be encouraging each other every step off the way! The last week, will end with a group cookout and BEERS to celebrate the end of the Open!
We all hope to see you join the team and enter the fray!
If you have any questions, please let me or any of our coaches know!