Date

9-25-2025

Department

School of Health Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences (PhD)

Chair

Joshua D. Dexheimer

Keywords

CrossFit, CrossFit Open, CrossFit Games Teams, Pacing Strategies

Disciplines

Kinesiology | Sports Sciences

Abstract

Individual CrossFit Open (CFO) and CrossFit Games (CFG) performance factors, including physiological metrics, sex, competitive experience, and workout pacing strategies, are well established; however, there is a gap in the literature comparing CFO and CFG team performance. The purpose of this study was to examine whether individual CFO scores and event category (i.e., monostructural, gymnastics-skill, weightlifting, or work capacity) influence a team's final score at the CFG. Teams (n = 196) from the 2018-2024 CFG seasons were included in data collection. Data from CFO workouts (n = 28) and CFG team events (n = 62) were extracted from games.crossfit.com. Scores from the CFO (n = 4270) for each team athlete (n = 1010, female n = 502, male n = 508) were collected and converted to repetition completion rate (RCP) to compare CFO & CFG performances. Data was collected into Microsoft Excel and analyzed in “Jeffery’s Amazing Statistics Program” (JASP). Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s R correlation, and Spearman’s ρ for each athlete’s CFO and team’s CFG RCP were calculated. Results demonstrated that there was not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis, as only 47.51% of 261 CF events were statistically significant (p < 0.05), nor enough evidence to accept the alternate hypothesis, as 52.49% of CF events examined were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Results support CF’s methodology of being “constantly varied” and preparing athletes for the unknown and unknowable due to the weak relationships between an individual athlete’s CFO score and the team’s CFG score. Due to the weak relationships between CFO and CFG team workouts, further research into CF team performance is recommended.

Download

Share

COinS