Crossfit Open 2016

[Christopher Morris]

Originally Posted by Steven Ngo

i coulda sworn they stated a specific ("standard"?) size for the plates / height, but guess not.

on the other hand, COME ON GUYS!! how could that entire gym/box be ok with that and think nothing would come of it? (or they, did and were willing to get into argument with Castro after the fact?).

Here's the example (wfs) https://www.instagram.com/p/BCZSkAEtvag/

In the background of the video you can see stacks of standard size, black rubber plates, so it's not like they weren't available for some unusual reason. They chose the smaller plates intentionally.

The workout description does specify that the scaled divisions will jump over an unloaded barbell, which infers a different height compared to a plate-loaded barbell.

From the CrossFit Games Rulebook "Any movement deemed uncommon, out of the ordinary or used to amend, shorten or change the accepted movement standard or range of motion including line of action of any event movement can and will be disallowed. It is the responsibility of the athlete to notify their judge or CrossFit Inc. of any questionable movement before the workout."

They must have "deemed uncommon" the use of smaller plates. The smaller plates obviously made the jump a shorter jump, which is forbidden in this paragraph of the rulebook.

[Steven Ngo]

^^ oh i totally agree. my "come on guys!" was more of a "gaaah!!!" :hairpull: directed towards the athletes/judges of that box

[Jason A Smith]

People are very much up in arms about that one.

You know James Fitz was the first guy to do butterfly pull ups and everyone called him a cheater then too....................and now i would say pretty much everyone does them. He is also the owner of OPEX, a long time exerciser and competitor.

I am not saying what they did was right or wrong, but quite frankly they looked at the rules and requirements and came to the conclusion that they might be ok doing it that way. Right or wrong they thought it was worth it to try. Full disclosure what they were doing as well as they took video of the whole thing.

I think it is also funny people calling them out for 15.1/15.1A for having huge scores on the clean and jerk. There were a lot of teams that did similar. Again, this would be a pretty easy thing to clean up. There are guys (and I know them) waiting and submitting a score of 1 just in case some 1RM lifting comes up so they can help their team qualify to Regionals. Shady ? Yes, but well within the existing rules.

To me, this is another example of not thinking things all the way through and evaluating all the different scenarios that could happen given the announcement.

Also, did you know that hi temp bumpers are a little smaller in diameter than regular plates ? Like a half inch or so. Does that constitute a disqualify or penalty, or using a women's bar ?

At any rate, this is another example of changing the rules up on the fly.

If you have ever played sports there is times when you get away with something or get favourable (or not) judging. Nature of the beast

[Shawn M Wilson]

What about Crossfit total in 10 mins?

As far as the plate issue rules were not specific but then again you can't tell me they never wondered if it was breaking the spirit of the rules.

[Diana Alt]

Originally Posted by Jason A Smith

I am not saying what they did was right or wrong, but quite frankly they looked at the rules and requirements and came to the conclusion that they might be ok doing it that way.

I am flat out saying what they did was wrong. They knew good and well they were cheating and they did it anyway.

I posted my opinion on the whole subject on Facebook earlier today, so I will just link you to that writeup. It's work/family safe.

https://www.facebook.com/dianakalt/p...4?notif_t=like

Further, I will say this: I've judged every level of competitor from first-time Festivus competition competitors to Games winners and everything in between. Last year, I judged the central regional. During both judges and athlete briefings, people raised every question under the sun about ways to shortcut movements. Boz made it really simple. If someone asked "Can I do XYZ?" and XYZ was something that would shortcut the movement, Boz would say "You're asking if you can cheat? No. You can't cheat."

Boz has a way of breaking it down to the brass tacks, and I agree with him.

[Jason A Smith]

I read your FB post.................if it said same as 14.5 in the announcement then they were wrong and should take one on the chin.

It is pretty clear in there what the requirements are.....

[Todd R Miller]

OPEX response....

http://opexfit.com/facts-of-open-workout-16-1/

Link WFS

[Jason A Smith]

A buddy just linked that. If that is true that they asked and were given the go ahead, then that is a huge misunderstanding. To me they should have 48 hours to redo and resubmit using the "right" equipment and be done with it already.

[John Drohan]

My thoughts on the OPEX thing:

Why even ask if you can use the smaller plates? The question is ONLY asked if you think you've found a "loophole" in the rules such that you can take advantage of it. Is there another valid reason to ask, given that you have regulation sized plates to use in your inventory? I can't think of one.

Someone once said, perform your best at all times, don't leave the results in the hands of a judge. These guys went straight to a judge first.

Are they "technically" correct in their argument? Perhaps.

If you haven't learned by now who holds all the cards during the Crossfit games, you're just setting yourself up for failure.

[Christopher Morris]

Originally Posted by John Drohan

Why even ask if you can use the smaller plates? The question is ONLY asked if you think you've found a "loophole" in the rules such that you can take advantage of it. Is there another valid reason to ask, given that you have regulation sized plates to use in your inventory? I can't think of one.

On the OPEX blog, the second number list, item 3, he says they first got confirmation that they could use "that strategy." They were looking for a loophole.