Shortly before the start of the 2022 season, news arrived that left everyone amazed: Eric Roza the CEO of CrossFit® fires Dave Castro, one of the pillars of our beloved sport.
Sul Casto's official Instragram account reads the note that we have translated literally for you:
“I have spoken to Roza once in the last 3 months or so during her absence. He called me tonight to fire me.
He told me they had prepared a message that was mutual. I asked him not to use it because it couldn't be further from the truth. "
Instead, on his Twitter account, Dave wonders if they will still use the evidence he created for Open 2022.
I wonder if they are still going to use my open workouts? 🤷🏻🤷🏻@ CrossFit®Games
- Dave Castro (@thedavecastro) January 5, 2022
The news of his dismissal was confirmed by the site "Morning Chalk Up", who posted an internal email spread to CrossFit® employees on January 4th.
In the email Roza said that this was a very painful decision:
“I have made the difficult decision to change the leadership of the Sport team to better support the CrossFit® plans and Dave Castro will leave the company.
(Dave's) vision, creativity and drive have taken the CrossFit® Games from an informal competition in his family's ranch to a global phenomenon with hundreds of thousands of attendees and millions of spectators around the world. " it is read.
Index
The general picture of the situation with Dave Castro
The Games have had only one director since its inception, in the courtyard of Castro's ranch in Aromas, California, in 2007. As such, for the past 15 years, they have been characterized by a unique atmosphere: that of Castro.
Castro managed to turn this little race at his home into a major international event that was broadcast live on CBS Sports.
Given the proximity of the start of the Open, it is unlikely that there will be any significant changes to the season and the overall structure.
With the CrossFit® Games still eight months away, however, we may see a different look, feel and presentation of the Games.
The main question: who will replace Dave Castro?
Will replaced by Justin Bergh, a longtime CrossFit® employee who was promoted to vice president of sport and partnerships.
The email sent by Eric Roza to Team CrossFit®
Squad,
I have made the difficult decision to change the leadership of the Sports team to better support future CrossFit® plans, and Dave Castro will leave the business.
Over the past fifteen years, Dave has played a key role in building CrossFit® into what it is today.
Her vision, creativity and grit have taken the CrossFit® Games from an informal competition in the family ranch to a global phenomenon with hundreds of thousands of participants and millions of spectators worldwide.
Dave was also a central figure in growing the CrossFit® training business, helping to scale the seminar department to tens of thousands of coaches.
All of us in the world of CrossFit® owe a debt of gratitude to Dave for his contributions, and we wish him well as he takes his talent to his next chapter.
Dave has assembled a world-class team, which will now be led by Justin Bergh, and we are thrilled to see this new generation of leadership build on his legacy as we work together to take our sport to the next level of success.
I can't wait to see you all at next week's All Hands Meeting.
Best regards,
Eric