Dave Castro, who has assumed the role of GM Sports of CrossFit® following the departure of Justin Bergh, Has recently declared that for this year's Games there will be two cuts.
After this information, a flurry of criticism on social media began: many people are extremely against the cuts. For many this is an injustice and the format in force since 2021 seems to like it more.
To better explain why this is necessary, Dave has released a video on his YouTube channel clarifying the reason for the decision to make two cuts in the 2023 Games.
And listen, listen: he is responsible for this decision!
In this article we have analyzed some key points of this novelty of the Games 2023 and what are the effects for this season.
Read on to learn more!
Index
Cut nei Games 2023: what are the key points
Reduce race times
The first thing that appeared very clear in Dave Castro's speech is the need to reduce the race times. Currently the number of heats that take place until the arrival of the first classified (who are actually in the possibility of fighting for the podium), there are many.
In this way, it makes the competition very long (if you think about it, the Games are held in 4 days!). Hardly anyone can stay from 9 to 21 to follow every moment of the Games during the four days.
For this reason, the idea of reducing the number of athletes over the days causes the time of the event to decrease as well. Allowing for more distance between races, more rest for athletes, more rest for staff and spectators.
This could also be more interesting for the sponsors of the event, who will have the possibility to make better use of the competition, as the audience can be larger, if there are fewer heats.
Most profitable event
C'è anche il profit factor. Not only do we have fewer people who could possibly work on the event, since there are fewer competitors, but also a greater certainty of people watching the race at certain times, thus allowing for greater negotiation with brands that would like to advertise themselves at the event.
Also, it's unlikely that you'll experience lags from battery to battery (although lags at Games almost never happen). The cut made by Dave to reduce the times is, as he himself said in the video, a process towards the professionalization of the sport:
“Everyone is talking about the professionalisation of sport. They want it to be more professional. Things like this, these tough decisions, are really what help us move to the next level of professionalization,” she said.
Do not hinder athletes with podium chances
Another point raised was that the cuts end up hindering any athletes who start the race badly and then recover.
However, unlike other years, the first cut will take place two days after the event [and the other for the final!]. So if we count, we will have a total of at least six wod done and those who are actually below the top 30 will hardly be able to fight for the podium.
Therefore, the cut will be made to remove the bulk of the athletes that they would not be able to stay in the dispute.
So, contrary to what many say, the cuts do not hinder the podium in any way. Indeed, according to Dave, this could be a great way to allow for new evidence:
“The cuts allow us to be really creative and do different things with the program. When we narrow the field and athletes earn the right to advance, we can really do things differently."
Indeed, tests such as PRs and other challenges that would require to be carried out athlete by athlete end up being impossible if we think of a universe of 40 competitors, in each category.
Less visibility for the little ones
In fact, less time inside the Games means less exposure to younger athletes. We usually talk about first-time athletes or athletes who are stars in their continents, but who are not known globally.
For them, the fact that the event ends much earlier can be a big blow: it can also cause sponsors to lose, given that participation in the Games requires a high cost. There is also the matter that the longer the athlete stays, the more the possibility of being noticed by other brands and other sponsors increases.
In short, the cut ends up not being so win-win….
However Castro remains convinced of his decision and closed the explanation by saying that
“Participation in the Games was earned, not given. Earning the right to go was really challenging, and these guys worked really hard and put in a lot of time and put in a lot of effort. You have to earn the right to stay and compete with the best in the world. I think this is entirely appropriate and acceptable."
What are your opinions on the cuts in Games 2023?