Scott Panchik used social media to express his distaste for, in his own words, “The lack of empathy on the part of the organizers of the Syndicate Crown semi-final”.
To be honest, this repudiation towards the event happened after the athlete suffered a accident to the knee in the first race of the 2nd day of competition.
According to the athlete, the organization did not pay attention to his complaints about the arrangement of the ropes for movement "Rope legless ".
While climbing, Scott allegedly injured his knee when he came down, stepping on the excess piece of rope left on the ground.
Again according to the athlete, he tried to talk to the Syndicate Crown organization to get the ropes cut so that they do not remain on the floor, where they constitute a potential danger when going down.
Also, since it was a fast race where athletes had to climb the rope and then run, Scott showed his concern for everyone's integrity.
“At 7:30 we were briefed on the events of the day. After seeing the amount of rope left on the competition field, I verbally expressed my concerns for the safety of the athletes in such a fast event.
I believe I have presented a solid argument with several examples of why this could be dangerous. In the past there have been several injuries at events like this ", said the athlete on his Instagram profile.
Scott insisted further by bringing examples of other similar incidents in which organizers have chosen to cut excess rope.
“I also mentioned that the Torian Pro had done this before and that the rope was cut with the ends off the ground.
I was told that nothing could be done to change and that this was what we had to use. "
Index
Scott Panchik's injury
However, even after presenting valid arguments and despite the production of the Syndicate Crown taking no action, Scott decided to do the workout anyway.
And it is precisely in that event that he injured himself:
“During the descent in the third or fourth round my foot landed on the rope on the ground. At that moment I felt the snap of the "good" knee.
I managed to finish the event hoping it wasn't that bad. I spent the next 2-3 hours going in and out of the doctor, testing my movements, talking and praying with my wife ”.
Still, even though he was thinking of continuing, Scott changed his mind and renounced his participation:
“During the second men's heat I told my wife that I was devastated. We both cried, took some deep breaths, but I grabbed the wrist bandages and headed for the warm-up area.
When they called us to enter the floor, I decided to retire. One thing I have never had to do in this sport. I was fully physically prepared to compete this weekend. I was here to create memories with family, friends and competitors and to show that I am still one of the fittest men in the world ”.
What the Syndicate Crown organization says
“Ensuring the safety of the athletes is the top priority and it is devastating to see an athlete injured during a competition. In the months leading up to the Syndicate Crown, I worked closely with CrossFit® to ensure that standardized training and accompanying equipment were safe for the event.
For the upcoming Semifinals, we will cut the ropes to a specific length, approved by CrossFit®, to ensure that this incident does not happen to another athlete. ”
However, the pinch (made with three fingers) of position of Wilson Pak, director of events of Syndicate Crown, released to Morning Chalk Up did not like it.
After all, he at no time admitted the mistake nor did he apologize to Scott for not listening to the athlete's alarm.
The CrossFit® position
“Scott is an exceptional athlete, person and sporting ambassador and we are deeply saddened by his injury. As soon as we were informed, our team reached out to Scott and the event director to find out what had happened.
Sadly, Scott's concerns about legless ropes didn't reach CrossFit® headquarters prior to the event. Ensuring a real-time dialogue and escalation channel for athletes during events was the reason we created the new Competition Liaison location.
It is clear that there has been a hitch in this situation and we need to better educate the athletes and match officials on when and how to contact the Competition Liaison ”.
This news was announced in a note sent on May 18:
“Competing athletes can request connection with competitions to communicate with event organizers. Issues may include appeals, scheduling discrepancies, requests for warm-up areas, safety concerns and concerns about the fairness of the competition ”.