What is Inclusive and Why Does Crossfit Care?

After my last post, it occurred to me that perhaps not everyone understands why it’s so important that the Open is “inclusive,” I when I say inclusive I mean that almost everyone, regardless of their fitness level or experience in Crossfit, can post a score. Crossfit HQ wants as many people as possible to compete and complete the Open. They use the word “inclusive” quite a bit and they’re very up front about wanting anyone and everyone to join this worldwide competition. You don’t have to be in great shape, or be able to lift the backend of a car off the ground or even be a member of a Crossfit gym. They literally want everyone to sign up and do their best to complete five WODs over five weeks, it’s really that simple.

Why would Crossfit HQ care about being inclusive?
I’ll start with the answer that I think they’d give, they don’t want anyone to feel intimidated by some crazy, highly skilled WOD. They want everyone to feel comfortable with signing up and competing, to the best of their ability. They want everyone to be able to “post a score.” In order to accomplish that goal, they won’t have WODs that start with a “skilled” movement (double unders, handstand pushups, muscle ups, etc) or a movement requiring heavy weight. By starting with movements or weights that almost everyone can complete, they allow and encourage more people to sign up.
And of course the secondary reason, or you could just describe is as an outcome of the reason listed above, the more people that sign up, the more money it generates. Signing up for the Open isn’t free (although it is cheaper than any other competition you’ll find) and let’s be honest, HQ wants the Open to generate as much money as possible. The Open has grown by astounding rates over it’s now four year history and it’s “inclusiveness” is a huge reason for its success.
In 2011, just over 26,000 people signed up for the Open. That’s pretty impressive for a niche sport in their first year of competition but each and every year has remarkable and astounding growth. In 2012, over 69,000 people signed up and in 2013; over 138,000 paid their $20 to join (you do the math on that!). So far in 2014, I count right around 186,000 that have signed up and that number will certainly grow over the next 24-36 hours, until the release of the first WOD. By tomorrow night, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if Dave Castro announces that over 200,000 people have signed up.
The Crossfit Open is growing at an unprecedented rate, and it’s “inclusiveness” is one of the biggest reasons why.