Crossfit Open Wod 15.3 and My Bitterness

Be forewarned.. this is going to be a mindless rant :)  I realize that Dave Castro and everyone at Crossfit HQ  could not care less about my opinion or about all the people who participated in this years Crossfit Open with one goal: RX every wod. 

2015 marks the first year that the Open has had a scaled division for athletes who can't perform the prescribed movements.  Before now if you couldn't perform a movement you just got to spend the entire workout trying and for a lot of people succeeding and PR-ing!

As the majority of athletes who do Crossfit, you strive every day and work up to doing as many workouts as possible at the RX level.  For me I have significantly improved my skills from last year.  In 15.1 I did toes-to-bar much faster than last year. In 15.1a I hit a new PR clean and jerking 150lbs!  In 15.2 (a repeat from 2014) (athletes are given 3 minutes to complete 2 rounds of 10 overhead squats at 95/65lbs and 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups.  If all reps are completed by the 3 minute mark, athletes are given 3 additional minutes to complete 2 rounds of 12 Overhead squats and 12 chest-to-bars.  Each additional round completed adds another 3 minutes with 2 additional reps per movement.) I was able to reach my goal of successfully completing round 1!  

I get it.. none of this sounds very impressive.  Games athletes squished my score like bugs in less time than you can say "squished like bugs.." Games athletes are easily separated from the pack in any workout given to athletes.  I proudly got 121 reps in 15.1 and the women's Southwest region winner Camille Leblanc-Bazinet got 239 reps.  Quite obvious there that she is indeed a much more elite athlete than little ol' me.  More-so in 15.2 I got 72 reps! Camille got 427 reps.  Even with movements that average athletes like myself can do, Games athletes obviously set themselves apart.  

The Open workout 15.3 announcement was awful.  15.3 is a 14 minute amrap of 7 Muscle-Ups, 50 wall-balls 20/14, 100 Double-Unders.  WHAM. With the announcement of that WOD thousands of Open participants' hearts sank.  Thoughts of swinging on muscle-ups rings for 14 minutes flashed through my head. Giving up flashed through my head.  Do I even care?  What are they thinking? I hate them. They think they are so awesome! General fit-throwing thoughts flashed through my head.  It's very disheartening to have such an elite movement as the Muscle-Up right smack at the beginning of an Open wod.. note even the final Open wod..  Athletes everywhere are undoubtably infuriated.  The one announcement single-handedly soured the one goal that so many athletes were striving for: RX all wods.  At our gym alone I can think of 2 women who can do a muscle-ups. 2!  

It seems unfair and unnecessary to have such an elite movement in the Open since it's very apparent that elite athletes are going to set themselves apart no matter what.  It also seems plain and simply to be a slap in the face to athletes everywhere.  As if Dave Castro is saying "Forget everything we said while trying to promote people into signing up for the Open that it's all about PR-ing and community and getting your box together every year for this awesome event.  If you can't do a muscle up you don't belong.  And I already have your money so you can bitch all you want." 

With all my annoyance and bitterness I can't be mad. There is nothing I can do about it.  They won't change the wod.  I'm not going to get a muscle-up today.. or this week.  But if I don't want to feel this way again I need to make that effort and work endlessly on doing muscle ups.  People who have them didn't just hop on the rings one day and bust out a muscle-up.  Lots of time and effort has to be put into it.  So with that being said I will still feel a little cheated BUT I won't hold on to it.. and I will go to "Friday Night Lights" at our box tonight and do the scaled wod with a majority of the people at our box.. I will use a lighter wall-ball and I will do single-unders and I will still push myself.