Ask a Coach: Do You Have Advice on How To Run a Member-Only CrossFit Competition at My Gym?

Hosting a one-day, member-only competition is a fantastic idea that can significantly strengthen your gym’s community. It’s a fun and exciting event that brings together athletes, judges, organizers, volunteers, and even local businesses for a shared experience. You’ll be surprised by how your members rise to the occasion and contribute to making the event a success. Here’s a simple playbook to get you started — feel free to adjust it to fit your gym’s needs.

Step 1: Choose a Date

Pick a day when you and your coaches can be fully present and supportive. Ideally, plan two to three months in advance to give athletes time to prepare (or be convinced to join) and allow volunteers to organize their roles. 

Step 2: Announce the Event

Promote the competition on all your social media platforms, in your gym, and at the beginning of classes. Make sure everyone knows the categories available — such as First-Timers, Scaled, Rx’d, and Masters — and whether it will be an individual competition or teams of two. Communicate the goal of the event clearly. For example: “We want to celebrate everything our members have achieved through a fun, supportive, community-driven event.”

Step 3: Create a Sign-Up Sheet

Create a sign-up sheet for all roles, including participants, judges, medical, equipment movers, a DJ, and scorers. You can also use third-party tools like Competition Corner for easy scoring or keep it simple with an Excel sheet. To make scoring straightforward, search for the “low-point scoring system,” which assigns points based on performance and works well for in-house competitions.

Step 4: Assign Team Leaders

Organize key roles well in advance. Decide who will program the workouts, who will act as head judge (responsible for setting standards and organizing the judging team), who will manage equipment, oversee medical emergencies, handle the schedule, and serve as the announcer or DJ. The more you prepare, the smoother things will go. Remember, your members are eager to help!  

Step 5: Release the Events

One week before the competition, release the first two events and explain the standards to make things easier on event day. If you want to maintain excitement, keep the third event — and possibly a final — secret. Be careful not to overload athletes with too much volume; three events is usually enough.

Step 6: Set Up the Space

The night before, set up your gym. Organize a warm-up area, competition space, and a designated spectator zone. If your members support the event through their businesses, set up a small “sponsor village” with a few tables for them to display their offerings.

Step 7: Event Day

Meet with all volunteers and team leaders an hour before the competition starts to review the final details. Once everything is in place, kick off the event and enjoy the day!

Step 8: Post-Event Feedback

After the event, clean up and ask each team leader to provide two things that went well (e.g., smooth registration process, enthusiastic participation) and two areas for improvement (e.g., better communication about event schedule, more efficient scoring system). Take notes — these insights will help you refine the event for next year.

Also, consider hosting a post-event celebration to acknowledge and appreciate everyone’s efforts. With this playbook, you’re well on your way to hosting an exciting, community-building event that your members will love. Good luck, and have fun!

Have a question for a coach? Please submit that here.

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About the Author

Matthieu Dubreucq is a Seminar Staff Flowmaster for CrossFit’s Education Department and has been the owner of CrossFit Laval since 2008. It is now hosted by Matt’s Garage Training Club. He is a Certified CrossFit Coach (CF-L4), former Canadian Sailing Team athlete, Canadian Ski Alliance Level 3 Ski Instructor, and Canadian Yachting Association Level 4 Coach. He is a published kid’s book author of “Let’s Run, Allons Courir,” and in July 2024, he published his first nonfiction book, co-authored with Christopher Dedeyan, “Play For Profit.”