Quarterfinals 2023

What are the Quarterfinals?

Following the CrossFit Open, the top 10% of individuals and athletes in each age groupย and 25% of teams will advance to the Quarterfinals. This is an online qualifier for the Semifinals, the final checkpoint to the CrossFit Games. Quarterfinalists are asked to complete 5 grueling tests over 3 days advance their position in the worldwide ranking and raise their fitness level.

Important dates:

  • Individual Quarterfinal
    Registration: March 13 – 17
    Competition: March 16 – 19
  • Team Quarterfinal
    Registration: March 20 – 30
    Competition: March 29 – 31
  • Age-Group Quarterfinal
    Registration: March 20 – April 1
    Competition: March 31 – April 2

How it works

Invitations to register for this phase of competition are sent to qualifying athletes via email by CrossFit HQ. The tests in this phase are more advanced and demanding than the Open workouts, and are all released at 12 p.m. PT (8 p.m. GMT+1) on the first day of competition. The scores for specific workouts must be submitted along with video within one of three 24-hour windows.

Score Submission Windows for Individual athletes

Thursday, March 16, at 8 p.m. GMT+1 until Friday, March 17, at 8 p.m. GMT+1
Friday, March 17, at 8 p.m. GMT+1 until Saturday, March 18, at 8 p.m. GMT+1
Saturday, March 18, at 8 p.m. GMT+1 until Sunday, March 19, at 8 p.m. GMT+1

For more info about Quarterfinals check out the official page here.

The Tests

The five workouts of “tests” for individual athletes. Be sure to check the official website for full workout descriptions, scorecards, and floor plans.

1

9 front squats, weight 1 (heaviest)
9 handstand walks, 25 feet
15 front squats, weight 2
15 muscle-ups
21 front squats, weight 3 (lightest)
21 chest-to-wall handstand push-ups

โ™€ 155, 125, 95 lb
โ™‚ 225, 185, 135 lb

Time cap: 15 minutes

2

12-minute AMRAP:
8 dumbbell snatches, arm 1
8 overhead walking-lunge steps, arm 1
8 dumbbell snatches, arm 2
8 overhead walking-lunge steps, arm 2
40 crossovers

โ™€ 50 lb
โ™‚ 70 lb

3

5 rounds for time:
5 burpee box jump-overs
1 clean and jerk

*Add 1 clean and jerk after each round.

โ™€ 185-lb, 24-in box
โ™‚ 275-lb, 30-in box

Time cap: 10 minutes

4

20-minute AMRAP:
1,000-meter row
50 GHD sit-ups
500-meter row
25 V-ups

5

21 deadlifts, weight 1 (lightest)
21 chest-to-bar pull-ups
15 deadlifts, weight 2
15 bar muscle-ups
9 deadlifts, weight 3 (heaviest)
9 rope climbs, 15 ft

โ™€ 155, 185, 205 lb
โ™‚ 225, 275, 315 lb

Time cap: 15 minutes

Strategy Guide

Suggested order of Workouts:

Friday: Test 2, Test 1, Optional repeat of Test 2
Saturday: Test 3, Test 4
Sunday: Test 5

First of all familiarize yourself with the standards and the flow for each test you are going to do on the particular day. You have to be prepared to be at the gym for a long time. That means bring your nutrition (food and supplements), organize a judge and support staff that you are familiar with, and pack all of your essential workout gear. Also make sure to set up the floor deliberately and film with two cameras.

Test 1

Fight to go unbroken on the front squats. On the gymnastics you want to fight for big sets, but without going to failure (ideally 1-2 reps in reserve). Be aware that each chest-to-wall HSPU has to start with a wall-walk, that means be smart with your breaks.

Check out our tips on how to make your ring muscle ups more efficient:

YouTube video

Test 2

Test different jump ropes to find out which one works best for you. On the DB you either want to go unbroken or 7+1 on the DB Snatches if necessary. This workout wonโ€™t be too taxing and you have the possibility to repeat.

Use some of these drills to improve your overhead mobility before tackling this one.

YouTube video

Test 3

Stronger athletes will have abilityity to go power clean and power jerk which is the quickest option however  for some of you, the prescribed weight is close to or equates to your 1-RM. If that's the case then you just need to approach it within you capacity: If this is well below your 1-RM, push  through the box jump overs and really push the limits of this workout. Otherwise, start at an easy pace and then build up.

For your warm up, if this is around your 1-RM, work up to 90% . If itโ€™s far from your RM youโ€™ll want to work up to that.

This video will get you ready to lift heavy:

YouTube video

Test 4

This workout is interesting as it unlocks another new exercise, the third new movement we've seen these quarterfinals. The V sit-up combined with rowing and GHD is a classic recipe to get the midline fried and the heart rate up.

For those who know either their 5 KM row pace or for those who've done the FTP threshold on a rower, that should give you a rough idea of where you want to be during this test.

Capacity on the GHD will be a major factor in this workout. Try not to blow out too quickly over that 20 minutes and just try to hold a consistent smooth place throughout.

Take a moment to brush up on your rowing technique:

YouTube video

Test 5

Stay tuned for tips and guides!

Reika Morgan

by

Reika Morgan

Reika Morgan has eight years of experience training, competing, and coaching Crossfit and Olympic weightlifting. She is a founding member of said community in Barcelona, Spain and currently works as a CrossFit coach at La Huella Workout Club.