Everything You Need to Know to Compete in the New CrossFit Open

There's only one Open this coming year, six months on the heels of the last one meaning the rules have changed and you need to strategize in a totally new way.

Written by Mike Tromello Last updated on Oct 20, 2021

The CrossFit Open 2020 starts in October 2019. It’s a new set of rules and a new look for CrossFit, and frankly, it might be a little confusing, and I have been doing the Open at all levels since 2011. So, below, you’ll find my video explaining all the options for everyone from the casual gym goes who just wants to test themselves to the Masters athletes, teams, and individuals looking to find a way to the CrossFit Games.

CrossFit Open 2020 Changes

There is only one Open and one season this year; it’s starting October 10, five weeks. If you are doing the Open to have fun, just do the workouts, do them one time and enjoy them. Relax. If you are looking to qualify for the CrossFit Games, the top 20 from the Open will go through, as before, with the backflow from the sanctioned events.

Sanctioned events have longstanding histories, in some cases, and have their own criteria for participation so, you need to look at each one separately. Athletes from sanctioned events will also go to the CrossFit Games.

Masters should see the Open as training because mature athletes will have their own qualifier, the top 200 athletes in each age group from the Open having to go through an Age Group Online Qualifier (AGOQ) in 2020.

Teams can only qualify through sanctionals. The santionals start in November, 2019 and go through to June, 2020.

But, let’s get into the video below. It should help make things clearer.

Everything You Need to Know to Compete in the New CrossFit Open

Watch this video on YouTube

About Mike Tromello

Mike, a graduate of Occidental College, spent three years playing for the SCIAC Champion Tigers, graduating with his bachelor’s degree in 2005. In the summer of 2005, Mike spent six months playing professionally in Europe for the Gefle Red Devils of Sweden. Mike also served as the defensive coordinator for the organization’s prep team, as well as the head strength and conditioning coach.

Upon his return home, Mike went back to Occidental College to complete his master’s degree and earn his secondary school teaching credential, which he completed in the spring of 2006. In December of 2006, Mike represented Team USA against Team Canada in a football showdown between the two countries. Between 2005 and 2009, Mike spent five seasons as the strength and conditioning and secondary coach for the Occidental College football team.

In September of 2008, Mike took over as the middle school strength and conditioning coach at Harvard-Westlake School. Here, he was put in charge of the school’s developmental strength and conditioning program. For eight years, Mike aided in the school’s creation of a vertically-integrated strength program. Within this program students where taught how to build a technical weightlifting base, starting in the seventh grade, that was developed upon over time. Through technical efficiency learned at a young age, students vertically integrated to the high school program where strength was developed further. This program received much acclaim by major strength and conditioning associations, such as the NSCA. It also led Mike to publish a book on the subject matter: “Building the Beast: A comprehensive Guide to Adolescent Strength & Conditioning.” In addition to this work with adolescents, Mike also was the Head Strength & Condition Coach for the Varsity Water Polo and Track Teams. By the completion of his tenure at HW, Mike was a part of 2 National and 3 CIF Championship Teams. Mike was also put into the HW Water polo Hall of Fame.

In addition to his work as an elite strength & conditioning coach, Mike is also an accomplished CrossFit and Weightlifting coach. Over the past several years he has coached multiple athletes, all of whom have fared very well, to the national and world levels of Weightlifting: Frank Datello (2018 University National and AO3 Champion), Urbana Sepulveda (2019 Masters National Champ, 2019 Masters Worlds Silver Medalist, 2019 World Open Champ), Margie Rivas (2019 World Open Silver Medalist), Hannah Hall (2020 Youth & University National Champ), Crystal Riggs (2012, 13 & 15 American Open Championships, and 2015 & 16 USA Nationals), Katie Crowe (2012 & 13 American Open Championships), Chrissy Barron (2015 American Open Championships), Nathan Doud (2015 American Open Championships), Deanna Douglas (2015 & 16 University Nationals), Danielle Marino (2015 & 16 University Nationals), and Evan Hardman (2016 University Nationals), Lindsey Valenzuela (2009 American Open Championships) . In CrossFit he has coached multiple Games and Regional athletes, such as Hunter McIntyre (2019 CrossFit Games), Team Torrance Training Lab (2018 CrossFit Games), Tori Dow (2017 & 18 CrossFit Games), Hannah Hall (2018 CrossFit Games), Bill Grundler (2016 CrossFit Games 45-49 Silver Medalist), James Grundler (2015,16,17, & 18 CrossFit Games), Alison Locke (2014 & 16 CrossFit Games), Dan Wells (2015 CrossFit Games), Greg Smiley (2013 CrossFit Games), Chelsey Grigsby (2018 CrossFit Games), Dane McLaughlin (2018 CrossFit Regionals), Nolan Gouveia (2018 CrossFit Regionals), Katie Crowe (2011,12,13,14, & 15 Southern California & California Regionals), Jessica Goeser (2012,13,14,15 & 16 Southern California & California Regionals), Lindsey Deitsch (2014, 15 & 16 Southern California & California Regionals), and Daimino Stewart (2014, 15 & 16 Southern California & California Regionals), to name a few. In addition, he has coached his gym’s team (TEAM PRECISION) to every Regional / Sanctional since the inception of the CrossFit Games Open in 2011.

-WINNER OF THE 2016 STAR PHYSIQUE AWARD FOR MOST INSPIRING COACH IN HEALTH AND FITNESS
-MASTERS DEGREE
-CERTIFIED STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING SPECIALIST (CSCS)
-REGISTERED STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH WITH DISTINCTION(RSCC*D)
-USAW NATIONAL COACH
-USAW LEVEL 2 COACH
-CROSSFIT LEVEL 2 COACH
-CIF COACHING CERTIFIED
-CALIFORNIA TEACHING CREDENTIAL

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