The Open is just 2 days away and we are super excited for it this year. We have over 30 people signed up officially on the Cove site and hoping we are hoping for more (reminder: you can signup at games.crossfit.com). It is truly an inclusive event with more divisions than ever, so if you’re on the fence, there’s no need to be!

In the past, the CrossFit Open has been “part workout, part party” at the Cove and has been a fantastic community experience at the gym. We know that we cannot treat the Open like we have in the past, we have developed a plan to allow us to have a great time while providing a socially distanced environment. Here are some of our plans for the upcoming Open.

· The workouts will be released on Thursday evening at 8 PM. We will update the Cove website, Wodify, and post on social media details of the workout. It’s always fun to see what CrossFit has in store for us and the Open workout will be the WOD we do in class each Friday.

· We will still be limiting class sizes (we saw Governor Hogan’s announcement that we can operate at 100% capacity on Friday) but want to still stay the course more in line with our current safety protocols and self-govern tighter restrictions.

· On Thursday evening, we will be setting up the gym for the next days’ workout. This will include judges sheets for those officially signed up for the Open. When you are done with your workout, be sure to leave your signed sheet in the appropriate folder so we can validate your score. If you don’t sign up for the workout, you can still have a judge but are not required to submit a scoresheet.

· We also will be preparing lanes and athlete workout stations for the next days’ class so you will be spaced safely.

· We will run a regular class schedule, but for the Open Fridays, those athletes that are officially signed up will have a rep counter/judge to help them out. We are going to ask that this judge keep a mask on but there can be exceptions for this rule, like spouses judging one another (always a bad idea. Just ask Marina).

· Starting with the 3:15 class, we are going to have a coned off an area for the workout and a separate spectator section (depending on the WOD, we will figure out where) but of course anyone watching will be distanced and masks will be required.

· Starting with the 3:15 class, we are also going to have an overflow area set up outside and we’ll encourage people to hang out (distanced), have a drink, and socialize safely. There will be tables (plyo boxes), chairs, and some beverages for people have (sodas, waters, beer and wine). And people are free to bring whatever they’d like to drink or eat themselves.

· If we cannot get everyone in (and there are waitlists) we will open up a 7p class on Friday.

· The Cove is the home to a number of amazing athletes but one, in particular, is our very own Jenna Michelotti. For the past two years, she has been training for the Games and the Open is her chance to get to the big event. We are going to be setting up a special heat for her between the 4:30 or 5:45 PM class. She is an amazing athlete, has worked so hard, and we would love to get some fans to support her. We all know the power that community support brings as you grind through tough workouts, so come on out and cheer her on!

· We will be wrapping up at 8 PM as we need to get the gym cleaned and ready for the next day.

Evil genius Daniel Park watching as our athletes take on 20.1 from last years Open. His programming pays off — trust us on this!