IF YOU GO
? What: CrossFit Fort Vancouver Invitational
? When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 11:15 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Also swim event 8 a.m. Sunday at Clark County YMCA.
? Where: Clark County Event Center at the Clark County Fairgrounds.
? Cost: $20 each day at the door, ages 17 and younger admitted free.
? Web: http://crossfitfortvancouver.com/invitational
Before CrossFit Fort Vancouver decided to invite some top competitors to Clark County, January was a relatively low-key month for Jessica Core.
The road to the CrossFit Games doesn’t officially start until March, when athletes can attempt to qualify for a regional. But getting a jump start on the season is nice, Core said.
That chance comes Saturday and Sunday. The second CrossFit Fort Vancouver Invitational brings together athletes who were top finishers at 2014 CrossFit regional championships. The competition at the Clark County Event Center will feature three events on Saturday and three on Sunday.
IF YOU GO
? What: CrossFit Fort Vancouver Invitational
? When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 11:15 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Also swim event 8 a.m. Sunday at Clark County YMCA.
? Where: Clark County Event Center at the Clark County Fairgrounds.
? Cost: $20 each day at the door, ages 17 and younger admitted free.
? Web: http://crossfitfortvancouver.com/invitational
“It helps me for the rest of the competition season,” said Core, who trains at CrossFit Fort Vancouver and has represented the gym multiple times at the CrossFit Games.
The CrossFit Fort Vancouver Invitational will feature three timed exercise challenges on Saturday and three more on Sunday. Sunday’s first event will be a swim at the Clark County Family YMCA.
Sunday’s second event will be a surprise for participants.
Most of the events involve completing repetitions on a variety of exercises within a time limit. Saturday’s first event, for example, includes a rowing machine, pull-ups, weightlifting and more.
Adam Neiffer, owner of CrossFit Fort Vancouver, will be competing this weekend. That was not his original plan, but when Ryan Smith from Montana was seeking a partner Neiffer was game.
Neiffer and competition director Nathan Loren developed the idea for the Fort Vancouver Invitational. They saw a void in the competition schedule, and in opportunities for athletes who aspire for regional and world titles top compete together. This, Neiffer said, is a good measure of how well each athlete is training.
“We thought we were filling a need for a top-level competition for Northwest athletes,” Neiffer said. “This is an opportunity for all of the athletes to compete and to see where they are relative to other top athletes in the Pacific Northwest.”
