INTRODUCTION
It’s our favorite time of the year… CrossFit season is in full swing and for 2023 Wits University in Johannesburg is gearing up for arguably the biggest fitness event on the continent! That’s right, it’s time for the CrossFit Semifinals, and this year there’s been a changing of the guard in many ways, starting with the Fittest in Cape Town ditched in favor of the new Rebel Renegade Games.
PROGRAMMING
CrossFit has also stepped in and levelled the global playing field with HQ designing all the workouts in the Semifinal stage now… a bold move, but one we at DVSN welcome. We believe this will go a long way to ensure the athletes who qualify for the CrossFit Games, will be those with the best chance of challenging for the title of Fittest on Earth, representing their respective regions, since HQ now effectively closes the loop, controlling the programming in the Open, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and at the Games.
TEAM COMPETITION
But that’s not where the changes stop, the most exciting change for us this year will be watching the new addition to the teams competition, we’re obviously referring to none other than what can only be described as Africa’s powerhouse entry, that is Michelle Merand, Angelique Connoway, Alan Foulis, and AJ Visser teaming up under the banner Mayhem Unboxed. Mayhem Unboxed looks spectacular on paper, but this is their first major competition as a team and only time will tell if a team made up of strong individual athletes can work together collectively to achieve success! One thing is for sure though, they are going up against some experienced teams who function well as a unit, teams like CrossFit Juggernaut, Cape CrossFit, CrossFit Tijger Valley, Pack Life CrossFit, and Lions Bay CrossFit.
FEMALE COMPETITION
As for the Individual Female competition, we’ve got our eyes on Michelle Basnett, Gemma Rader and Mariska Smit. Last year was a tight race between Merand and Basnett, with Merand cinching the title and punching her ticket to the Games in 2022. With Merand out of the running, having gone team, Basnett looks to be the clear favorite, but we see a few potential challengers and are looking at Mariska Smit as she steps out of team competition, entering into the arena as an individual for 2023.
MALE COMPETITION
The Individual Male competition on the other hand is where we believe the entertainment will be had in bucket loads! We’re in for an exciting rematch between last year’s winner, Kealan Henry and CrossFit Games veteran Jason Smith. Don’t get us wrong here, there’s a STACKED field, but with all the pressure on Kealan to retain the title and Jason, who has mentioned on social media that 2023 might be his last season in the open division, we believe he’ll be going all out to end his illustrious career on a high note. But hey, we might have this all wrong, and that’s why we love CrossFit – with athletes like Darren Zurnamer, Ruan Potgieter, Robbie Heuer, and Ruan Conradie, it’s anyone’s game!
LIVESTREAM LINKS
No more struggling to find the streams on YouTube!
Click below links to add our Semifinals Calendar events to your Calendar and get the Rebel Renegade Games livestream links saved to straight to your Calendar with the Schedule and a reminder at 8:40am to tune in!
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