Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting on the recent events surrounding CrossFit Inc, and what this means for us as a community. I want to reiterate Boulder Crossfit’s core value of bringing people together through fitness and celebrating differences. 

As a Crossfitter for almost a decade, and someone who dreamed of one day owning a gym of my own, Crossfit is a huge part of who I am. Boulder CrossFit is where I’ve made most of my friends, when I moved to Boulder knowing almost no one, and a community that I’m proud to be a part of. I also love dropping by CrossFit gyms when I travel, and being part of a larger global community, no matter where in the world I am. While the community, the members and coaches of Boulder Crossfit have built is a source of pride, I’m deeply troubled not just by the recent events surrounding Crossfit Inc, but by a long-standing track record of CrossFit HQ acting in ways that do not align with our own BCF values. 

Trust me when I say I have not taken these issues lightly. One of the biggest nonnegotiables for me was to have the CEO Greg Glassman not only step down but sell the company outright, which he has since done. I am extremely happy about this decision but I also expect CrossFit HQ to commit and action the following: 

• Establish a more diverse board of directors that includes diverse staff from all walks of life. Having one person with no oversight is unacceptable.
• Put words into action. Donate money to organizations that support racial injustice. Do Philanthropy! 
• Support local affiliates like Boulder Crossfit.

I’ve also been doing reflection on what we (as Boulder CrossFit) can do to be more inclusive moving forward. I honestly believe that real change happens within your own community. Here are the steps we’ll be taking over the coming months: 

1: Run in house competitions that bring us together to raise funds for social justice organizations. Be on the lookout for our first one this year! 

2: Reach out to local nonprofits and collaborate. Our goal is to create a free program for underserved youth, or at a minimum, we’d like to get more programmatic about giving back time as volunteers in Boulder and surrounding counties. 

3: Establish a sliding scale to make CrossFit more accessible and affordable. We haven’t figured out the details here yet, but we recognize that the cost to membership can be prohibitive and would like to offer sliding scales or membership opportunities in exchange for volunteering. 

4. Free (yes really free) Saturday Community workouts. We’ve been offering free Saturday class for a long time now! But we realize that we haven’t necessarily widened the net beyond close family and friends. We want to be more thoughtful about inviting the community to join us. While we do have class size considerations to think about (especially during COVID-19), we’re committed to keeping this going. 

I will be working to turn these ideas into concrete priorities and an action plan in the coming months, but I did want to keep you involved about where we are going with this. Short-term, we plan to focus on what we can impact on a local scale, as we are watching CrossFit HQ’s next steps. BCF will stay committed to making all feel welcome and building inclusion in our own community through fitness.

-Zach