The third iteration of The Progrm’s “The Crown” occurred in Spain over Easter weekend. After 4 days of competition, two Icelandic athletes, Bjarni Leifs and Bergrós Björnsdóttir, headed home victorious.
Like previous years, The Crown was host to a few of the most effective teenage athletes in the game. They competed alongside each other and likewise took part in a retreat-style experience, combining recreation and community constructing with CrossFit.
As one can tell from the 2023 documentary in regards to the event, this just isn’t a typical competition.
Remind Me
First happening in 2019, The Crown has been a showcase for youth in the game of fitness, allowing them to compete alongside others their age and form connections along the best way.
After taking a while to recuperate and reorganize after COVID-19, The Crown re-emerged in 2023; the event was rebranded, the sector was minimized, and the event’s location was modified to the “Nike Castle,” a literal stone fortress in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
With this recent venue and a small group of 10 competitors, The Progrm founder and event organizer John Singleton created a singular weekend, showcasing young talent and giving competitors an experience that will persist with them long after leaving the island.
“We’re capable of do stuff that you just classically wouldn’t find a way to do with a contest. We went canyoning [and attended] cooking events [and] Wim Hof events; it gives a great experience to those athletes,” Singleton tells the Morning Chalk Up.
Building a Community
While allowing the athletes to compete against each other is one minor component of The Crown’s mission, Singleton wants athletes to form bonds and friendships through the four-day experience.
“The whole event is just different. We attempt to focus less on the competitive aspect and more on the experience: they live together, train together. They go home, and so they’ve forgotten there was a CrossFit competition,” Singleton says.
Singleton has hosted camps for teen athletes for over a decade and has learned quite a bit about this demographic and their need for connection.
He explains that so lots of these young competitors train independently, or at the least without the comradery of those their age. While age gaps can appear to narrow as they get older, they’re vast when the athletes are young.
“The majority of youngster athletes train with people older than them […] it’s very different than having a friendship/group of the identical age, same interests, cultural references, whatever which may be. They’re capable of speak with people their age, who’re in that very same mindset, in that very same flow,” Singleton says.
It’s rare that these athletes have the chance to attach, commiserate, set goals, and dream alongside others their age. These connection-building strategies were emphasized through the organization and planning of the event.
“[It] was really vital to us [that] these guys leave with friendships; we create the environment and step back in order that they can get on,” Singleton says. “They are under a lot pressure. It’s vital that they’ve connections with kids the identical age, with the identical experiences.”
The Future of the Sport
Giving young athletes opportunities to compete at a high level and partake in experiences that promote mental wellness will help solidify the expansion and the health of competitive CrossFit.
Singleton says it is a way that he may give back to the game and explains they’re very captivated with the subsequent generation at The Progrm.
As more of those elite competitions take hold and grow and their value is recognized, Singleton hopes they’ll attract not only more competitors but additionally more fans and supporters of this significant age group.
In this fashion, Singleton says, “We hope we’re capable of prop up the game.”
