A team of four local athletes will represent Africa at an international CrossFit event in the United States of America (USA). The four athletes from CrossFit Eikestad will compete at the event on 27 July under the name the Mighty Oaks.
This is according to Cillié Malan, the coach of the Mighty Oaks team and also the co-founder of CrossFit Eikestad.
“The CrossFit Games are the pinnacle of our sport,” Malan told MatieMedia. “If you win that, you are the fittest man, woman or team on earth. That’s the title you are competing for.”
The CrossFit Games, to be hosted in the United States of America at the end of July, is the final round of several competitions. According to Cillié Malan, coach of the Mighty Oaks team, around 300 000 people participate in the first round, which is held online. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
The CrossFit Games
During the CrossFit Games, which runs from 27 July until 1 August, competitors participate in between 12 and 18 activities. The specific activities, also called the workouts of the day, or WOD’s, are only shared with competitors on the day of the competition, said Malan.
“You can do everything, it’s any physical activity you can think of,” said Malan, explaining the level of fitness expected from competitors. “So, you must be able to complete any physical task that’s thrown at you.”
Malan explained that each individual has the opportunity to win up to 100 points per WOD at the games, and the team with the highest total points wins. This means that being consistent is more important than winning a particular exercise.
“It’s either based on how quickly you can perform a set amount of work, or they give you an amount of time and you need to see how much work you can complete in that time,” he said.
According to the official website for the CrossFit Games, several unique characteristics define the CrossFit Games. “The Games change every year and oftentimes, the details are not announced until right before each event. Athletes train year-round for a competition that is almost completely a mystery,” the website states. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
The Mighty Oaks
The team from CrossFit Eikestad qualified for the CrossFit Games after competing in the African semi-finals, recently hosted in Stellenbosch. CrossFit Eikestad entered two mixed teams into the semi-finals, each made up of four members. The teams placed 1st and 3rd in the semi-finals, said Ielsje Malan, co-owner of CrossFit Eikestad.
“I think this has been a few years of work. We have always managed to enter good teams and they have all competed internationally, but this is by far the best team we have ever had,” said Malan.
“In CrossFit, we bike, we swim, we lift, we row, we do gymnastics and we do odd object stuff. So things you would or wouldn’t be able to do in everyday life,” said Cillié Malan, coach of the Mighty Oaks team. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
According to Malan, the Mighty Oaks have had to train together over weekends as CrossFit is still an amateur sport in South Africa. Jaco Brits, a member of the Mighty Oaks, runs his own personal fitness gym in Bellville, and has been training at CrossFit Eikestad for 8 years.
“I look to the past work as my motivation. I look up to the sky for my motivation. And also, obviously to myself as well,” said Brits.
Mariska Smit, one of the athletes in the Mighty Oaks, describes the hours that the team works out most weeks.
This article was updated on 18 July 2021.