Festivus Divisions

Festivus Games is the first and largest worldwide competition designed for the novice and intermediate athlete. Determining exactly where to draw a line between novice and intermediate is a tricky task, but we have come up with a line nonetheless. Remember, these are not absolutes. Just guidelines. If you match up with a majority of any of these choose that category.

Novice or Intermediate?

If at least four of these six guidelines are true for you then we suggest you go Novice. Otherwise we suggest you go Intermediate.

  • Unassisted unbroken pull ups less than 5/2 (Male/Female)
  • 1-rep max deadlift is less than 300/225 (Male/Female)
  • Mile run is over 10 minutes
  • 2000-meter row is over 8 minutes (Male) or 9 minutes (Female)
  • You have no clue what your Fran time is
  • You’ve been doing CrossFit less than six months

Masters 45+

For our partner comps the minimum age to compete in the Masters division is 40, however, the average age of the team must be 45 or greater. Example: For our 2-person comps if someone is 40 and the partner is 50 that’s fine, the average age is 45 (Sum 90+). For our 3-person comps you could have two athletes who are 40 and one athlete who is 55, the average age is 45 (Sum 135+).

All team members must be at least 40 by December 31st, 2022.

Why Masters 45+ and not 40? We only have one masters division that we podium/award at each location. We realize that being 35 you may not feel as spry as the 20 year olds. But the 55, 60 and 65 year olds look at 35 year olds as pups. So instead of it being 40+ we made it 45+ to at least minimally accommodate the slightly older athletes a bit better.

Ideally there’d be 5-year age divisions from age 35 up to beyond the age of 100. But logistically, we can’t manage that.

As a Masters Athlete you will use the same loads and movements as the Novice Athletes, however, you will only be competing against others who are 45 and older if it’s an Individual event or average age 45+ if a partner/team-based event. Just because you are 45+ doesn’t mean you have to go Masters. If you are a bad ass Masters Athlete you can opt to register for the Novice or even the Intermediate division.

Placed 1st In A Previous Festivus Games Comp?

Just because you made the podium or even placed first in a previous Festivus Games event it doesn’t mean you’ve outgrown us. It could very well mean you had limited competition at your location. It could mean, for that event, the WODs were perfect for you. Because we change the WODs for every event the next event’s WODs could very much be out of your wheelhouse. Maybe you made the podium as an Individual but now our event is partner based. Maybe you have a different partner than last time. There are a LOT of variables to consider.

For these reasons and more the bottom line is you can compete in Festivus Games forever AS LONG as you aren’t a competitive Rx athlete or firebreather!

Over Qualified?

This competition is designed for athletes who are not pure Rx or firebreathers. The goal is to promote a friendly, yet competitive environment for those who routinely scale WODs and wish to challenge themselves.

Top in the Open?

    You are automatically over-qualified if you placed in the top 10% of this year’s Open Rx but not as a Masters athlete.
    You are automatically over-qualified if you placed in the top 5% of this year’s Open Rx as a Masters athlete.

Better Than Several of These Benchmarks?

You are probably over qualified for The Festivus Games if you have several of the following bench marks equal to or better than:

  • You compete in the Crossfit Open and Rx every WOD as an Athlete under age 40
  • 4:00 min Fran
  • 10:00 min Helen
  • 3:00 min Grace
  • 6:30 min Annie
  • 25:00 min Kelly
  • 18+ rounds of Cindy
  • 1-rep max deadlift 500/300 (Male/Female)
  • 275/185 Clean & Jerk
  • 2000 meter row less than 6:30-minutes (Male) 7:30-minutes (Female)

Rx Athlete in a Comp Within the Past Year?

You are probably over-qualified if, within the last year, you competed as an Rx athlete in a competition. Please let those with less experience enjoy the spirit of The Festivus Games and display their own FEATS OF STRENGTH!