MVPs of the Open

The role of the CrossFit Open is to determine who, in the entire world, qualifies for Regionals

or the Masters Qualifier, which then determines who makes it to the Games

to be crowned the fittest on the planet. The percentage of people who are actually in contention to move on after the Open is very small, however the power of the Open is huge and transcends this intent.

The Open allows people to commit to competition, to test their fitness, to push beyond what they believe is possible and to support other human beings.

This year, we saw so many awe-inspiring examples of grit and determination within the walls of our gym. So, in the spirit of the Open, each of our

coaches has named one athlete that inspired and amazed them. These people are our MVPs!

Read below, in the words of each coach, on who was their Open MVP and why…

Johnny’s MVP is… 
Vinny Burke. He’s not someone that typically RX’s workouts but he’s pushing himself to do so this Open where he can. He PR’d his clean in 16.2, hit his first muscle-ups in 16.3 and continued to

do so for a solid score, and he came in both Friday night and Saturday morning to support everyone.

Rob’s MVP is… 
Hans Stancil. He’s worked really hard over the past few years to achieve where he currently is on top of the leaderboard. He never makes excuses, despite having two kids and a demanding job. He drops into other CrossFit gyms when he’s traveling in order to keep up his training. He listens to our feedback on training and diet and has become a smarter athlete. He passed the CrossFit judges

course in order to help out in judging the Open events and is very supportive of other members.

Wendy’s MVP is…
Emily Zambito. As usual, Emily tackled the Open

workouts with all-out effort and a smile. During 16.4, although she really wanted to Rx the 155# deadlifts, we felt it was way too much weight and

volume and she could risk hurting herself. So, we suggested she scale. I know she was disappointed, but trusted us and took our suggestion and put

up a solid score in the scaled division. During 16.3, she got her first and second bar muscle-ups! And in 16.5, she handled 84 reps of thrusters at over half of her body weight, again putting up a truly impressive score. I watched her complete that painful workout right before I performed mine. When I was completely miserable, in that moment where I really wanted to stop, I thought of how much harder and painful it was for Emily and it gave me the mental push and physical determination to power through. 

Liz’s MVP is…
Johnny Zambito. He has been super enthusiastic and motivational the entire Open. I’ve seen him both give his all as an athlete and selflessly judge, coach, and cheer others on.

Mikaela’s MVP is…
Rosanne Moler. This was Rosanne’s first open. She hit a PR nearly every week. She came in and put in the work and surprised herself on each workout. Her attitude through the entire open was positive

and she was always ready to throw down every Saturday! 

Greg’s MVP is…
Taylor Rye. I did not expect him to even compete and I believe he has come further in a short period of time than any other member. And has PRed in almost every workout.

Diane’s MVP is…
Bonnie Bailey. Ever since she joined CrossFit she has worked really hard to master all the moves, slowly increasing her weights to get to the Masters weight so she could do the Open. She only had to

scale one wod, she got her first pull-ups and then went on to get three chest to bar pull-ups. She has a strong mind set and was ready for every workout. She also stayed to encourage others to finish, had a great attitude and kept a smile on her face.

Sue’s MVP is…
Diane Blais. She is one of the longest members of CFVB. Diane always goes above and beyond with complete enthusiasm. She is always there and when she isn’t we are all looking for her! Selflessly gives of her time, puts
herself and Open workout last so she can be there to help judge and motivate members. Always making sure new members and drop-ins are greeted, encouraging and motivating to all ages 60 years young an inspiration to us all!

Charlie’s MVP is…
Chuck Sullivan. Five times to the CrossFit Games and

this could be number 6! He is always mentally and physically prepared for

the Open and the Games. It is fun to workout, however it can be difficult to be a Games Athelete ,there is a lot of pressure to stay on top. Chuck always makes it fun, never seems under pressure, always has a smile on his face and waving to the crowd at the Games.

Brooks’ MVP is…
PJ Salter. This man is dedicated to improving. You can see that his mindset is perfect reps over speed or intensity. I love watching him go for it!

Christina’s MVP is…
Mallory Weatherly. She juggles three boys, a busy work schedule, and school schedule. She has cleaned up her diet in preparation for The Open, and has been encouraging other ladies to do the same. She has scaled all the workouts appropriately, and worked hard to complete

them, even dropping into another box in Jacksonville to get her last score in.

Alyssa’s MVP is…
Alli Lenk. She was hesitant to sign up because she doubted she could do the workouts. But after a push from Paul, she did. She scaled all the workouts except for the last, knowing they would still be a challenge. She made a plan and pushed herself through each workout even though the weights were a little heavier than she was used to or the movements were outside of her comfort zone. She cheered others on and

had a great attitude. I loved seeing her surpass her goal each workout and work hard during the week to prep for the next one!

CONGRATS TO ALL FOR FINISHING THE 2016 OPEN! We are proud to have you all

as part of our gym. We have several people moving onto the next level of competition and our team ended 21st. We will keep you posted on everything. What a year!

Diane and Bonnie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TIM G!

Workout of the Day
:05
6 Power cleans 135 /95 Masters 55+ 110/75
6 Shoulder-to-overhead 135 /95 Masters 55+ 110/75
15 AirBike Cals
9 Power cleans 135 /95 Masters 55+ 110/75
9 Shoulder-to-overhead 135 /95 Masters 55+ 110/75
20 AirBike Cals
12 Power cleans 135 /95 Masters 55+ 110/75
12 Shoulder-to-overhead 135 /95 Masters 55+ 110/75
25 AirBike Cals
15 Power cleans 135 /95 RX 110/75 Master/scale
15 Shoulder-to-overhead 135 /95 Masters 55+ 110/75
30 AirBike Cals
22-minute time cap

:40
Lower Body Mobility – 3 sets
:30 each leg banded hamstring stretch
:30 each leg pigeon stretch
1:00 frog stretch

Post your scores to the Whiteboard.