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The CrossFit Pacific Central decal came off our wall over a year ago, and the front entrance sign is in the process of being replaced.  [/caption]

Raincity Athletics is no longer crossfit pacific central.

WHY not?

Many don't know this, but CrossFit® is not a workout, or a sport, or governing body, or even a franchise; it's a company, aka a brand. A brand that gyms pay $500-$3,000 USD to be able to use the name of, and that’s it:

From CrossFit.com’s ‘About Affiliation’ WHAT IS INCLUDED IN BEING A CROSSFIT AFFILIATE?

• Legal use of the CrossFit name, logo, and promotional materials • Legal use of the CrossFit Kids name • Promotion from CrossFit.com • Support from CrossFit, Inc. on specific and general issues. CrossFit vigorously protects its brand and those licensed to use the CrossFit name.

read more: www.crossfit.com/affiliate

this year we put 4 coaches through the crossfit level 2 certificate course.

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Coaches Katie, Rebecca, and Scotty all completed (and passed) their CrossFit Level 2 Certificate course as well as Simon who re-upped his certificate. [/caption]

Why would do you care about your coaches being completing CrossFit courses if you are no longer an Affiliate?

We will still proudly pay & support CrossFit® for any courses, certificates, or training that we see value in for our members and community; but use of the CrossFit® name is no longer on that list.

WHAT DOES THIS CHANGE?

For our members & community? Essentially nothing.

We opened Raincity Athletics as just that (and not CrossFit® Pacific Central) because we knew a day would come that we may want to take our brand in another direction. We never set out with the goal of being ‘the best CrossFit gym,’ or to make our members better at ‘CrossFit®’ (though we’re pretty good at that having sent multiple athletes to Regionals as well as masters to the CrossFit® Games) - it’s to hold people accountable to achieving a higher level of fitness, which may include performance at CrossFit® events.

Our un-affiliation means the renaming of our higher skill based ‘Functional’ Strength & Conditioning Program - which is now simply  titled '[FF] Functional Fitness’ to work alongside our lower skill based [SC] Strength & Conditioning Program.

OUR PROGRAMS

We’ve always offered much more than just ‘CrossFit’ classes. New name, same incredible community, classes, and workouts.  Book your free [SC] class now!

Programs old                                  

                                    Strength & Conditioning [SC]

Group classes for athletes of every level. Barbell, structured strength, and cardio - without the high skill Olympic lifts or gymnastics movements. Read More →                                  

                                    OnRamp to [FF]

Required before joining our [FF] program. Learn the higher skill Olympic lifts & gymnastics movements. Read More →                                  

                                    Functional Fitness [FF]

OnRamp required before joining. Group classes that include olympic lifting & higher skill gymnastics. Read More →                                  

                                    Private Training [PT]

Open To All Levels

The fastest way to obtain the results you want. Private/semi-private options. Read More →                                  

                                    Private Group Training [PTG]

Corporate / Schools / Teams

Private group classes to boost team performance mentally & physically Read More →                                  

                                    Sport Training & Programming [SPRT]

Individualized programming & gym access to complete it. Read More →                                  

                                    Raincity Barbell Club [OLY]

#RAINCITYBARBELL 3.0

Our 3 day / week in house [OLY] Barbell Club programming is currently included with all [FF] Memberships. Read More →                                  

                                    Lifestyle & Nutrition Services [NUT]

Open To All Levels

Maximize your results with custom private or group nutrition & lifestyle programs. Read More →                                  

                                    (ON HOLD) RA At Home [RAAH]

Open To All Levels

At home on demand workout videos 7 days a week - included with ALL Raincity Athletics memberships! Read More →

What about the programming / WODs?

As we mentioned above, CrossFit® had no part in our group class programming. Contrary to popular belief, our method to program is NOT what is recommended by CrossFit®.

As a matter of fact, almost no CrossFit Affiliate in Vancouver follows the CrossFit prescription for programming. As our coaches were reminded during our CrossFit Level 2 Certificate Course, a ‘heavy day’ program would be: Back Squat 5 x 5…. that’s it. They teach that if you need more than that in your workout, you’re not hitting those squats with enough intensity… The typical model of strength work & a ‘sweat’ is NOT endorsed or promoted by CrossFit, but as we have said, there are many parts we do embrace.

Articles About Raincity's Programming                                  

                                    The Return to Training - Coach Liz                                                  

                                    The 'Why' of our Group Class Training Programming                                                  

                                    The 'How' of our Group Class Training Programming

The things we embrace

As we mentioned above, there are many parts of the CrossFit ideology that we embrace and support; but these are universally accepted things that have nothing to do with the direct affiliation with the brand.

Functional Movements

We define functional movements not only as full body compound movements you already do everyday (like a deadlift, squat, clean & press, etc) but we also embrace the accessory work that compliments these movements. As Marcus Filly likes to put it: ‘Functional Bodybuilding’. By properly applying functional accessory work we can help you achieve more personal records (PRs) with less fatigue of your nervous system, because contrary to popular belief: more does not = better.

Read more about why ‘Functional Fitness’ on our [FF] program page.

“The best program is not the one with the most stuff, but actually the one with the least stuff, the provides the most results. ”  

— Smart Coaches

Measurable RESULTS

Similar to CrossFit - our goal is to increase your ‘work capacity’. This is your ability to do anything, and everything you want or need to do in your daily life. The only way to guarantee improvement is to track your results. This is why we utilize a software that allows us to track your daily score so that we can repeat benchmark workouts (aka #RaincityBenchmark) so that we can guarantee you are progressing in strength, skill, and capacity. The idea of tracking results is neither new nor revolutionary - any Weightlifting, Strength and Conditioning, or Endurance coach will tell you this. As a matter of fact, our 10 week program cycles allow us to track your results even more accurately than a typical affiliate’s prescription.

COMMUNITY BASED

We always say, Raincity Athletics is less of a gym, and more of a space & community you want to spend time with - that’s also going to hold your accountable to achieving your fitness goals.

So now what?

That’s about it!

Nothing is going to change other than the names of our programs, and the fact that we can no longer validate your CrossFit Open scores without a video - but as our athletes know; we have encouraged our athletes to do the #RaincityOpen every year rather than registering for, and being forced to do, the (not so well thought out) scaled variations of the CrossFit Open workouts anyways.

What are we then?

Raincity Athletics is a registered Weightlifting Club and is in the process of becoming a registered Powerlifting Club, and Kettlebell Club, as well as lined up to be the first Functional Fitness Club in British Columbia.

We are a community of people that share a common interest in improving their health and fitness…

…. and dogs & ice cream.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or thoughts about Raincity Athletics and it’s un-affiliation; don’t hesitate to reach out to us via the CONTACT US button below.

CrossFit® is a registered trademark of CrossFit, Inc. Raincity Athletics’s uses of the CrossFit® mark are not endorsed by nor approved by CrossFit, Inc., and Raincity Athletics is in no way affiliated with nor endorsed by CrossFit, Inc.

Note📝 This post got real long - scroll down and start at the 📑 if you have time to read the whole ramble)

The community I love is not tied to any one gym or brand (CrossFit is a brand, not a sport). It's all of the people I have met and connected with along the way who share a common attitude, interest, and goals. It's why we created the @functionalfitnessleague, to remind people that our fitness community is bigger than just whats inside your affiliates walls.

This photo represents everything this community means to me. There are athletes from every gym in Vancouver I coached, at or at one point called home... And for the next little while we get to all call the same space home together again.

A huge thank you to the #raincitystaff team who have worked their a$$es off for the past month to prepare for this and helping ensure our existing #rathletes get to reap the benefit of our communities growth.

#raincityxcfbc #raincityathletetics #findyourfit #morethanagym

Full ramble 📑 Here's the original ramble I wrote if you want to read more 🙄

I started doing #CrossFit 12 years ago after @jayhollenberg came back to UVic with this ridiculous workout running around swinging dumbbells. From then I did as any new crossfitter did pre 2010, I went and got my level 1 certification and did 'Cindy' 1-3x a week for 2 years.

After University, I moved back to Vancouver and joined my first official CrossFit gym - where Jordan had started with @kravkt (and back then a young @sophiestraith ) at @crossfitbc.

A year or so later I switched to #crossfitoptimumperformance where I had my own coach and trained & competed in CrossFit for years & I fell in love with coaching. After a few years I left 'COP' and ended up back at #CrossFitBC where I coached classes, represented them at regionals, and more.

4 years ago COP closed their doors and their athletes & coaches joined us at Raincity. Recently CrossFit BC had to leave their space and we are hosting them until their new space is ready. (Now read the first part if I haven't lost ya 🙄) #raincityxcfbc

This is an article that I wrote in August of 2015 after attending the games with one of our Masters Athletes. Having attended the games multiple times before, this was my first time being 'behind the scenes' and I was upset with my experience.

I wrote this article in hopes of helping to improve the games, and though some of these issues have been addressed since, many of them still remain.

Stay tuned for more posts on my opinion of the future of this 'Sport' and where it's headed.

I need to start by saying I love CrossFit. I’ve heavily drunk the Kool-Aid and I love this shit; I love what it does for people, I love the communities it builds, and I love what it’s done for me [bio], so I say this out of love of this sport & community, and out of fear of it not maximizing its potential to help more people and be even more incredible than it already is.

I think there are a TON of great articles (which I link to in here) out there discussing different issues & different opinions; from the infamous peg board, Murph, programming being too hard, too easy, etc. Though I think these are great topics of conversation, I don’t think they cover the underlying issues that are going to cause long term harm to our beloved Games.

I think the CrossFit Games are at risk of rapidly diminishing if we (as a community) don’t help fix some basic requirements.

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and NOT because of a silly peg board… [/caption]

Many of these topics merely need to ignite conversation with some awareness (who knows what the answer is), but some are also pretty major & obvious issues that I need to be addressed so that we can continue to watch this incredible sport & event continue to grow [How Fast are the CrossFit Games Growing] and flourish.

Side note: I’m going to mention ‘The Grid / NPGL’ a lot – I remain a bit skeptical of The Grid as a sport, but it’s growing on me. I do love what it could potentially do for our beloved Games which I think is a great reason to support it. Everything thrives with a little competition.

The Games need…

Paid & Professional Judges

More Transparency

Proper Focus on Athlete Safety

1. PAID & PROFESSIONAL JUDGES / REFEREES

Volunteers drive this community, and it’s INCREDIBLE. We all love to be a part of the big picture & help out – but I think we’re close to crossing a line where volunteers and the community are being taken advantage of.

We all know (or are) volunteers, some of them have a hell of a time and loved it – they worked hard with setup and takedown, and were rewarded with behind the scenes views, awesome seats and/or free tickets – they got their value. Others (usually higher on the volunteer food chain) have left their jobs for extended periods of time (likely without pay as they probably own or work at an affiliate) – they have got to be getting paid (some do, many don’t).Putting aside what people ‘deserve’, there’s 1 very real reason we need professional (paid & trained) Judges:

Accountability

People are giving up legitimate paid opportunities or putting their business’ on hold to pursue something that might ultimately come down to a split second decision made by a volunteer – that’s a little scary.

Again, Volunteers are incredible people, which is why you can’t (and shouldn’t) yell at them. If they make a mistake it’s totally understandable as it is NOT their job. It doesn’t bring any bread home, as a matter of fact we pay to volunteer. They’ve learned what they could in the time they had, which is likely the open and then hopefully a couple of Regionals. Even with sub par training they are still kicking ass most of the time and are doing an incredible job.

The problem is this is no longer a handful of people getting together at a ranch to throw-down for a couple hundred bucks. You now have (essentially) pro & semi pro athletes, as well as people that are leaving different legitimate paid opportunities [Matt Fraser Gives up grid to focus on his dream of winning the CrossFit Games] and putting their businesses on hold to train & to pursue something that ultimately might come down to a split second decision made by a volunteer – and that’s a little scary.

If the Games want to be considered professional, shown on live TV, and brag the title of ‘Fittest on Earth’ – these calls need to be made by fully trained & paid professionals.

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No rep? [/caption]

Remember what happened last time a professional league took a step backwards (to semi-pro and experienced refs) and how it went? [2012 NFL Referee Lockout]. I think there will be a time (hopefully soon) where we’re going to look back and laugh at the fact that we survived as long as we did without trained, professional, and even full time referees/judges.

In the West regional this year, Fikowski of the #trashtalktrio missed out on going to the games (would have been 4th place I believe) by .5 of a second on a speed clean ladder (an ‘original’ event… that was taken from the grid – but that’s another convo).

One wrong call can very quickly mean an athlete isn’t standing on the podium, especially with the new scoring system [Your Guide to Scoring].

Once again, I don’t love The Grid (I think it has potential, but more importantly I think we need the competition) but watch a grid match. The judges are artwork! They all look the same, signal the same, count the same, they’re in full uniform, and most importantly – they’re held accountable to their calls [challenge flags in the grid].

I think there will be a time (soon) where we’re going to look back and laugh at the fact that we survived as long as we did without trained, professional, and even full time referees/judges.

Personally, I don’t believe the title of ‘Fittest on Earth’ to necessarily be true if calls are being made by volunteers, and that begins at a regional level [Volunteer Judges, Regionals, and the CrossFit Games].

Once again, THANK YOU to the volunteers that have gotten our community and the Games this far, but I think we can all agree it’s time that professionals are trained (and paid) at a level that matches the athletes that they’re judging.

2. TRANSPARENCY

Who is deciding the definition of ‘Fitness?’

“Increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains.”

Who is really making all the calls?

There are a lot of very large companies heavily invested in the Games and it’s athletes and I don’t think its fair for one man to have to deal with that kind of pressure. We know there’s a small team, but I think it’s fair the community, and those dedicating their lives to train for it, be involved or at least made aware of the thought process.

A larger team of organizers would also help ensure the minor details are taken care of;

• like keeping bars cooler
• or getting timing devices that work
• and even making sure open event rules don’t need to be changed at the last second

and so much more… but more on that later

Talayna Fortunato is adamant that these events are not written for one athlete – which I hope (and believe) is true, but I think a little more transparency in the development process could help ensure we can all be confident in that.

Especially in the middle of this petty (though sometimes entertaining) brand war that directly affects many Games competitors. This war isn’t just about shoes either – look who’s here, and is now no longer here.

If these answers are out there and I just can’t find them, please share them with me and I will happily update this post. If these answers aren’t out there then I think it’s about time they were.

There’s a pretty epic media team that cranks out some incredible content – so why not use that to answer our questions and restore our faith rather than trying to poke jabs at the competition.

Here’s a coupe basics I’d like to know, but I’m sure the community has more:

• Who comes up with the events? Based on what qualifications? 
• When are these events finalized or decided?
• • When are the TBA events actually decided?
• Who decides to bring in a Watt Bike? Or an Airdyne? or a Trueform?
• • Are these companies paying for this in some way?

And last up, really?… This is the only explanation we get?

NOTE - UNABLE TO FIND PHOTO (was in regards to a scoring adjustment made during the sprint event that miraculously led to Ben Smith being on top of Matt Fraser - or close to)

3. A Proper Focus on Athlete Safety

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I wasn't aware this was part of fitness... [/caption]

I think this has already been very well vocalized via a number of blog posts so I won’t get into it much. The fact of the matter is I don’t want to see the athletes I’ve grown to love drop dead in front of me. On top of that, as a Coach, do I want to push my athletes so far that when they are finally on the brink of their dream at the Games they legitimately have to consider a life or death choice?

All sports have their risks, and some have higher injury rates than the Games, but something as simple as burning your hands on a bar is just careless.

It not only doesn’t relate to a test of fitness, but makes for a significantly worse show – especially on live TV. I think it’s time for a larger professional team to help eliminate these issues.

The real issue isn’t the workouts being ‘too hard’ [The CrossFit Games Aren’t Too hard] but the small details missed that are straight-up dangerous and not assisting in the test of fitness in any way.

There are plenty of dangerous sports out there, but even they have basic minimum requirements to ensure their athletes safety (helmets & equipment requirements, hitting standards, field standards, etc). The lack of attention to these minor details could lead to the fall of our sport, or maybe an athletes union? – which may or may not be a good thing [Lockouts, Strikes, and and Labor Politics in Pro Sports].

A couple of my favourite articles related to the topic of safety:

Open Letter to CrossFit HQ

Here’s what you need to know…

• The CrossFit Games are an awesome spectacle, but HQ needs to do more to protect the health of the athletes.
• CrossFit’s popularity has outpaced its maturity according to Dr. Schulte.
• Dedicated medical personnel, if properly utilized by HQ, could advise the gamemakers and help prevent many issues.
• CrossFit Games fans need to speak up and demand that athletes are treated better. CrossFit HQ should additionally apologize to competitors.

Survival of the Survivors the Crossfit Hunger Games

We can always trust Patrick McCarty to be first to point out issues with the Games & HQ, but he can bring up some real valid points.

List of Athletes Injured during the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games

Doesn’t need an opinion, but an interesting list to view.

“These are athletes, not soldiers” – CrossFit Games 2015

Yes, he shouldn’t be sending athletes out that are fearing for their life, but they probably shouldn’t have to have that fear in the first place.

In Conclusion…

I love the Games. I want to see them continue to grow, and flourish, and be awesome.

The Games do an incredible job of testing our athletes and pushing their limits. As Rudy says, failure is part of the test and you should learn your history but I think it’s time we hold them to the same standard they’ve been holding our athletes to.

I think it’s time we forced the Games up against their own peg board to challenge them and help ensure they become the best they can be.

BONUS RANTS:

Just A couple random additions that in my opinion could also dramatically improve the Games…..

LIVE SCORE KEEPING

Once again, they’re only a couple years behind Grid [The Grid: The Live Scoreboard] and it still didn’t work half the time from what I could tell (random numbers all over the map sometimes!).

PROPER TIMING TECH

Though the Sprints and hurdles were one of my favourite events – the scoring was all over the map and let’s be serious, ankle chip timers? There are an infinite number of more accurate ways to do that.

Grid is introducing some pretty epic technology for our sport [like pullup bars with built in counters] that would help eliminate all kinds of issues.

PROPER COVERAGE

Don’t get me wrong Froning is incredible. He’s been the perfect face of this sport during it’s growth – and I’m sure he’s made a lot of people (including himself – which is totally legit he’s earned it) a lot of money, but you know who else is awesome? ‘[…]Froning and Rich Fronings Teammate!’, or any/every other athlete that’s competing at the same time he is.

At the very least, throw up a couple selfie drones [Meet Lily], and let me choose which of their feeds to watch!

NOTE: All Photos link back to their original source.

Taryn Haggerstone is a competitive CrossFit athlete and Olympic weightlifter. She is also a coach and regular contributing writer to various CrossFit and fitness blogs. Her training style, which emphasizes weights, functional movements, and high intensity intervals, aims to show that with proper training and motivation, anything is possible.

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a style of training developed by Greg Glassman which focuses on the use of functional (full body) movements, high intensity and varied programming, while simultaneously creating a community-based environment in which to train. CrossFit combines elements of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and a variety of other sports to help people become fitter and more well-rounded. Over the past few years it has grown in popularity at an exponential rate. Every year more and more CrossFit gyms open up worldwide, more and more people are joining gyms and trying CrossFit for the first time, and if you’re reading this, chances are you are one of those people considering giving CrossFit a shot. But, before you sign up with your local gym, there are a few things to consider.

1. Do your Research

In order to open up a CrossFit gym, all gym-owners must pass the CrossFit Level 1 and pay the annual affiliation fee. Aside from that specifics (such as how the gym is run, the style of programming, coach and client expectations, etc.) can vary greatly between locations. As a result there are a lot of really good gyms out there, but unfortunately some not so good ones as well. Be aware, the difference isn’t always apparent at first glance. So, if you are considering dipping your toes into the world of CrossFit, it’s a good idea to do some background research:

• How do the different gyms compare price-wise?
• What sort of education do their coaches have?
• What programs do they offer?
• What do the online reviews say?

Once you’ve done that, make an effort to check out a few different locations in person. Every gym has its own ‘vibe’ and sometimes a gym that is great on paper can be the wrong fit for a particular person. Community is a big part of CrossFit – it’s not just a gym where people show up with headphones in, do their own thing for an hour and leave. As such, it’s important to find a gym where you feel comfortable.

2. Bring a Friend

Trying CrossFit for the first time can be intimidating. It’s easy for thoughts like “what if I’m not good at it”, “what if the people don’t like me”, “what if I make an idiot of myself” to creep into our heads and stop us in our tracks. That’s why enlisting the help of a friend is always a good idea! Trying something new can be a bit scary, but it will be less so when you have a familiar face beside you as you walk in the door that first time.

3. Be Prepared to do an Intro Course First

CrossFit incorporates a variety of movements and skills from different sports (gymnastics, weightlifting etc.), many of which you may not have done in high school. This means there will probably be a lot of unfamiliar movements. Rather than throwing new members directly into classes that are way over their heads, any good CrossFit gym will require them to go through some sort of ‘Foundations Program’.

The size and cost of these introductory sessions can vary between gyms. Typically speaking, the sessions are smaller, more hands on and slightly more expensive than the regular classes.  Not every gym has a mandatory foundations course. It can be tempting to go to a gym that doesn’t because it means we can start ‘right away’ without paying the extra fees. Just keep in mind, the foundation courses are there for a reason –  to teach you proper techniques and keep you safe. Any gym that doesn’t make that a priority is one I would avoid.

4. It Takes Time

Within CrossFit there are certain movements that always seem to stand out (think the muscle-up, handstands, the olympic lifts), but it’s important to remember that the advanced skills are built from a solid foundation of the basics. The best CrossFit athletes out there aren’t necessarily the ones who got their muscle-up the quickest or walked in the door with the heaviest deadlift. They are the ones who were patient, consistent and and who didn’t skip the basics. CrossFit is like a pyramid, where the bottom-most level is made up of the basic, fundamental movements and the top is where you find the more advanced/challenging skills. The wider and more solid your base is, the higher you will be able to build and the more stable your pyramid will be.

5. Ask Questions

If you’re ever unsure about a movement – how to do it, why we do it, etc. – don’t be afraid to ask the coach. If you ever feel unsafe doing a particular weight/movement – let the coach know. A good coach will listen to your questions/concerns and should be able to provide you with an explanation of the reasoning behind a certain movement and/or an appropriate substitution. If you ever feel genuinely unsafe during classes or like your concerns are being ignored, bring it up with the gym owner and if they fail to address it, don’t be afraid to take your business elsewhere.

Don’t forget to follow Taryn on Instagram and be sure to subscribe to her blog! Special thanks to Athlete Inside for the photos.

It's an honor to continue to be the part of a sport that I've watched develop from the photo above in a gymnasium in Squamish, to completing these wods alongside my #raincityathletics family in an incredible home that we've built.
A huge shout out to all of the absolute animals out there, the level of athlete now blows my mind; to every single Raincity member you guys inspire me every single day and I couldn't be more proud; to my close friend #jamestwopointoh who's now heading in to stage 2 to try to qualify for the @crossfitgames masters; and to all of the coaches & staff at Raincity who have helped create the amazing thing that we've got, and allowed me to step back and enjoy it :) Time to get back to focusing on what's really important in training... #beachready #thefittestspectators #lookgoodtraingood #absfordays #gunshow #asslikebeyonce #bicepslikebedry

#crossfit #wod #15point5 #competition #crossfitopen #beard #beardgameproper @athleticrecon #camo