Crossfit Collectives; Communities in the making
Who: A non-profit collection of individuals from different sports, disciplines, occupations and interests in fitness, a.k.a. the general public.
What: People together performing the WOD and training their own personal, sport or occupational specific goals.
Where: Anywhere; Storage facilities, garages, basements, warehouses and commercial front properties.
Who owns everything? The patrons and users of the facility and its equipment are the owners, a.k.a. you.
Who will pay for this space and facility? The patrons/owners of the facility will all equally chip in and pay rent and utility costs.
Where does the equipment come from? The equipment is “donated” by the individual patrons/owners of the facility. Each patron/owners is expected to bring in what piece of equipment they can for the better of the group/facility, offer what services they can to manufacture or create what they can and help chip in to buy certain items and materials for the manufacturing of equipment.
Facility example; Dave has a wide variety of small items such as medicine balls, Pylo-boxes, sandbags, rings, harness and drag apparatus along with a large set of plates and Olympic bar. Doug has a reasonable selection of kettlebells and a C2 rower. Sue has a set of bumper plates, Olympic bar and treadmill. Tim has rings, plates, dumbbells, plates and is also a welder and can make a wide range of items. Beth, Mike and Frank don’t have much but want in.
Separately they don’t have much and most likely train in a less than ideal facility but together have a reasonable amount of equipment and can potentially afford to rent out a space. Together they then all chip in and buy another C2 rower, materials for a pull-up bar and power rack, made by Tim, set up a couple of lifting platforms, hang the rings from the ceiling and all throw in enough money to buy a good length of rope for climbing. When a member leaves he or she can take what equipment they brought or bought themselves for the facility. Items that are the result of a group purchase or construction become the property of the facility unless some sort of re-compensation is agreed upon.
When: Whenever you can. The facility is set up like a drop in center or commercial gym where you go when you can make it in, that said the whole point of the facility and concept is working out with other people. Tim, Doug and Beth workout in the morning and get together to train then, Mike and Dave train in the afternoon, meanwhile Frank and Sue train together after work. Schedules change and different people join the workout when they can and when there’s enough equipment and room to go around. Once a week they all get together for a group workout and general bullshit session.
Extras: From here they can recruit other people/owners to help buffer the costs, perhaps get a larger facility and more equipment if need be. They could also chip in together and bring out one of the many Crossfit coaches for a private seminar.
The End Product: The finished result is a non-profit facility and organization that would be made up, owned and operated by regular everyday people looking for a quality facility, away from the big box for profit gyms or having to spend an arm and leg for a garage gym. There would be no training for profit, unless agreed upon by the group and new people or “trainees” would be just like another patron/owner. Fitness levels and specific skill levels would all be different, as would knowledge and experience.
The Golden Rule: The most important rule is that the workouts and WOD are not a competition; the only competition is with you. Compare your score and performance with others as an assessment of your weaknesses and others only if asked. The group workouts are based and made for safety, exchange of information and education, comradeship and a sense of community and finally the furthering of personal fitness and wellbeing.

08/23/06
Cook & Philip Aquatic Center
BW 70kg
Deadlift 3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1
110-3/120-2/130-2/130-2/130-1/135-1/140-1/145-1 PR/147.5-1 PR
Close-grip Bench Press
60-2/50-5/55-5/60-3 A2
Weighted Pull-ups – Neutral Grip
15-5/15-5/20-5A2/25-3A1