Recap: The 2019 In-House Open
Izzy and I had such a great time hosting the 2019 In-House Open. For the first time ever, rather than focusing on individual performance, we split the community into teams. It was a refreshing way for us to host those five weeks.
Historically speaking, we had more participation than any other year: 62 people registered for the IHO. Having the team captains in charge of small groups allowed for more socializing and prep for each week’s WOD. It helped when athletes weren’t sure whether or not they should scale a workout. The small group chats were also a great way for athletes to exchange info and hang out!
Each Thursday night’s throwdown (one athlete represented their team) was filled with jitters. A lot of people came down to watch the throwdown, and anyone who couldn’t make it was able to tune in on social media to watch it live from home! So it was a great way to connect with everyone involved.
Offering the WODs on both Friday and Sunday allowed for lots of participation. We learned that the community didn’t mind the way we set up the heats, as we didn’t get any real complaints regarding the schedule. Everyone did a great job judging one heat each week. (Being in that role is scary, so don’t forget to thank your judge.) I’d also like to give a special shout out to Dan Edmunds for developing our team leaderboard! It was great, and we will use it again next time. Thank you, Dan!
Where we messed up in the IHO and our biggest take away.. We split the teams up unevenly. By allowing that small detail of “Free Agents” into the mix, messed up everyones chances of winning. So we have come up with a better way to get everyone involved and the teams split evenly. Next time we will do a first draft and a second draft to keep it completely even.
Our scoring system wasn’t perfect.. and it could be better.. Our intentions when we developed our scoring system was to be based on participation points. We wanted athletes to stay invested for all 5 weeks. But with uneven teams that system was did not work. The separation in points for Rx vs. scaled wasn’t big enough and there should have been some bonus points for top players on the teams. The next Open will include new rules for scoring.
I’d like to give a special shout out to Dan Edmunds for developing our team leader board! It was great and we will use it again next time. Thank you Dan!
CFHQ put out some really great workouts that tested the limits of everyone each week. We want to commend those who scaled a workout, those who PRed in a WOD, and those of you who were able to do something for the very first time. Congratulations.
Don’t forget about our sponsor Kettlebell Kitchen—be sure to give them a try!
We enjoyed bringing the community together to make some lasting memories, and we received tons of positive feedback from participating athletes. The next In-House Open will take place in October, so get involved. Our goal is to get our participation up to 100 athletes!
