Tihei: Muscles burn at CrossFit Judgment Day

Lisa Peni on the rowing machine during one of the challenges at the 2023 CrossFit Judgement Day.

After spending nearly two full years in a holding pattern because of Covid-19, Judgement Day 2023 kicked off CrossFit’s 10-year anniversary on January 20, 2023, with 186 athletes registered for seven events being held over three days at five venues.

Judgement Day is one of the most exhilarating and longest-serving CrossFit fitness events ever seen in New Zealand.

It’s where aspiring and elite athletes alike come together for an electric weekend that shows off the true spirit of the CrossFit community.

Day 1

The first event that took place on Friday afternoon was held inside the Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Centre - a 3000-metre row on Concept2 rowers, followed by 300 double-under skips.

With less than one hour’s rest and a venue change, athletes were required to complete a 300m swim for time, as well as prescribed body-weighted movements in the newly built world-class Olympic and World Championship standard pool, at the Hawke’s Bay Aquatic centre.

Day 2

Athletes were introduced to one of Hastings’ iconic facilities and parks, Splash Planet, where they were required to run 380m against the current of the lazy river, followed by a 400m sprint to the finish line.

With less than 45 minutes and another venue change for the day, athletes returned to the Mitre 10 Sports Park and participated in an Olympic lifting event, the snatch ladder, and a clean ladder.

Later in the afternoon, athletes finished with a traditional functional WOD (Workout of the Day), an event that had ascending reps of: shoulders-to-overhead, box jump-overs, dumbbell devil presses, and a 200m run followed by a ground-to-shoulder with an Atlas stone. This event rounded off the day.

Day 3

Athletes were invited to CrossFit Napier, where they completed two more workouts that included the use of Concept2 BikeErgs, more Olympic lifting, handstand push-ups, and bar muscle-ups, just to name a few.

The top three ranking teams for each division were then named. The divisions included Masters, RX, Intermediate and Scale.

Judgement Day 2023 was delivered by CrossFit 879 Flaxmere and a mighty team of supporters.

We thank the key organisations that made this 10th anniversary a great success and all the volunteers and support behind the scenes.

Planning for Judgement Day 2024 is already under way, and promises to be bigger, brighter and just as challenging.

CrossFit is a lifestyle characterised by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition. CrossFit can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to weight loss to better performance. The programme works for everyone — people who are just starting out and people who have trained for years. If you’re interested in finding out more, check out https://crossfit879.co.nz/.

Henry Heke is an event manager and CrossFit trainer.