CrossFit pairs from all over New Zealand will test their fitness at the 2TOA Aotearoa Pairs competition in Rotorua this weekend.
The event, being hosted by CrossFit Rotorua, is the first of its kind to be held in the central North Island and has attracted 150 entries.
Day one, Friday, will be held at Tikitapu (Blue Lake), where athletes will be put through an afternoon of metabolic conditioning - testing their lung capabilities. Day two, Saturday, is at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre, testing gymnastic movements, weightlifting and all things CrossFit.
CrossFit Rotorua owner and organiser of the event Munro Waerea said same-gender pairs would compete in six divisions, including teenagers as young as 12, beginner level athletes, intermediate, advanced, RX and Masters.
"We've held other CrossFit competitions, but nothing on this scale. On day one we're at Blue Lake, we'll have stand-up paddle boards and we're using the lake to swim as well. On the same day we're utilising the terraces.
"They'll see the use of kettle bells and the terraces will be different levels they go up as they compete movements, meaning spectators will be able to see the visual of who's leading and how far away from the finish line people are," Waerea said.
Something unique to this event, which has not often been seen in CrossFit competitions is the use of the Ankorr Harness on day two, which is used to intensify movements by adding resistance.
CrossFit Rotorua owner Munro Waerea has put together a set of workouts designed to test all of the competitors at the 2Toa Aotearoa CrossFit Pairs competition this weekend. Photo/Stephen Parker
"You anchor it to a point...we'll be doing bear crawls in them. That will be tricky, because it's not a traditional tool used in CrossFit, but in the spirit of CrossFit you have to prepare for the unknown.
"Then we've got all the traditional movements, handstand walking, overhead squats, heavy cleans, pull-ups, muscle-ups, all your generic movements. There's a good spread of movements, but we designed everything to be spectators friendly and do-able for the athletes," he said.
Waerea said the level of competitor varied from beginners to athletes who had competed at the CrossFit Games in America and the event was an opportunity for all of them to test themselves.
"They find out how far they can push their bodies, that's something I really enjoy about competing - doing things they never thought they'd be able to do and doing it on the competition stage.
"It tells people bluntly what they need to work on, if they want to better themselves doing the competition shows them where they are in comparison to everyone else. It's good motivation and inspiration, especially seeing all the top guys doing their thing, it's good to watch."
He said being in pairs would make the competition less daunting for people as they would be sharing the workload.
There was a strong team of volunteers helping out, without whom Waerea said the event would not be possible, and a wide range of prizes up for grabs. He would like to see it become an annual event if it went well.
Day one at Tikitapu runs from 3pm to 7pm on Friday. Day two at the Energy Events Centre runs from 7am to 5pm on Saturday. For more information go to eventfinda.co.nz/2017/2toa-aotearoa/rotorua.
