Four Sprints, and a Statement of Priorities

JT Scott | 09/24/2018 | 4

Today’s workout is great. It’s got mid-weight snatches and a last bit of running before we have to pack it in for the season, as we cross the equinox. (Once the sun is down for the 5:30am and 7pm classes, we don’t send you on the 400m loop so much because it’s dark on that side street.)

I’m not going to belabor the WOD though – instead I’m going to post something here that I put up on Facebook the other day. It’s a statement of priorities:

We have a professional problem with gender representation. Even though the majority of CrossFitters are women (just look at the membership numbers of most facilities), the vast majority of CrossFit coaches are men. It is exceedingly rare to have a facility where 50% or more of the coaches are women, but that’s exactly what I’ve always had – because I believe it is important to invest in women personally and train good trainers who are women.

We have a societal problem with gender equity. Women don’t get leadership positions, and the only way to fix that is to invest in women organizationally to identify, encourage, empower, and train leaders. I’ve done that with each one of my facilities, and it’s one small way I can work to fix our societal problem.

We have a societal problem with sexual harassment. While I have policy in place to manage it in my businesses – as my part in doing the work to make better men – I also recognize that organizations that have more women in leadership positions have less sexual harassment problems. I know that women who are empowered and have agency can and do create better environments for everyone. Creating more female CrossFit coaches makes my box a better place – and puts more highly qualified coaches into the world to go out and make more places better.

My training course is a 14 week curriculum. It is hard, it is stressful, it is time consuming, and it creates good coaches. At the end, if successful, you will be fully prepared to pass your L1 certification and begin coaching classes anywhere. (Of course if you coach for me, I pay a living wage.) I do not charge for my time in doing this, though it’s over $2000 of my time and labor; it’s my investment in a better world. If you know a woman who would like to be a coach, contact me.

I’m very glad to announce that two more of our members will be starting this program this week: Nelly and Jenna. They’re both spectacular, and whether or not they go on to coach a single class in the future their effort and mine will be a worthwhile investment in strong women. Here’s to them!

WOD:
4 Rounds

• 4 Minutes Working:
• Run 400m
• 10 Power Snatch (105/75)
• Max Effort Wallballs (20/14)

2 Minutes rest