TactFit Games return for second year

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Carly A. Costello
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  The second annual Team Offutt Tactical Fitness Games will be held Jan. 19 at the Offutt Field House starting at 9:30 a.m.

This competition brings together civilian and military CrossFitters and supporters from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and South Dakota.

"[The] TactFit Games is a chance for civilians to come on base and see a glimpse of what the Air Force does," said Terra Moyers, a TactFit competitor from CrossFit Omaha and winner of last year's TactFit Games. "It is a great way to meet and learn about people who serve our country as well. Last year when I competed in [the] TactFit [Games], it was my first time on a base and I really enjoyed the atmosphere."

This year's game will be twice the size of last year's with 200 competitors who will test their physical and mental limits with extreme fitness during four high intensity workouts of the day, commonly referred to as WODs, according to U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. David LeClaire, TactFit president.

Competitors registered in teams consisting of two males and two females and are divided into two divisions, RX and scaled. RX means all participants must complete the workout as prescribed, doing the same amount of reps with the same amount of weight. Scaled allows competitors to modify their workouts based on their ability. Twenty-five teams will compete in the RX division and 25 teams in the scaled division.

CrossFit is a constantly varied strength and conditioning program based in functional movements done at high intensity to prepare athletes for whatever life throws at them, according to LeClaire, so keeping with the CrossFit core values, only the first WOD will be announced before the event.

"We're going to release the movement standards a week prior," LeClaire said. "The first WOD will be released the day prior to keep people from testing out the WOD ahead of time. The remainder [WODs] will be released during the event."

The different WODs may consist of weightlifting, swimming, pull ups and muscle ups, just to name a few, with some changes from last year's strength and endurance movements.

"New movements that weren't used last year will be introduced," LeClaire said. "We also made changes in the programming for how we want to test athletes. For example, we changed how we mixed pure weightlifting events with metabolic condition events. These changes ensure that the most well rounded athletes will rise to the top. Anyone who specializes in any one area will not make it to the finals."

Competitions like this are common around the world, with the annual CrossFit Games being the biggest competition to find the fittest man and woman on Earth. This competition is open to anyone who can survive and excel through many difficult workouts during what's called the CrossFit Open, which starts at the end of February. Athletes are filtered out during the weekly WODs, and the best of the best goes to the CrossFit Games in July. Competitions such as the TactFit Games help CrossFit athletes stay competitive throughout the year.

"Competing gives me a chance to compare myself to other competitors," Moyers said. "Growing up, I was always a part of competitive sports and I played college basketball and softball. Being competitive is part of my nature and CrossFit is a great way to compete with yourself as well as others."

The TactFit Games are not only a way for the CrossFit community to come together to compete, it also helps bring in money to the TactFit program, which is a non-profit entity ran completely by volunteers.

"Without volunteers for the TactFit program, it would not exist," LeClaire said. "We live and die with their volunteer hours."

Each team pays a registration fee of $120, which will go toward coaching certifications for the TactFit program. Since the coaches are volunteers, the TactFit leadership tries its best to cover the cost of a coach's CrossFit Level 1 certification, which is a necessity to lead a class and to keep the TactFit program alive at Offutt, according to LeClaire.

"Currently CrossFit Headquarters offers a military discount for their level one certifications," LeClaire said. "We will raise enough money to send three coaches, not counting lodging and travel, at the discounted military rate."

All team slots for the competition are filled, but if you are interested in volunteering for the event or cheering on the athletes, please visit www.totactfit.com/2014-tactfit-games.