Wodapalooza

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Wodapalooza Miami
Tournament information
SportCrossFit
Location United States
Established2012; 12 years ago (2012)
Number of
tournaments
10
FormatMulti-event competition
Purse$500,000 (2023)[1]
WebsiteWodapalooza
Current champion
  • Elite men: Australia Ricky Garard
  • Elite women: United States Emma Cary
  • Elite team men: Team GOWOD
  • Elite team women: United States Stronger Than A 90's Trend

Wodapalooza Fitness Festival (WZA) is an annual four-day functional fitness festival held in Miami centered on a CrossFit competition. The event was first established in 2012 and has since developed into one of the largest fitness festival in the world and a major CrossFit competition with thousands of athletes from around the world competing.

History[edit]

Bayfront Park, where Wodapalooza is held

Wodapalooza was founded in 2012 by Guido Trinidad and Steve Suarez.[2] They were originally intended to run CrossFit classes at Bayfront Park in the summer of 2011, but were offered the possibility of turning it into a competition event by the park manager.[3][4] The first competition of "Wodapalooza Miami – A Fitness Festival" was a single-day competition held on Saturday, February 4, 2012, with some preliminary events the previous day.[5][6][7] The competition is named after "WOD" or CrossFit's "Workout of the Day",[8] while "palooza" denotes a festival or large-scale event.[9] The first Wodapalooza had 145 participating athletes and 500 spectators.[10]

The event proved highly popular and it quickly expanded in the following years. The number of athletes competing increased to 507 the second year, over 1,300 in 2016,[11] around 2,000 by 2019, and over 3,000 by 2022.[11][12] Due to increasing participation, the number of competing athletes at the competition had to be limited and an online qualification stage was introduced starting in 2014 for those who did not receive an invitation to compete.[13][14] The number of days of competition increased to two in 2013 (Saturday and Sunday), and eventually to four (Thursday to Sunday) by 2017,[7] and the number of competition stages at the venue also increased to four. The number of attendees rose to 7,000 in 2015,[15] 30,000 in 2017,[16] and up to 40,000 by 2022.[17] The prize purse also experienced similar growth; the total prize purse increased from $5,000 in the first year, $10,000 in 2014,[15] to $500,000 in 2022.[18] The 2022 event featured the biggest prize purse yet with the elite individual winners receiving $100,000, up from $50,000 the previous competition.[18][19]

Although the competition events for elite athletes are the main focus, Wodapalooza also provides fitness competitions for athletes of different age range and abilities from the early days.[3] In 2015, Wodapalooza became the first major functional fitness competition to offer an adaptive division for athletes with disabilities and impairement.[20] There were 50 divisions by 2022.[11]

Trinidad and Suarez partnered with Loud and Live in 2017 to run the Wodapalooza event in 2018. Loud and Live then acquired Wodapalooza in the months following the event.[21]

In October 2018, Wodapalooza was announced as a sanctioned event for the 2019 CrossFit Games where the winner can earn qualification for the Games.[22] Its name was changed from Wodapalooza Fitness Festival Miami (used since 2014) to Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival for the next two seasons.[23] To comply with the format for teams at the CrossFit Games, a mixed teams of four was added in addition to its usual teams of three separated by gender in 2019. In 2020, the event was moved from January of previous years to February, and there was no competition for elite teams of three.

The 2021 event was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The organizer of the event also opted not to be part of the CrossFit Games season in the following year, and moved the event back to January.[24] The 2022 event was streamed live free for the first time in 2022.[25]

Wodapalooza announced a change to its format for the 2023 event, with elite individual athletes competing over two days on Thursday and Friday, and the elite teams competing over the final two days on Saturday and Sunday.[26] Cuts in the number of competitors during the competition were also introduced this year.[27] This year is the first to have a title sponsor, TYR, with the festival branded TYR Wodapalooza Fitness Festival.[28]

For 2024, Wodapalooza partnered with seven Latin American competitions and created a separate division for Latin American athletes, the LatAm Cup.[29][30] Wodapalooza also announced that a second competition would be added on the west coast, to be held September 20–22, 2024 in Huntington Beach in California.[31]

Venue[edit]

An event at The Deck, Wodapalooza in 2019

Wodapalooza is held at the Bayfront Park fronting Biscayne Bay in Miami. It features four stages for competition: Flagler; Bayside; The Deck; and Tina Hill. The Flagler stage is the biggest with a seating capacity of 5,000. The Gauntlet is held at the Deck.

Competitions[edit]

There 48 divisions in the CrossFit competition, ranging from the elite men and women to various age and adaptive divisions.[32] The team competitions feature three-member teams of men and women.

Wodapalooza may also feature various events, such as Weightlifting Faceoff, a one-day Olympic lifting competition; WZA Strong, a competition that mixes strongman and functional fitness movements; and the Gauntlet.[7]

Events[edit]

Eight or nine scored events may be held at Wodapalooza for the individual and team CrossFit competition. The events are typically combinations of various CrossFit-type movements in weightlifting, gymnastics and monostructural workouts.[33] Wodapalooza always features an event that features swimming.[34]

Winners[edit]

Year Elite individuals Elite teams
Men Women Men Women
2012 —
2013
2014 Samantha Briggs
2015[35][36][37] Noah Ohlsen Samantha Briggs
RX Smart Gear
  • Wes Piatt
  • Jon Pera
  • Nick Urankar
2016[38] Noah Ohlsen Brooke Wells Co-Champs
Athletigen
CrossFit Shrewsbury
  • Corey Lunney
  • Anthony Vazquez
  • Trevor James
Two Grown Ups and The Kid
  • Val Voboril
  • Regan Huckaby
  • Maddie Myers
2017[39] Noah Ohlsen Camille Leblanc-Bazinet
Misfit nLnM
  • Jordan Cook
  • Travis Williams
  • Chandler Smith
Team Progenex
  • Stacie Tovar
  • Emily Bridgers
  • Chyna Cho
2018[40][41] Streat Hoerner Katrín Davíðsdóttir
Team Quebec
  • Alexandre Caron
  • Albert-Dominic Larouche
  • Alex Vigneault
Team Progenex
  • Chyna Cho
  • Lauren Fisher
  • Emily Bridgers
2019[42][43] Patrick Vellner Tia-Clair Toomey
Foodspring Athletics
  • Adrian Mundwiler
  • Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson
  • Jonne Koski
Cass, Jenn, and Kristi
  • Cassidy Lance-McWherter
  • Jennifer Smith
  • Kristi Eramo
Team ROMWOD / WIT
  • Jamie Greene
  • Jessica Griffith
  • Cody Mooney
  • Alec Smith
2020[44] Patrick Vellner Tia-Clair Toomey
2022[45][46] Patrick Vellner Emma McQuaid
The Boys
  • Noah Ohlsen
  • Travis Mayer
  • Chandler Smith
Team Kriger
  • Kristin Holte
  • Lena Richter
  • Ingrid Hodnemyr
2023[47][48][49] Ricky Garard Paige Powers
Canadian PB&J
Team BPN
2024[50][51][52][53] Ricky Garard Emma Cary
Team GOWOD
Stronger Than A 90's Trend
  • Kelly Baker
  • Kelsey Kiel
  • Emelie Lundberg

References[edit]

  1. ^ Adduci, Joey (September 26, 2022). "2023 Wodapalooza Announces $500,000 Prize Purse". BarBend.
  2. ^ Seiden, Michael. "Thousands of fitness fanatics descend on Miami for Wodapalooza". Local10.com.
  3. ^ a b Lax, Lauryn (December 29, 2014). "Wodapalooza. Past. Present. Future". FloElite.
  4. ^ "L&L Sports Podcast- Ep 8 Guido Trinidad Founder & Creator of WZA". Loud And Live Sports (Podcast) – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Wodapalooza Miami – A Fitness Festival – Miami, Florida". Facebook.
  6. ^ "Focus on South Florida – Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival and Competition". CBS Local. January 31, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c "How to Watch WODAPALOOZA 2022 (+ Livestream)". BoxRox. January 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Daswick, Tyler. "Among the Zealots". Men's Health.
  9. ^ "-palooza". Lexico. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022.
  10. ^ "About Wodapalooza". Wodapalooza.
  11. ^ a b c "About Wodapalooza > History of Wodapalooza".
  12. ^ Marquez, Tommy (January 8, 2019). "How to Watch the Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival". Morning Chalk Up.
  13. ^ "Wodapalooza – Video Qualifier Introduction". YouTube. November 4, 2013.
  14. ^ "Wodapalooza Fitness Festival – WZA 2018". Boxletes.
  15. ^ a b Sentenac, Hannah (January 15, 2014). "Wodapalooza Fitness Competition to Bring Hardbodied Bros to Bayfront Park". Miami New Times.
  16. ^ Daswick, Tyler (May 2017). "Welcome to the Sufferfest". Men's Health. Vol. 32, no. 4. p. 10. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  17. ^ Genetin-Pilawa, Joe (February 20, 2020). "Fun and Fitness in the Sun, Wodapalooza Draws Big Crowds". Morning Chalk Up.
  18. ^ a b "Find out How Much Wodapalooza Prize Money Athletes Will Win". BoxRox. September 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Clark, Patrick (February 19, 2020). "Wodapalooza Gathers the Best CrossFitters for Annual Miami Festival". Morning Chalk Up.
  20. ^ Zirkenbach, Alec (February 18, 2020). "Wodapalooza Leads the Way for Inclusive Competitions". Morning Chalk Up.
  21. ^ Varner, Anders (February 20, 2019). "Guido Trinidad: Creating Wodapalooza And Building A World Class Gym With Only $3,000 – Barbell Shrugged #378". Shrugged Collective (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:12:40–1:21:40.
  22. ^ Carson, Audrey. "CrossFit HQ confirms Wodapalooza as the 7th Sanctioned event". Boxlife Magazine.
  23. ^ Marquez, Tommy (January 8, 2019). "How to Watch the Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival". Morning Chalk Up.
  24. ^ Gutman, Andrew (January 14, 2021). "Wodapalooza 2021 Canceled, Will Be Back In 2022". BarBend.
  25. ^ Blechman, Phil (September 23, 2021). "2022 Wodapalooza Online Challenge & Qualifier Begins". BarBend.
  26. ^ Genetin-Pilawa, Joe (September 8, 2022). "Wodapalooza Makes Splash With Format Change: "We did some soul searching"". Morning Chalk Up.
  27. ^ Born, Robert (January 11, 2023). "2023 Wodapalooza Guide: Livestream, Athletes Competing, Cuts, Prize Purse, Who Might Win". BoxRox.
  28. ^ "TYR Becomes Title Sponsor of the Wodapalooza Fitness Festival". PR Newswire. July 7, 2022.
  29. ^ Gonzalez, Andie (June 22, 2023). "Wodapalooza Introduces New LatAm Cup for 2024 Season". Morning Chalk Up.
  30. ^ Gonzalez, Andie (January 18, 2024). "LatAm Cup at 2024 TYR WZA Crowns Its Inaugural Champions". Morning Chalk Up.
  31. ^ Spin, Brian (July 12, 2023). "From Coast to Coast: TYR Wodapalooza Adds Second Event in California".
  32. ^ Dipasquale, Mike (January 16, 2022). "Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival returns to Miami following COVID pause". 7 News Miami.
  33. ^ Adduci, Joey (January 12, 2023). "2023 TYR Wodapalooza Programming Analysis: Individual Division". Morning Chalk Up.
  34. ^ Friend, Brian (January 5, 2023). "2023 Wodapalooza Individual Event Preview: "Double Shot With A Splash"". BarBend.
  35. ^ Lax, Lauryn (January 22, 2015). "Samantha Briggs Defends Her 2015 Title". FloElite.
  36. ^ Dominguez, Damect (January 28, 2015). "Games Preview: What Can Wodapalooza & the ECC Tell Us About the 2015 CrossFit Games". Boxlife Magazine.
  37. ^ "CrossFit athletes Piatt and Co. take 1st in Miami". Gilroy Dispatch. February 5, 2015.
  38. ^ Pyfferoen, Brian (January 18, 2016). "And your 2016 Wodapalooza Champion is…". The Barbell Spin.
  39. ^ Hammer, Arman (January 16, 2017). "Noah Ohslen and Camille Leblanc Bazinet Win WZA 2017". FloElite.
  40. ^ Pyfferoen, Brian (January 15, 2018). "Davidsdottir, Hoerner Win 2018 Wodapalooza". The Barbell Spin.
  41. ^ Jaime, Jessie (January 14, 2018). "2018 Wodapalooza Final Results". Barbell Central blog.
  42. ^ Atkin, Nicholas (January 21, 2019). "Wodapalooza leaderboard, results: Tia-Clair Toomey, Patrick Vellner qualify for 2019 CrossFit Games". South China Morning Post.
  43. ^ Hudson, Robbie Wild (January 21, 2019). "Team Romwod/WIT Beat Rich Froning and CrossFit Mayhem at WODAPALOOZA". Box Rox.
  44. ^ Clark, Patrick (February 23, 2020). "Vellner and Toomey Repeat as Wodapalooza Champions, Mayhem Freedom Wins Team Title". Morning Chalk Up.
  45. ^ "2022 Podium Finishers". Wodapalooza. January 25, 2022.
  46. ^ Agnew, Mark. "Wodapalooza Miami CrossFit competition won by Patrick Vellner and Emma McQuaid despite storm disruption". South China Morning Post.
  47. ^ Clark, Patrick (January 14, 2023). "2023 TYR Wodapalooza Individual Event 6 Results – Paige Powers And Ricky Garard Claim First Career Major Competition Titles". BarBend.
  48. ^ Newby, John (January 15, 2023). "Canadian PB&J Reigns Supreme With 2023 TYR Wodapalooza Title". Morning Chalk Up.
  49. ^ Beers, Emily (January 15, 2023). "Team BPN Edge out The Dottirs and Mal O'Brien in Tie-Break Win at TYR Wodapalooza". Morning Chalk Up.
  50. ^ Heaton, Austin (January 12, 2024). "Ricky Garard Repeats, Fikowski and Kwant Round Out Podium on Men's Side". Morning Chalk Up.
  51. ^ Beers, Emily (January 12, 2024). "Emma Cary Comes From Behind, Wins Wodapalooza". Morning Chalk Up.
  52. ^ Heaton, Austin (January 14, 2024). "Team GOWOD Secures Victory, Earns Back-to-Back Years on the Podium". Morning Chalk Up.
  53. ^ Beers, Emily (January 14, 2024). "Stronger Than a 90s Trend Comes From Behind, Wins Wodapalooza in Down-to-the-Wire Women's Team Competition". Morning Chalk Up.

External links[edit]

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