Annie Thorisdottir, Three Others Named For CrossFit HQ’s Inaugural Athlete Advisory Council

Since Eric Roza took over as owner and CEO of CrossFit, a ton of big changes have been imminent. One such addition to the sport will see fan favorite Annie Thorisdottir, as well as three other veterans of the sport, being a part of a council for athletes in CrossFit.

When Roza purchased the organization, he did so in a delicate time for the sport. Not only were affiliates forced to shut down due to the global health crisis, but a ton of concerning comments were revealed to have been made by the former owner Greg Glassman. This left Eric to pick up the pieces when he took over, which he has been seemingly doing a good job at.

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Today we signed the final contract to purchase 100% of CrossFit … Now the real work begins! Check out the link in my bio to read the full announcement @RozaEric on Twitter.

A post shared by Eric Roza (@rozaeric) on Jul 24, 2020 at 8:40am PDT

It was revealed that the next step in rebuilding the sport comes in the form of an Athlete Advisory Council that HQ has put together, which will feature Annie Thorisdottir, Meredith Root, Neal Maddox, and James Hobart. This council will serve as a middle ground betweens HQ and the athletes. This allows for the four people to be ambassadors for the athletes and affilates, in regards to changes of the rules, judging disputes, and tons of other aspects of the sport.

“The CrossFit Games has grown into an ecosystem involving hundreds of athletes, judges, and partners. Working closely with those various stakeholders will allow our sport to reach new heights,” said Justin Bergh, General Manager of the CrossFit Games. “In addition to speaking with individual competitors and groups of athletes, we’ve established the Athlete Advisory Council to tap into the deep experience of some of our most respected athletes. We have already begun engaging with them to make our first online/in-person event a success.”

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For the sport of @CrossFit to continue to grow and succeed, all of its stakeholders must be engaged, committed, and heard. To strengthen that process, CrossFit CEO Eric Roza announced during the Community Town Hall last week that CrossFit has created an Athlete Advisory Council to get insight and input from athletes on the wide range of issues affecting the sport. Today, we are proud to announce the founding members of CrossFit’s first Athlete Advisory Council. They are: @anniethorisdottir: Two-time Fittest Woman on Earth, 11-time CrossFit Games individual qualifier, owner of @crossfitreykjavik @meredith_root: 30th overall at the 2018 Reebok CrossFit Games, four CrossFit Regionals appearances, five years as a CrossFit coach, biological engineer @NealMaddox: Eight CrossFit Games appearances (individual competitor from 2010-2015, masters competitor in 2017 and 2018), 2018 CrossFit Games Masters 40-44 champion, owner of @_xtremeathletics_, 20 years of experience in coaching and athletic development @JamesHobart: Eight CrossFit Games appearances (three as an individual competitor, five on a team), member of three CrossFit Affiliate Cup championship teams, co-owner of @onenationfitness_ in Boston, JD from Suffolk Law School “The CrossFit Games has grown into an ecosystem involving hundreds of athletes, judges, and partners. Working closely with those various stakeholders will allow our sport to reach new heights,” said Justin Bergh, General Manager of the CrossFit Games. “In addition to speaking with individual competitors and groups of athletes, we’ve established the Athlete Advisory Council to tap into the deep experience of some of our most respected athletes. We have already begun engaging with them to make our first online/in-person event a success.” Visit the Games.CrossFit.com for more information. — #CrossFit #CrossFitGames #CommittedtoCrossFit #Fitness #Sports #FittestonEarth #Workout #CrossFitMasters

A post shared by CrossFit Games (@crossfitgames) on Aug 25, 2020 at 11:06am PDT

This is a big step for CrossFit, as it gives the athletes a voice, through people who know the sport. Annie Thorisdottir is a two time winner of the CrossFit Games, with 11 qualifications for the Games in total. Both Neal Maddox and James Hobart have eight years each of their own Games experience, while Meredith Root has been coaching for five years. All in all, there are few people better equipped to handle this type of responsibility, giving the athletes a seat at the table to decide things in the sport.