Ep. 075: Planning for CrossFit Semifinals With John “JMac” McLaughlin

“How can we Tetris together seven different events over every continent in the world that does then fit in to meet the criteria for a great location, great test, and a great community and athlete experience?”Senior Manager of Events John McLaughlin — better known as JMac in the community — drops in on the podcast to discuss the recent announcement of CrossFit Semifinal locations. CrossFit has worked toward releasing information about the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games season early to give the community ample time to plan and prepare ahead of the new year. Most recently, locations for Semifinals — the third stage of competition — were released through the Hopper.Read more here → https://games.crossfit.com/article/2023-nobull-crossfit-games-semifinalsIn this episode, McLaughlin sheds light on what key factors played a role in selecting venues for Semifinals around the globe, citing venue availability, competition footprint, and spectator and athlete experience as part of the considerations.CrossFit also announced this year that the number of Semifinal events would be reduced from 10 to seven, all with standardized programming and with CrossFit running the North American and European Semifinals. After reviewing the locations and schedule, McLaughlin provides insight on these changes and CrossFit’s connection and role in supporting the additional four Semifinal competitions.To close out the show, McLaughlin shares what he’s most looking forward to in the new year, especially during the Semifinals stage of competition.Subscribe to the Hopper and sign up for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Open at games.crossfit.com.Presented by Wilde Brands. Get 20% off your first order at wildebrands.com using code WILDEFIT20.