Welcome to the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games season!

How's the training coming? The 2013 Open launches in just three short months. As the growth of the worldwide CrossFit community explodes, the 2013 season promises to be the biggest and best yet. In 2011, more than 26,000 athletes registered for the Open. In 2012, that number jumped to almost 70,000 participants. Think six figures this year. It will be simultaneously the fiercest and most inclusive competition we've ever seen.

The structure of the 2013 season is nearly identical to last year. The worldwide Open will lead into the same 17 Regionals, and the same number of athletes will qualify from each region to the Games.

Stay tuned here over the next several weeks, as we'll be rolling out all the details for the season, including registration links, an updated rulebook, the new online Judges Course, and locations and dates for all events. In the meantime, here are a few teasers.

Five weeks for the Open: March 6 - April 7

Registration for the Open begins January 30th. Individual athletes will compete both on a worldwide scale and also to qualify regionally for the semi-final round - The Regionals. Athletes may complete each workout at their local CrossFit affiliate or upload a video to be judged online.

Open Prizes

The top performance worldwide for men and women in each workout will win $2,013. To be eligible for the prize money, you must provide video of your workout. Affiliate validation is sufficient for qualifying for Regionals, but only workouts that have video verification will be eligible for the prize money.

Teams in the Open

The team competition in the Open will be organized the same way as last year. Teams are made up of athletes from the same gym competing as individuals. All-star teams with athletes from different gyms are not permitted. There will be new clarifications on what constitutes an eligible team member in the rulebook updates coming out mid-December. In essence, team members must represent their gym, meaning they train the majority of their workouts (by any metric) at the team gym.

New Masters Division

There is now a category for men and women ages 40-44. This is on top of the four age categories from last year: 45-49, 50-54, 55-59 and 60-plus. At the end of the Open, the top 20 men and top 20 women worldwide from each of the five age groups will be invited to compete in the Masters at the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games.

Online Judges Course

CrossFit will offer an online Judges Course, which will launch in mid-December. The course will address the role of the judge and common standards, along with several video scenarios that will assess the visual perspicacity of the potential judge. This first release will be particularly oriented toward the Open.

Moving Forward

The 2012 season is done. We're now full speed ahead to the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games. Everyone in the world has the chance to prove their fitness in the worldwide Open. Train hard and we'll see you March 6th!