NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN Medicine Hat's Farrah Dzik competes in the third annual Sun City Shakedown at Gas City CrossFit on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Sun City Shakedown celebrated its third at Gas City CrossFit with an action-packed Saturday of competition.
Medicine Hat’s Maggie McLeod says the event is a great chance for the local crossfit community to come together in support of both the sport and each other.
“CrossFit is all about community and it’s a great way to bring that to the forefront,” she said. “It’s an awesome community event. It brings the day-to-day workout to the next level in the sense that it gives you the chance to compete and cheer on other people in your gym, and meet new people too.”
The Sun City Shakedown hosted 20 teams of two across three divisions, ranging from a beginner class for first-time competitors, to the RX’d class for athletes looking to compete at the highest level.
“For people who have never tried it’s kind of a way to step out of the box and see how well your training is going,” said McLeod. “It’s great for all levels and it brings a really diverse group of people together for a fun day.”
On top of competing for glory and personal bests, McLeod added many returning competitors use the Shakedown as a benchmark event to see just how far they’ve come from the previous year.
“It’s a nice way to kind of check in and see that the work you’re putting in is actually doing something,” she said. “If you did it last year, maybe I couldn’t do this skill and now this year I’m doing five of those things.”
McLeod’s teammate, Tyler Garrecht, says he’s been doing crossfit for less than two years, but the community nature of the sport quickly made it more than just a hobby.
“It’s a really good community here,” said Garrecht. “I’ve made some lifelong friends here and I really enjoy working out with the people that I do.”
