Team CrossFit Fort Vancouver Flight
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I'm Adam Neiffer, captain of Team CrossFit Fort Vancouver. This year, lots of attention has been given to our team earning its 8th straight trip to the CrossFit Games. We're extremely proud of that accomplishment and the work we've put in to make it happen. We're also beyond grateful to the many gym members, coaches, and competitors that have laid the groundwork over the years to give us this opportunity.
To raise money to support our trip to Carson this July, we're holding a silent auction at the gym from July 5th - 8th. Bids are final Friday evening at 6:30 PM. Everyone's invited and we'll be serving a paleo-friendly meal all evening. The generosity of this community has once again gone above and beyond what we ever could have imagined and we hope you find an item or two worth bidding on. For those of you that want to support our 2016 team but aren't in the area or available to participate in the silent auction, this page is for you. Our team flight cost totaled $2222, so our gofundme goal is to cover that expense. Thank You to everyone who's helped us along the way, and if you're interested in a little backstory on our 2016 team, please feel free to continue reading.
The way I see it, earning our 8th trip to the Games is a Regional accomplishment. We overcame some adversity this year and by putting in the effort, believing in one another, and working together from start to finish, we achieved our goal of reaching the Regional podium and earned a return trip to the Games. Now that the qualifying process is behind us, we're not really thinking about how many times we've been to the Games. We're 110% focused on what THIS team is going to do THIS year. Once the horn sounds and the Games events begin, it doesn't matter what you've done in the past. What's important is being present in the moment and giving all you've got to the task at hand. Yes, we've been shaped and molded by our past experience and we'll use that experience to help us this year, but we're not defined by what we've accomplished in the past. We're excited to give nothing but our best every second in the arena and grateful for the opportunity we have to do so. Spending plenty of time with one another these last couple months, we love competing together and we have a lot to be excited about.
Our 2016 team is a great mix of experience and youthfulness. Every time I feel like the old guy, Roo is right there to remind me that she still holds the title. This is Andrea's fourth straight year competing at the Games. She's a phenomenal athlete, amazing competitor, and a natural leader. A member of our 2013 team that finished fourth at the Games, Roo is hands down in the best shape of her life right now. She's stronger, faster, fitter in every area than she's ever been, and she's hungry to make the most of 2016. Roo also holds the record for more pre-competition bathroom trips than any other CrossFit Games athlete in the history of the sport. It's hilarious when right before we take the competition floor someone asks "Where's Roo?" After a brief silence, everyone gets a good chuckle because no one really needs to ask a question everyone already knows the answer to. In all seriousness, many of you have gotten to enjoy having Roo as a coach in a class or two at the gym, so you know how much fun she is to be around. I love being Roo's teammate and I absolutely can't wait to see what she's capable of in Carson this year.
Betsy Simser is making her first trip to the CrossFit Games this year. A former collegiate gymnast, Betsy can run faster on her hands than most of us can on our feet. Don't let her kind-hearted personality and innocent smile fool you; Betsy is a fierce competitor with a strong will to win. She's an extremely well-rounded athlete and what she lacks in experience she makes up for with grit and determination. Outside the competition arena, Betsy is best known for being excited for everything ever all the time, being by far the most gullible team member, and having the funniest, most contagious laugh out of anyone, except in elevators, where she just makes things a little awkward.
Dani. What can I say about Dani? I think Mat said it best when he stated one day that "Dani is the most interesting person in the world." She moved here from the East Coast last winter. Those first few months, I would have bet money she'd have already moved back to Boston by now. By the end of the Open though, she actually began communicating with other people in the gym and even cracked a smile a couple times. Since then, she's become one of my all-time favorite teammates. Dani is wicked strong, and her proficiency with the barbell has been a cornerstone of our team's success so far this year. Even though she leads on that all she does is eat burgers and watch the Kardashians, Dani is a ridiculously hard worker. She gives everything she has to being the best she can be (except maybe at running and burpees) and that, along with her always entertaining sense of humor (even though it takes awhile to get used to), makes here a ton of fun to compete with. If she ever flips you off, just take it as a compliment because to Dani, that middle finger is really just a term of endearment.
Mathew Hornung is a man's man. He loves Ben Smith, the Green Bay Packers, and America. He works on his tan during the day while pouring concrete and then comes to the gym and trains hard every evening. In his Games debut last year, Mat was an outstanding competitor. This year, he's better by every metric across the board. He had by far the best Open performance of his career and even though Mat earned an individual invite to Regionals, his commitment to go team never wavered. He was amazing at the Moda Center. While last year he went into his first Regionals wide-eyed with a lot to learn, this year he was the emotional leader of our team. His confidence and poise in every situation was an invaluable part of why our team is going back to Carson. His last-second snatch PR at the buzzer in Regional Event 2 ranks right up there in the top 5 competition moments a CFV team has ever seen. Mat is passionate about America and he's been working for the opportunity to serve our country in the military for as long as I've known him. A couple months ago, Mat's persistence paid off and he swore into the United States Navy. He ships off for basic training just a couple weeks after the CrossFit Games. There is no 'next year' for Mat, so you better believe this guy is gonna be bringing it in Carson. I'm just glad he's on our team!
Allan Dunlap returns to the CrossFit Games for the second time in 2016. A top 10 individual West Regional competitor in each of the past two seasons, Allan is the most well-rounded athlete on our team. He has superhuman strength and an explosive work capacity. After a rocky start at Regionals this year, he battled back all weekend and finished with some fireworks in the final event, narrowly missing qualifying for the Games as an individual. Even while competing as an individual, Allan has always maintained a team-first attitude. When Bryan got hurt a week before Regionals, Allan wanted to contact the competition director to give up his individual spot and go team. That's Allan in a nutshell: a guy willing to sacrifice his own aspirations for the good of others. Allan is a guy you can count on in competition and I am so excited to see him excel in every way at this year's Games. Along with a broad arsenal of physical skills, Allan brings a calmness and confidence to our team that will without a doubt serve us well in Carson. Allan also thinks he's funny and has taken on a leading role as a team prankster this year. In reality, he's too serious to actually be funny and most of his attempted pranks don't work anyway because he has a guilty smile you can spot from a mile away. Don't be fooled by it and definitely don't ever look in his gym bag because you never know what's prank material and what's just Allan being Allan.
Even though only six of us can compete every year at the Games, there are always those behind the scenes that complete our team. At the top of that list this year is Bryan Weed. Most of you know that Weeds suffered an unfortunate injury the week before Regionals that prevented him from competing this year. What many don't know is just how talented Weeds is and the kind of teammate he is. No one can replace the carefree, leave it all on the floor attitude that Weeds brings to our team. Thankfully, Bryan's recovery has exceeded all expectations and he's been putting in consistent hard work in the gym. Because of all that Bryan brings to the table, making the decision to activate Allan and list Weeds as the alternate this year was one of the most difficult decisions our team has ever had to make. If for some reason an alternate is needed to step up and compete in Carson, there's no one else in the world I'd want on our side more than Weeds. I'm glad he'll be able to make the trip but if he's not competing, I'll sure miss Nate having a good reason to take his ice cream away the night before the competition.
Jeremiah's contribution to the 2016 CrossFit Fort Vancouver team cannot be understated: none of us would be going to the Games without him. With only one week of real Regional preparation, Jeremiah pulled off the impossible. I'll never forget his diving handstand walks in the Moda Center this year. Conventional wisdom, style, and technique went out the window when all six and a half feet of Jeremiah got upside down. In those moments, he displayed the essence of what it means to be an athlete and a warrior and just found a way to get it done. Behind the scenes, that's exactly what Jeremiah did all weekend long. I'll also never forget the looks people gave Jeremiah when they spotted him in the athlete area: no one could figure out what the tall, old guy sporting a flannel was doing at check-in. Not to say he stuck out like a sore thumb, but the volunteers definitely double-checked his ID more than a couple times. While you won't be seeing Jeremiah in the Stub Hub Center this summer, he is without a doubt the undisputed MVP of our 2016 season. I'm forever grateful for the guts it took for Jeremiah to put so much on the line and respond the way he did this year.
Christie Choma has set the new standard for what it means to be a team player this year. Every season, our active team roster consists of 6 athletes and 2 alternates. The amount of training we put in between January and July parallels having a second full-time job sometimes. In most cases, the team alternates are simply unable to fit it all in. In Christie's case, she does every bit of team training and then some. She's an amazing competitor and person. Qualifying for Regionals individually, she declined her spot for the opportunity to be a part of a CrossFit Games-caliber team. During grueling workouts, Christie is able to ignore the discomfort and perform through the pain unlike anyone I've ever seen. No CrossFitter can forget the return of thrusters and burpees in Open workout 16.5. Christie not only beat every female in the Northwest Region on it, she finished top 10 worldwide. And if the need ever arises to hoist a heavy sandbag into the back of a pick-up, you can bet Christie will do whatever it takes to find a way to get it done. Having such a strong competitor in our corner leading up to the Games is something that has helped every one of us improve this year.
Personally, I've never been more excited to compete and represent our community at the biggest stage in our sport than I am this year. I'm proud of the history we've made by qualifying for the Games 8 years in a row but definitely not satisfied with just getting there. This team isn't defined by the past and it won't be defined just by the Leaderboard at the Stub Hub Center either. What we WILL do is give our all in the arena every opportunity we get to compete. I love all my teammates like family and I know that together we are strong. I can't wait to go into battle together, live in the moment, compete our hearts out, and enjoy every second of it. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us along the way.
To raise money to support our trip to Carson this July, we're holding a silent auction at the gym from July 5th - 8th. Bids are final Friday evening at 6:30 PM. Everyone's invited and we'll be serving a paleo-friendly meal all evening. The generosity of this community has once again gone above and beyond what we ever could have imagined and we hope you find an item or two worth bidding on. For those of you that want to support our 2016 team but aren't in the area or available to participate in the silent auction, this page is for you. Our team flight cost totaled $2222, so our gofundme goal is to cover that expense. Thank You to everyone who's helped us along the way, and if you're interested in a little backstory on our 2016 team, please feel free to continue reading.
The way I see it, earning our 8th trip to the Games is a Regional accomplishment. We overcame some adversity this year and by putting in the effort, believing in one another, and working together from start to finish, we achieved our goal of reaching the Regional podium and earned a return trip to the Games. Now that the qualifying process is behind us, we're not really thinking about how many times we've been to the Games. We're 110% focused on what THIS team is going to do THIS year. Once the horn sounds and the Games events begin, it doesn't matter what you've done in the past. What's important is being present in the moment and giving all you've got to the task at hand. Yes, we've been shaped and molded by our past experience and we'll use that experience to help us this year, but we're not defined by what we've accomplished in the past. We're excited to give nothing but our best every second in the arena and grateful for the opportunity we have to do so. Spending plenty of time with one another these last couple months, we love competing together and we have a lot to be excited about.
Our 2016 team is a great mix of experience and youthfulness. Every time I feel like the old guy, Roo is right there to remind me that she still holds the title. This is Andrea's fourth straight year competing at the Games. She's a phenomenal athlete, amazing competitor, and a natural leader. A member of our 2013 team that finished fourth at the Games, Roo is hands down in the best shape of her life right now. She's stronger, faster, fitter in every area than she's ever been, and she's hungry to make the most of 2016. Roo also holds the record for more pre-competition bathroom trips than any other CrossFit Games athlete in the history of the sport. It's hilarious when right before we take the competition floor someone asks "Where's Roo?" After a brief silence, everyone gets a good chuckle because no one really needs to ask a question everyone already knows the answer to. In all seriousness, many of you have gotten to enjoy having Roo as a coach in a class or two at the gym, so you know how much fun she is to be around. I love being Roo's teammate and I absolutely can't wait to see what she's capable of in Carson this year.
Betsy Simser is making her first trip to the CrossFit Games this year. A former collegiate gymnast, Betsy can run faster on her hands than most of us can on our feet. Don't let her kind-hearted personality and innocent smile fool you; Betsy is a fierce competitor with a strong will to win. She's an extremely well-rounded athlete and what she lacks in experience she makes up for with grit and determination. Outside the competition arena, Betsy is best known for being excited for everything ever all the time, being by far the most gullible team member, and having the funniest, most contagious laugh out of anyone, except in elevators, where she just makes things a little awkward.
Dani. What can I say about Dani? I think Mat said it best when he stated one day that "Dani is the most interesting person in the world." She moved here from the East Coast last winter. Those first few months, I would have bet money she'd have already moved back to Boston by now. By the end of the Open though, she actually began communicating with other people in the gym and even cracked a smile a couple times. Since then, she's become one of my all-time favorite teammates. Dani is wicked strong, and her proficiency with the barbell has been a cornerstone of our team's success so far this year. Even though she leads on that all she does is eat burgers and watch the Kardashians, Dani is a ridiculously hard worker. She gives everything she has to being the best she can be (except maybe at running and burpees) and that, along with her always entertaining sense of humor (even though it takes awhile to get used to), makes here a ton of fun to compete with. If she ever flips you off, just take it as a compliment because to Dani, that middle finger is really just a term of endearment.
Mathew Hornung is a man's man. He loves Ben Smith, the Green Bay Packers, and America. He works on his tan during the day while pouring concrete and then comes to the gym and trains hard every evening. In his Games debut last year, Mat was an outstanding competitor. This year, he's better by every metric across the board. He had by far the best Open performance of his career and even though Mat earned an individual invite to Regionals, his commitment to go team never wavered. He was amazing at the Moda Center. While last year he went into his first Regionals wide-eyed with a lot to learn, this year he was the emotional leader of our team. His confidence and poise in every situation was an invaluable part of why our team is going back to Carson. His last-second snatch PR at the buzzer in Regional Event 2 ranks right up there in the top 5 competition moments a CFV team has ever seen. Mat is passionate about America and he's been working for the opportunity to serve our country in the military for as long as I've known him. A couple months ago, Mat's persistence paid off and he swore into the United States Navy. He ships off for basic training just a couple weeks after the CrossFit Games. There is no 'next year' for Mat, so you better believe this guy is gonna be bringing it in Carson. I'm just glad he's on our team!
Allan Dunlap returns to the CrossFit Games for the second time in 2016. A top 10 individual West Regional competitor in each of the past two seasons, Allan is the most well-rounded athlete on our team. He has superhuman strength and an explosive work capacity. After a rocky start at Regionals this year, he battled back all weekend and finished with some fireworks in the final event, narrowly missing qualifying for the Games as an individual. Even while competing as an individual, Allan has always maintained a team-first attitude. When Bryan got hurt a week before Regionals, Allan wanted to contact the competition director to give up his individual spot and go team. That's Allan in a nutshell: a guy willing to sacrifice his own aspirations for the good of others. Allan is a guy you can count on in competition and I am so excited to see him excel in every way at this year's Games. Along with a broad arsenal of physical skills, Allan brings a calmness and confidence to our team that will without a doubt serve us well in Carson. Allan also thinks he's funny and has taken on a leading role as a team prankster this year. In reality, he's too serious to actually be funny and most of his attempted pranks don't work anyway because he has a guilty smile you can spot from a mile away. Don't be fooled by it and definitely don't ever look in his gym bag because you never know what's prank material and what's just Allan being Allan.
Even though only six of us can compete every year at the Games, there are always those behind the scenes that complete our team. At the top of that list this year is Bryan Weed. Most of you know that Weeds suffered an unfortunate injury the week before Regionals that prevented him from competing this year. What many don't know is just how talented Weeds is and the kind of teammate he is. No one can replace the carefree, leave it all on the floor attitude that Weeds brings to our team. Thankfully, Bryan's recovery has exceeded all expectations and he's been putting in consistent hard work in the gym. Because of all that Bryan brings to the table, making the decision to activate Allan and list Weeds as the alternate this year was one of the most difficult decisions our team has ever had to make. If for some reason an alternate is needed to step up and compete in Carson, there's no one else in the world I'd want on our side more than Weeds. I'm glad he'll be able to make the trip but if he's not competing, I'll sure miss Nate having a good reason to take his ice cream away the night before the competition.
Jeremiah's contribution to the 2016 CrossFit Fort Vancouver team cannot be understated: none of us would be going to the Games without him. With only one week of real Regional preparation, Jeremiah pulled off the impossible. I'll never forget his diving handstand walks in the Moda Center this year. Conventional wisdom, style, and technique went out the window when all six and a half feet of Jeremiah got upside down. In those moments, he displayed the essence of what it means to be an athlete and a warrior and just found a way to get it done. Behind the scenes, that's exactly what Jeremiah did all weekend long. I'll also never forget the looks people gave Jeremiah when they spotted him in the athlete area: no one could figure out what the tall, old guy sporting a flannel was doing at check-in. Not to say he stuck out like a sore thumb, but the volunteers definitely double-checked his ID more than a couple times. While you won't be seeing Jeremiah in the Stub Hub Center this summer, he is without a doubt the undisputed MVP of our 2016 season. I'm forever grateful for the guts it took for Jeremiah to put so much on the line and respond the way he did this year.
Christie Choma has set the new standard for what it means to be a team player this year. Every season, our active team roster consists of 6 athletes and 2 alternates. The amount of training we put in between January and July parallels having a second full-time job sometimes. In most cases, the team alternates are simply unable to fit it all in. In Christie's case, she does every bit of team training and then some. She's an amazing competitor and person. Qualifying for Regionals individually, she declined her spot for the opportunity to be a part of a CrossFit Games-caliber team. During grueling workouts, Christie is able to ignore the discomfort and perform through the pain unlike anyone I've ever seen. No CrossFitter can forget the return of thrusters and burpees in Open workout 16.5. Christie not only beat every female in the Northwest Region on it, she finished top 10 worldwide. And if the need ever arises to hoist a heavy sandbag into the back of a pick-up, you can bet Christie will do whatever it takes to find a way to get it done. Having such a strong competitor in our corner leading up to the Games is something that has helped every one of us improve this year.
Personally, I've never been more excited to compete and represent our community at the biggest stage in our sport than I am this year. I'm proud of the history we've made by qualifying for the Games 8 years in a row but definitely not satisfied with just getting there. This team isn't defined by the past and it won't be defined just by the Leaderboard at the Stub Hub Center either. What we WILL do is give our all in the arena every opportunity we get to compete. I love all my teammates like family and I know that together we are strong. I can't wait to go into battle together, live in the moment, compete our hearts out, and enjoy every second of it. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us along the way.
Organizer
Adam Neiffer
Organizer
Vancouver, WA
