For all you CrossFitters out there, I’m sure that you can share in my excitement that regionals are right around the corner! If you’re within any sort of driving distance of one of the SUPER regionals this year, I recommend you snag your tickets and go! Lucky little POS that I am, Northeast Regionals used to be 2 hours away. With the new East Regional comes a new venue, which is 20 minutes from home. Money saved on gas & hotel means more money for the vendor village, right?

Seeing that I missed out on Regionals last year due to a business trip, I’m extra excited for this year. Below are a few reasons why I’m stoked and you should be too.

1) Think of how much of a pain in the ass it is to get ready and all fancy in NORMAL CLOTHES when going out with friends. Heels, makeup, jewelry WHAT? Nope. Not at regionals. Grab your favorite spandex, kick it in some nanos. EVERYONE is in gym clothes, and it’s awesome. If you’re lucky enough to have been to an outdoor regional in the past, you know that SUNS OUT GUNS OUT. #eyecandy

2) During a tough chipper, you don’t exactly have time to park it and watch the best athletes at your box power through and make it to the finish line before you do. Why? You’re too busy enduring your own round of suckage to pay attention to anything around you except your reps. At regionals, you finally get a chance to see the best of the best, pushing themselves to the limit with that trip to Carson on the line. With the super regionals this year, we’re all in for quite a show.

3) Hey! I know that guy! – Whether you truly do, or not – one of the coolest parts of regionals that I always liked was to see people from boxes within my area going up against the big name Games athletes. If someone 30 miles down the road from you can train hard and make it past the Open, it suddenly becomes an obtainable goal. REAL PEOPLE like you and me are competitors too, not just the athletes paid to play in the gym all day. It’s such a kickass thing to see ‘regular’ people like you and me who train their hearts out around a day job earn a chance to compete on the big stage.

4) Vendor Village. Time to BUY ALL THE THINGS. All the supplements, headbands, tank tops, shorts, sneakers that you are too cheap to pay shipping & handling for online are brought TO YOU. Go nuts. So maybe I didn’t end up wearing that “Suck it Up Buttercup” tank as much as I thought I would, but my Strength Wraps and I are in a serious relationship and we never would have met if it weren’t for Regionals.

5) The FOOD. This was one of the most pleasant surprises as I went to my first Regionals as a fan back in 2013. When you have a huge gathering of super fit gym rats, cotton candy and nachos covered in ‘processed cheese food’ aren’t gonna fly. At regionals, you end up with kickass concessions like garlic cauli rice, pulled pork and grassfed beef. Oh, and beer. Beer is paleo on days that end in Y. Right?

Weekend 1: May 15-17, 2015

• South Regional | South Central, South West and Latin America | Dallas Convention Center – Dallas, Texas
• Atlantic Regional | Mid Atlantic and South East | Georgia World Congress Center – Atlanta, Georgia

Weekend 2: May 22-24, 2015

• California Regional | NorCal and SoCal | Del Mar Arena – Del Mar, California
• East Regional | North East and Canada East | XL Center Arena – Hartford, Connecticut <<< See you all there! 🙂
• Pacific Regional | Australia and Asia | Win Sports & Entertainment Center – Wollongong, Australia

Weekend 3: May 29-31, 2015

• West Regional | North West and Canada West | Tacoma Dome – Tacoma, Washington
• Central Regional | North Central and Central East | Minneapolis Convention Center – Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Meridian Regional | Europe and Africa | Ballerup Super Arena – Copenhagen, Denmark