Recent Issues with Judge Credentials at Age Group Semifinals
The Age Group In-Affiliate Semifinals took place from April 3-6, 2023, and marked the beginning of a new competition format for the path to the 2025 CrossFit Games. Unfortunately, a week after scores were submitted, it became evident that several participants did not comply with the newly established judge qualification requirements.
Judging Requirements Not Met
For this year’s In-Affiliate Semifinals, athletes were required to perform their workouts at a registered CrossFit affiliate with both a dedicated floor judge and a head judge present. This setup allowed for multiple athletes to share a head judge when executing workouts simultaneously.
To meet competition standards, both judges had to possess an active CrossFit Level 1 or OL1 certification or a higher level, along with completion of the 2025 Judges Course and the Advanced Judges Course. Additionally, it was essential for both judges to be onsite and introduced in each athlete’s video submission.
CrossFit’s Official Statement
CrossFit issued a statement addressing the discrepancies after discovering that some athletes utilized judges with expired credentials. The organization clarified:
“It has come to our attention that a small number of judges for the 2025 Age-Group Semifinals athletes had expired CrossFit credentials. According to the competition requirements stated in the 2025 Rulebook, an athlete’s workout must be judged by both a Floor Judge and a Head Judge who hold a current CF-L1 or higher to receive a valid score. Many of the involved athletes took the extra step to secure a Head Judge from an outside entity, where they expected a qualified judging environment. Unfortunately, they did not receive that.”
Concerns Over Judging an Outside Entity
The “outside entity” mentioned in the statement refers to athletes who completed their workouts at CrossFit Mayhem with oversight from the Association of Fitness Judges (AFJ). During this period, athletes could conduct their Semifinals workouts at CrossFit Mayhem, expecting rigorous judging standards.
However, upon reviewing the leaderboard, numerous athletes who performed their workouts at CrossFit Mayhem saw their scores annulled, with a notable pattern linking the zeroed-out scores to head judge Brian Clapp. Clapp, who serves as the Director of Competition for the AFJ, has advertised his Level 2 certification; however, his information suggests that this certification may have expired since a search in CrossFit’s Trainer Directory returned no results for him.
Impact on Other Athletes
While the AFJ has noted they will not make public statements until after video reviews are concluded, the situation has affected numerous athletes internationally. Several workout submissions on the Age Group leaderboard showed scores overturned due to similar judging discrepancies seen with Clapp.
Next Steps for Affected Athletes
Despite the complications regarding the judging requirements, CrossFit has announced a one-time exception to address fairness in the competition. A full video review of affected athletes’ submissions will be conducted by CrossFit’s internal review team, leading to revised scores based on the outcomes of this assessment. All updated scores will be reflected by Monday, April 21, coinciding with the finalization of the leaderboard.
Future Semifinals and Judging Accountability
CrossFit emphasized that this accommodation will be limited to the Age Group In-Affiliate Semifinals, noting that for the upcoming Team and Individual In-Affiliate Semifinals, which run from April 24-27 and May 1-4, respectively, athletes must ensure their judges are properly credentialed to avoid similar complications. For specific judging requirements, athletes are directed to review Sections 2.02 and 2.07 of the 2025 CrossFit Games rulebook.
