Four athletes, two women, two men… and one shared goal: to complete every exercise together. But here, an extra challenge spices up the WODs: the worm. A piece of equipment shaped like a long sausage, weighing in at 160 kilograms. To move it, solo effort is out of the question. Every movement requires flawless coordination among the four teammates.
For Pauline and her team First Timer, the worm is a new experience. They must find the right rhythm and agree on the sequence of movements. “We had the opportunity to test them once last week, because our team came together at the last minute two weeks ago. So we tested them once, it went fairly well. And this time, it went okay, because with fatigue it’s always a bit harder. When they announced the WODs, we took the time to think about who would do what. And also so that everyone gets through and that each person can recover as well, because nobody should burn out. We are a team, we need to be four at the start and at the finish.”
Conversely, Bat Gym knows the formula well. Winners of the previous edition, RX-category athletes return with experience and automatisms. Mika Vidal and his teammates are the only ones to finish this first WOD with the worm. “We’ve been taking part in this competition for several years. We’re starting to become well acquainted with the worm. And as you said, the peculiarity of this competition is indeed the worm. It’s what gives a little edge of excitement to this event. On paper, we lay out a strategy. Sometimes the strategy doesn’t hold. We must stay lucid to readjust the strategies according to the worm’s intensity.”
Behind this competition, a whole community mobilizes. The Pearl Pacific Contest brings together enthusiasts and pushes athletes to push themselves. A positive dynamic for Polynesian CrossFit, carried by teams that keep getting sharper. “This is the 7th edition we’ve participated in. Year after year, we’re completed faster, notes Léa Salles, co-organizer. “This year, we completed the 32 teams in 3–4 hours. Everyone is eager to come test themselves and move differently as a team.”
“We can see there is real enthusiasm for the crossfit, adds Bastien Bacabara, co-organizer. “Year after year, it grows. And year after year, the level also rises. And there’s something better for Polynesia, and something better for CrossFit.”
The bar is being raised higher at the Pearl Pacific Contest. It is up to the teams now to train to come back even stronger at the next edition.
