WAIMEA — Dragonslayer, Clockwork Orange and Raging Bull are the names of familiar movies from the 1970s and early ‘80s. But this past weekend they were also various competition titles within the CrossFit AllStar Round-Up 7 event Saturday and Sunday in Waimea.
Seventy-six adults, 12 teens and nine children rolled through the 18-level circuit Dragonslayer workout — conga-line style — as the first part of Saturday’s competition. The youngest was 10-year-old Bodhi Bonnici and the oldest was 65-year-old Kimmie Park.
“It was every minute, on the minute, so things had to be timed precisely so there was no break in the flow,” KC Stallsmith said, who opened Waimea’s CrossFit AllStar gym seven years ago.
The two-day event included some 7-minute heats, 18-minute ones, some for the fastest time and others based on loading – the maximum amount of weight. Each competition was in the gym, except a sled pole event that went around the building and a 5K run Sunday morning that took the athletes along Ala Kahakai Trail from Spencer Beach to Hapuna Beach.
“We also had some gambling elements, like the rope climb that’s counted as 10 pounds on your maximum weight that you’re lifting,” Stallsmith said. “There’s kind of a mental strategy to it as well. You have to strategize and be smart about where you put your efforts — to not over-effort on some things and under-effort on others.”
Residents from Waimea, Kawaihae, Waikoloa, Kona, Hilo and elsewhere signed up to compete in the various men’s, women’s, teen’s and children’s divisions. The first-place winners, announced early Sunday evening, were Micah Ashburn and Dionne Kaneshiro in the men and women’s Open division, Mike Sheen in the Scaled Men’s division and Mel Keolanui and Rhiannon Cloud in the Scaled Women’s division. Additional winners were named in all other divisions, and awards were handed out to all teens 11 to 16.
“My goal as the event organizer was that everyone who competed on the floor felt that exhilaration as much as if they were on the podium,” Stallsmith said. “There was support from the crowd that was infectious. It filled the space and people in the stands felt what the athlete was going through and supported and cheered them on all the way to the last finisher, who almost got more support than the first place finisher, which is so different.”
CrossFit AllStar provides fitness for anyone, regardless of their age or fitness level. Stallsmith provides an environment where everyone feels like an all-star athlete.
“I think this was my third Round-Up and it’s a day of getting a lot of encouragement from your fellow crossfitters,” Park said, who was in the Masters Women 50+ division. “I competed with myself. I do CrossFit to be strong for outrigger paddling.”
Now in its seventh year, the event’s theme was “Celebrate Together.”
“We wanted it to be much more about community than competition,” Stallsmith said. “Those who participated have been crossfitting for a long time, others for a year, maybe stepped away and are now back or those who don’t crossfit but play other sports and still wanted to be involved in our event. I wanted to make sure everyone felt welcome and to celebrate they were here, healthy and doing it together.”
Kids and teens took on the challenge alongside their adult counterparts.
“This was my second year. At the beginning I felt nervous, but while doing it I got tired but excited,” 11-year-old Taylor Hess said. “My goal was just to have fun but compete.”
“I like CrossFit and wanted to challenge myself,” Bonnici said. “My brother and dad wanted to do it too. After I finished the Dragonslayer I felt dead, but I had granola and water for energy to finish the rest of the day.”
Four kupuna were showcased in a ceremony Saturday to share how they train.
“We’ve trained with them for six years,” Stallsmith said. “It was so the crowd could see who the kupuna are and that they do. I’ve had people all over the world ask how we train people in their 80s and 90s. The method is really available to everybody.
The AllStar Round-Up is Hawaii’s longest continuously running functional fitness event in the state. The first competition was held in Waimea in 2012.
“We are the originators of the ‘scaled’ division in Hawaii, creating this division because it represented our mission of inclusiveness,” Stallsmith said. “We’re happy to see other events follow what we’ve started. We strive to provide a platform where competition means bettering yourself, at any level, not just beating others.”