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This is the most frequently asked question.

No.

That’s the answer…

The Grand Slam is our way of bringing the spirit of The Bay Games to the everyday athletes around the world.

Sure the overall (Advanced) divisional winners get a ticket to The Bay Games – but that’s just part of the amazing prize pack they receive.

Everyone is welcome to enter The Bay Games – in fact you can click HERE to do so! 

This is an amazing online functional fitness competition for PAIRS and it’s designed for EVERYDAY ATHLETES.

The way it works…

We will release a total of 5 workouts over a period of 3 weeks in June 2020. 

You just need to grab a mate and complete each workout within 7 days of its release.

You’ll upload your scores into our online platform (called Competition Corner) and, BOOM, you’ll instantly see where you are ranked against all of the other everyday athletes around the world!

To keep things fair – all athletes must record their workouts and have the recording available if it’s required.

We’ll be making it mandatory for the Top 10 Pairs from each division (Male/Male, Female/Female, Male/Female) to submit their videos so our international panel of Judges can review them.

Our official timing partner is WeTime – they have an App that makes recording your workouts super easy! 

Why not download it now and give it a go? You can find the details on our website HERE

We have 3 main divisions:

• Female/Female
• Male/Male
• Female/Male

Within each of these, you have two choices:

1. Advanced athlete (Rx)
2. Intermediate athlete (Scaled)

The Advanced (Rx) version of this event is for the more advanced athlete. It’s the perfect fit for athletes who love the thrill of competition and would typically complete daily workouts as they are prescribed

The Intermediate (Scaled) option is suited to those who are new to competing, share a common love of functional fitness and are working toward building strength and mastering their skills

We do not have a Master’s category in this year’s Grand Slam. One step at a time… 

This is a long answer but… we hope it demonstrates how deeply we have considered this subject.

The Bay Games Grand Slam is designed and intended for the everyday athletes around the world who regularly participate in functional training.

This is driven by our mission which centres around creating community and connection through competitive events that test the athletic capacity of everyday athletes!

On our website and social media channels we make statements like, “The pros cannot play’ but, given the prize purse involved, we felt the need to quantify this is a tangible way to make clear the eligibility criteria of each registrant.

Firstly, our definition of an everyday athlete is thus:

Someone who loves training and competing but for whom it is not their sole focus or full-time occupation

As an example, some everyday athletes play footy on the weekends but are not ‘footballers’ 

Some everyday athletes swim every morning but wouldn’t call themselves ‘swimmers’

Many everyday athletes actively participate at CrossFit, F45, functional fitness gyms 4-5 days a week but wouldn’t qualify for the CrossFit Games, Obstacle Course World Championships, F45 World Championships, etc.

So, by design, we’re all about non-elite athletes; non-professional athletes.

Now, whilst that is the ‘spirit’ of what we’re talking about, we have to draw a line in the sand to ensure clarity. So we have derived some guidelines around eligibility in an attempt to remain congruent with our mission.

That said, this was a harder task than we first thought… 

And on that basis, if you are deemed ineligible per the below list and feel you have a basis to request special consideration then please email our team at support@thebaygames.com to start the conversation.

In the meantime, we hope that all of our everyday athletes out there recognise the integrity of our intentions to provide the greatest global online pairs event, designed just for them, that the world has ever seen.

Defined Eligibility Criteria 

• If you have competed at the CrossFit Games:
  • >2018 and/or in the 3 years prior (as an individual), you are not eligible
  • <2019 to present, if you’ve won a CrossFit Sanctional (as an individual) and/or have made it past the first round of cuts at the CrossFit Games, you are not eligible
• Won at the CrossFit Games in the last 3 years (in any capacity), you are not eligible
•  If you’ve qualified for the CrossFit Games via the Open (as an individual) in the last 3 years, you are not eligible
•  Won at the Spartan World Championship in the last 3 years (in any capacity), you are not eligible
• Won at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships in the last 3 years (in any capacity), you are not eligible 
• Won at the Tough Mudder X (TMX) World Championships in the last 3 years (in any capacity), you are not eligible 
• Won the F45 Playoffs Championship in the last 3 years (as an individual), you are not eligible
• Been part of the winning team in a Tribal Clash World Championship in the last 3 years, you are not eligible

All athletes are required to digitally record all of their five (5) workouts.

Most commonly this is done on a smartphone. Each video should be shot from an angle such that all movements are clearly visible for every rep.

Once each workout submission deadline has passed, the Top 10 placed athletes (per workout) on the Leaderboard will be required to upload their video links within Competition Corner (see instructions below).

It is possible to use a regular camera and have a timer in view the whole time but… using an App that is specifically designed for this purpose makes life pretty straight forward as it has an ‘on-screen’ timer built-in and the workouts are preloaded.

There are a number of Apps available but, like last year, we have partnered with WeTime. We have found that WeTime is super simple to use, has a Time Stamp feature that helps to protect the integrity of the competition and, the team at WeTime is ‘cool’. The WeTime App can be downloaded from iTunes or the Google Play store. It’s free.

Once you’ve downloaded it you’ll be able to search for The Bay Games Grand Slam. As we release each workout during the live announcements, they will become available in the WeTime App. Then you just need to pick which one you want to do and follow the below advice!

Before you start recording

• If you’re using a phone, set it to Airplane Mode and turn off any alarms to avoid unwanted interruptions during filming
• Ensure your filming device has enough battery life and memory to film the entire workout

Once the camera is rolling

• Announce your name, division, and workout
• All equipment used must be shown (as per the workout requirements)
• A timer must be in sight at all times which is why we’re recommending WeTime (or similar) 

Remember, each video should be shot from an angle such that all movements are clearly visible for every rep

In the event that you are required to upload a video please follow these instructions:

• First upload your video to YouTube, Vimeo, Daily Motion, Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud
• Get a shareable link from whichever platform you have used
• Log into Competition Corner
• Go to ‘My Competitions’
• Click on ‘The Bay Games Grand Slam 2020’
• Click on the Workouts tab
• Click on the Workout you’re being asked to provide a video link for
• Add your link and submit your change

You can also watch a short instructional video on how to do this HERE  Here are some general tips:

• Plan ahead, get your videos uploaded early to avoid any unforeseen roadblocks
• You may upload to YouTube, Vimeo, Daily Motion, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, Tencent or Microsoft Drive
• Avoid getting flagged for copyright issues because of  the background music you may have in your video by using Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud
• If you run into technical issues uploading to a video platform, either try using an alternative platform or contact that platform’s support directly. Uploading issues are outside The Bay Games or Competition Corner’s control

• Be aware if you have music in the background with copyright protection, it may be blocked
• If you are new to YouTube, by default YouTube requires you to request a limit increase to upload a video longer than 15 minutes. To do so, follow the instructions HERE

Make sure your video is set for PUBLIC or UNLISTED viewing

If you have questions about submitting your score visit the Competition Corner Help Center on ‘How to submit online scores’ HERE.

If you have any questions about the workouts and standards, please contact the team at support@thebaygames.com 

We’ve designed the Grand Slam to be accessible to everyday athletes in everyday settings so…

You’ll need a smartphone to download and use the WeTime App time to record your workouts.  You’ll need access to basic gym equipment such as a barbell/plates, dumbbells, a Plyobox, skipping rope, wall ball, etc.

Although not required, athletes are advised to have someone oversee their workouts to ensure each repetition meets the stated movement standards AND that the camera captures the movement(s) clearly. 

You can download a scoring sheet for each workout from our website. These are only provided to make life easier during the workouts – they are not an official record (there’s nowhere to sign for that reason), only the video submission will be considered by the Judging panel.

Our panel of International Judges will carefully review each submitted video from the Top 10 athletes from each workout as per the events Leaderboard.  We operate a 4-eyes principle within our Judging team. This means that if penalties are to be applied, at least two Judges will have assessed the infringement(s). 

We also have an internal escalation process whereby, if any uncertainties exist the matter is referred to as the Head Judge who will make a final decision before the athlete is contacted.

Penalties will be applied due to an athlete not meeting the movement standard or due to improper camera angles that do not permit the judge to determine if the standard is being met.  To ensure fairness and continuity, there are clear guidelines for the severity and application of penalties.  There are four possible outcomes in the judging of video submissions: 

1. Good: Accepted as submitted by the athlete 
2. Valid-Minor Penalty: Results in subtracting one (1) to four (4) reps from the score as needed; used for video submissions where the score needs to be adjusted by fewer than five (5) reps
3. Valid-Major Penalty: Results in subtracting 15 percent of total reps; used for video submissions where five (5) or more reps are bad.) 
4. Invalid: (the workout is rejected resulting in no score for the athlete)

In the event that penalties are deemed applicable, the athlete in question will be contacted via email by our support team and the Leaderboard updated.

Such an email would look something like this…

“Dear Jane Doe,

Our Judges have reviewed your video submission for workout 2.20 and have deemed the following: Your score is subject to a Valid-Major Penalty for the following reasons.

• Rep 3 of 4 deadlifts no rep (didn’t touch the ground)
• Rep 4 of 12 deadlifts no rep (didn’t fully extend/shoulder, not in front of the bar)
• Video does not meet the requirements accurately displaying the athlete’s performance. Video not shot from an angle that clearly shows athletes meeting the movement standards. Did not show the external load of the plates/bar prior to or at any time during the workout
• Submitted 207 reps (13 full rounds + 25 reps) when the video has the athlete completing 192 reps (13 rounds + 10 reps)

Penalty Result: Deduct 15% (29 reps) from 192 reps, resulting in 163 reps. 

Please be reminded that the Grand Slam Video Submission Policy/Standards are available at www.thebaygames.com.au for future workouts. 

Whilst this is a regrettable outcome after such hard work so far, we feel confident you will appreciate the integrity of the event being upheld in this way.”

We understand that receiving such news can be hard.

Be assured, our judging team derive no pleasure in assigning penalties – they are simply applying the stated movement and video standards.

In the event that you wish to challenge a judging team decision, we ask that you carefully read the infringement advice, review the stated movement standards and rewatch your own video (maybe ask a friend or coach to assist you).

If, after reviewing the video objectively you believe you have a genuine case for an appeal, you should email support@thebaygames.com.