For the first time in their new west-end location, CrossFit Sudbury hosted their seventh annual Frubar Juicery Battle Beyond the Barbell yesterday, in support of the Janis Foligno Foundation.
The Janis Foligno Foundation was established in 2010, following the loss of Janis Foligno to cancer in July 2009, a close family friend of CrossFit Sudbury co-owners Kristin Green and Dr. Adam Ball. In the past six years, the annual fitness tournament has raised over $31,000 for the Janis Foligno Foundation, which supports a number of non-profit initiatives in Greater Sudbury.
"It's wonderful to see how much it has grown since year one," said Andryanna Gonko, media volunteer and family friend of both CrossFit co-owner Green and the Foligno family. In addition to the title sponsor, the event hosted two rooms of vendors and a separate viewing area for the event's sizeable crowd.
Every year, the local fundraiser reaches its maximum capacity of 80 participants within the first day of registration, said Gonko, who represent a wide range of ages and fitness levels.
Although the tournament does not allow for any professional advancement in the sport, year after year it attracts competitors from Toronto to as far as Kapuskasing, motivated to compete out of "the goodness of their heart and the spirit of competition."
"Most of the people who are competing they have day jobs, they have families, they have children; but you know they have that competitive spirit and they are always striving to do their personal bests," said Gonko.
"They see it as a competition for themselves but also to showcase what they have been working on in their own respective gyms throughout the province."
Showcasing his talent that afternoon was another family friend of the Foligno's, Nick Esposto, who while not looking to make CrossFit his sole focus, said he is excited to see how far he can advance within the sport. Former AAA, Oshawa Generals, Sudbury Junior Wolves and Laurentian Voyageurs hockey player, Esposto said he was looking for an outlet for his competitive nature when he discovered CrossFit nearly two years ago.
Last February, Esposto was invited to participate alongside his team in the CrossFit Games pre-requisite sectional in Iceland, after spending less than one year with the sport. Unfortunately, the team's airline declared bankruptcy 10 days before the tournament, cancelling the trip, but this is just the beginning of this young athlete's CrossFit journey.
"There's a broad group of people coming (to CrossFit) from different professions and competitive natures," said Esposto, who find common ground in the desire to work hard and have fun. Fitness contributes to overall health and wellness, he said, but what we're doing here, benefits your mental just as much as your physical well-being.
"It's good to see yourself push yourself further than you would think, I know a lot of people at the gym - that's the main reason they come here."
Competitors were split into teams of four, with two men and two women on each team. Teams were asked to compete in three different competitions, or 'wads', the results of which would be tallied together to determine an overall winner. There were also awards for each particular competition, as well as awards such as 'best spirit'.
Results of the seventh annual Frubar Juicery Battle Beyond the Barbell:
- 1st: Gainz All Round (Tara Thall, Caroline Cropp, Nick Esposto, Zach Whalen)
- 2nd: Old Dirty Parents (Trista Munro, Brittney Ramakko, Beau Frescura, Marty Champagne)
- 3rd: Taba-tatas (Kaitlyn Good, Alanna Johnson, Adam Chevis, Luc Baillargeon-Smith)
- Spirit of the Games: Ambroise Stevens-Paquette
- 16th: WOD About Them Pace Cadets (Shelley Mason, Virginie Bedard, Nicholas Quesnel, Troy Robin)
- Top Fundraising: Team Dearing (Erin Dearing, Kara Bois, Scott Sutton, Chad Sokoloski)
- CF Teens: 1st: (London Skrzydlewski, Ruby Doyle)
