The History of the USAW and Team CrossFit

Have you ever seen kids scooting around in a CrossFit Kids class at your local affiliate? Those children could very well be the next face of USA’s national weightlifting team—or so is the hope of Coach Mike Burgener and the rest of Team CrossFit, a newly organized group of people interested in testing themselves in weightlifting competitions.

Coach B has been around weightlifting and athletics for a long time and has coached many to great success, including his son Casey, an accomplished lifter who narrowly missed competing in the Beijing Olympics after the U.S. was only given two spots in the competition.

In this video, Coach Burgener gives a short history of weightlifting in the United States, including the fortuitous intersection of Oly lifting and CrossFit. Burg goes on to talk about Team CrossFit, which allows CrossFitters to compete in USAW events, and the potential for young CrossFitters to make an impact on weightlifting in the next decade.

CrossFitters will compete head to head with Oly lifters at this year’s CrossFit/USAW Open, which takes place in Colorado Springs, Colo., Oct. 1-3.

5min 49sec

Additional reading: More Pop at the Top by Bill Starr, published Sept. 5, 2009.