This was a really fun conversation. Allison is an old school crossfitter, competitive personality, and cool AF person to talk to. She started NorCal Masters comp with her husband TJ (of TJ's gym) in order to compete against, well, other masters age athletes. Then she turned her attention to running the competition and did so for many years.
This episode is by special request, because NorCal Masters has meant a LOT to the masters community over the years. It was one of the first, and definitely preeminent masters crossfit competitions. It was accessible to anyone, but the programming was not at all reduced for masters - you had to earn it. A lot of people flew in from all over not only to compete but often to volunteer. NorCal Masters has opened the door for other folks to know that a masters focussed competition is not only possible but can be well attended.
Sadly, the competition is not going to happen in 2020, but Allison and TJ are open to bringing it back. The amount of effort they put in over the years to make it happen is crazy, and they would need some help to get the comp going again. Listen to the episode for some ideas that Allison has.
I judged at NorCal Masters one year, and Allison taught me something very important. It was an ascending rep heavy thruster/burpee workout, and Allison was extremely clear, "You can NOT jerk the thrusters." A person I was judging was having a really hard time with the weight, was in no position to be competitive, and I was allowing them to ..... jerk the thrusters. Allison walked up behind me and simply said, "the standard is the standard." And she was right. The standard is the standard. Do....the....work....
I also snuck in a question about high school kids applying to college - because she knows a lot about that, and I have a couple of 9th graders. Ya get to do that when you're doing the interview.
If you need to contact Allison, she can be reached at allison@tjsgym.com
I hope you enjoy. If you like us give us a 5-star review. If you have comments or suggestions for future episodes, don't hesitate to leave a comment either here or in the CF Masters group on Facebook.
and here's Allison.....
