Tribal Clash Portugal 2019
This May Bank Holiday weekend; Saturday 4th to Sunday 5th was team FitFun’s second time at Tribal Clash, Portugal. Another opportunity to go up against some of CrossFit’s finest units. Ninety-Five per cent of the tribes were from an affiliated CrossFit Box. There were a number of countries represented; the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and of course the UK, to name a few. The makeup of the teams in attendance was a lot stronger during this, the 3rd year of Tribal Clash on Portuguese soil.
Day 1 At Tribal Clash
Day 1 ended with us eagerly awaiting the Tribal Clash online Leaderboard scores to see whether or not we would make the cut to the next round. From 188 teams that started the day’s competition, only 144 would progress to event 8 the following day, after the results from the first 7 events had been tallied up. This year’s format was different as there were 50 more teams competing. This meant that each tribe was under pressure from the offset to ensure they did not fall behind, as there was minimal room for error.
Assigned to heat number 2, Team FitFun kicked off at 8:45 am. Event 1 was The Logworm Squats with synchronised burpees. Each team had 12 minutes within which to perform as many reps as possible (AMRAP) of the following exercises; 25 synchronised lugworm squats and 10 synchronised burpees, jumping over the lugworm between each burpee. This also included a 60-second window, taken at any time during the 12 minutes, to score bonus reps by completing 6 rope climbs. We managed to score 215 reps. The team had made a very good start to what would be a long day. Tribal Clash days tend to be long, hot and full of drama.
The Lead-Up
A week or so, leading up to our trip to Portugal we had plenty of drama; we were forced to make last-minute changes to the makeup of our team due to injuries and other circumstances which almost left us without enough members to compete. Bearing in mind we had 3 new tribe members who had very little opportunity to acclimatise to the team and event-specific practice, we were fortunate things came together.
It is often in our adversity that we discover how strong and resilient we truly are. We managed to put together what turned out to be a good, cohesive unit willing to go the extra mile for the benefit of the squad. Tribal Clash tested us physically, mentally and emotionally; the fact that our makeshift team pulled together was a testament to the character of the group.
Event 2
Event 2; team Swim & Run uncovered some of the cracks that the previous event left intact. Tribal Clash teams had to swim 500m with a rescue board before completing a 3k beach run. Points would be scored dependent on the total time the entire team took to cross the 3k finish line. The lower the score the better. As a group we had not practised swimming together, especially in open waters, never mind holding a rescue board. This was by far our toughest test. The sea had no compassion nor respect for anyone; so we had to depend on each other to pull, push and kick ourselves out of those waters in the hope that our stronger runners could claw back some valuable points.
We managed to not only catch up to but overtake some of the teams who were well ahead of us coming out of the ocean. Running on sand is exceptionally taxing on the body, even for those accustomed to running. A well-earned rest was needed; and some time to regroup and evaluate before we faced Event 3; the Atlas Stones.
Event 3
The last 2 additions to our tribe were Ryan and Ana. With the latter having barely enough time to book a flight and pack a bag, let alone sit down and watch an Atlas Stone lift tutorial video. Ryan had 1 training session with the team. It was these 2 that would impress the most during this particular event considering their late entry.
Event 3 belonged to Ana though. It was her moment to come alive in spectacular fashion. With her teammate down injured, she had no time to waste and no alternative that would benefit the team other than to go into beast mode and lift the 42.5kg weight set for the ladies (Jo, Dezh & Ana) as many times as possible, within her pair’s 2-minute window. She managed 7 reps. What a way to announce your debut at one of Europe’s toughest events. As a team, we managed 57 reps within 12 minutes. The men (Altesse, Darren & Ryan) lifted 66kg stones.
Events 4&5
We went into events 4 & 5 with great excitement, having put the disappointment of the rescue board swim behind us with a fantastic all-round team effort during event 3. Event 4 was a 6x 150m Sprint Relay around the arena, straight into event 5 which was the paired Wheelbarrow Walk Relay, followed by a team lugworm lunge around the arena. We had a time cap of 20 minutes within which to complete both tasks.
During the sprints, another team member picked up an injury but pushed through to ensure the team were well placed. This type of exercise selection gave us an opportunity to score maximum points as we felt that we were just as strong as any other team in this event. We scored some valuable points; clocking 4 minutes 20 seconds during the sprint relay and managed to reach 128 out of the 136 barrels around the arena during our team lunges. Each barrel represented points on the scoreboard.
Event 6
By this time it was around 3:30 pm. We had now been trudging around on the sandy beach for 7 and a half hours; having arrived at 8:00 am. Walking on sand is energy-sapping. Add to that the constant sun blazing above and you ask yourself if you are actually fully rested between events? Probably not, is the answer.
So we proceeded to event 6 an hour later; the team Stand Up Paddle (SUP) board race. Teams were given 7 and a half minutes to race around a marked course on the lake. Those that managed to arrive ahead of time we’re given the opportunity of a second lap to score maximum points; the rest were to return to the arena scoring much lower. Reminiscent of our attempt at the team paddleboard last year, unfortunately, we missed out on the second lap. Although we were marginally close; one of our team members thought they had heard the 10-second count down as we approached the finishing flag. This is definitely an area we must work on throughout the year. Being in or on water continues to be an area needing massive improvements.
End of Day 1
As we headed back to our bags, we had a feeling the scoreboard would not look favourable. With event 6 done and dusted, we were free to head back to our accommodation. Our eyes were fixated on the online leaderboard scores, waiting to see where we stood going into event 7 the following morning, and knowing how much ground we needed to make up. As the results from all the remaining heats were coming in, our position in the standings was constantly changing; but in the wrong direction. We went to sleep in 167th position. It would have to be an all or nothing approach to climb up 23 places.
Sunday morning we arrived back at the arena with mixed thoughts and emotions. On the one hand, we knew we had a mountain to climb, but of course, anything is possible, and nothing is truly over until the final announcement is made. We had congratulated and encouraged each other the evening before; recognising the challenges we had overcome just to be there and the efforts we had all made for the team. This was it. We had nothing to lose, we would either be taking part in event 8 or we would be watching it from the side.
Event 7
So onto event 7; The Sandbag Shift. Teams had to transport two 60kg sandbags and two short sandworms also 60kg, as well as themselves, down the lane and over a beam and back to the baseline, as many times as possible in 12 minutes. This event was as much a team task-oriented event as it was a fitness and endurance test. There was no time to rest, it was all hands on deck at all times, especially for us as we were chasing the 23 teams above us in the rankings. We kicked off this time around at 8:15 am, half an hour earlier than Saturday morning, and with less sleep; with the day’s events playing on our minds.
It’s impossible to know how well you are doing when you are just focussed on the task at hand. There’s no looking left or right or behind at the teams around you to get an indication. We carried, lifted and hurled the sand-filled sacks and our teammates over the beam as frantically as our bodies would allow in the time given. During those 12 minutes that seemed to flash by, we managed 10 reps plus an odd bag to score 101 points. Each rep counted as 4 bags plus 6 team members. To us, it seemed enough, but we were up against some really exceptional CrossFit athletes who train and compete in this manner throughout the year. More often than not it would be with the same individuals they came to Praia Almargem with. For us, it was another learning curve.
Champions
In all fairness finishing 156 out of 188 teams, as we did, in the end, this weekend, was the right result for where we were at the time and with the makeup of our tribe. We knew the task at hand was a very tough ask, but we were willing to walk the walk of champions. Champions never back down from the challenge set before them. Champions don’t make excuses but make an honest assessment of their performance based on their preparation and attitude. We know we have much more to give. We will be back. Is third time lucky? Tribal Clash 2020? Let’s go champ!
