Event Guide
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WORDS FROM OUR TEST DIRECTOR
he AFM FITTEST has been at the heart of Austin Fit Magazine’s calendar year for the last five years, and 2017’s competition is no exception. In one event, we bring together fitness enthusiasts and competitors with a spectrum of important personal goals, such as: • Challenging my personal best • Helping my team compete and have fun • Measuring my fitness against others to be Austin’s FITTEST • Simply finishing to inspire my new goals for 2017 • Experiencing Austin’s amazingly diverse fitness community • Being a teambuilding activity to build momentum • Showing up to represent my local group (“no one’s as good as ours”) • Beat my scores from last year • Experiencing the incredible energy of the crowd while having a good time The focus of this competition is unique to any other in Austin. This competition combines tests that target a range of fitness attributes and abilities. It includes tests for power, speed, agility, strength, strength endurance, speed endurance, coordination, and long distance endurance. Not one particular type of competitor (strong man, power athlete, yogi, non-athletic-fitness newbie or marathon runner) has a distinct advantage over another. The order of the tests gives the competitor the best opportunity to compete, then recover, and sustain energy for the next test. The ability to recover itself is an attribute to overall fitness. This approach is supported and used in fitness testing and sports performance testing when a short time period (one day) is needed to perform numerous tests with hun-
dreds of athletes. Like every year, we strive to make improvements and listen to competitors’ feedback. This year we are implementing a new scoring system that will distribute scores more fairly, and reward those who perform exceptionally and give their best effort for each test in the competition. With the collaboration of trainer and two-time AFM FITTEST champion Greg Cook, we feel this will be a very positive change for the AFM FITTEST. Also, this year we will handle all judging disputes on the field on the day of the competition. No judging calls or decisions will be disputed after you leave the competition. This allows the lead judge, test judge, and you to work through any questions or concerns in scoring with everyone present. This truly is the best way to create a fair and best decision for the competitor. You will still be able to alert the AFM FITTEST officials if data entry displays an incorrect score when the scores are posted. At that time, we will pull the score card and check for accuracy. Both changes benefit the competitor and will continue to improve the competition experience. Don’t forget that you can compete as an individual or play to your strengths as part of a team. The mission remains the same: to inspire Austin’s fitness and wellness community at all levels to strive for balanced, overall fitness while growing a fitness culture of inclusion, soul, and support. Nowhere else can you experience an event in which so many great fitness organizations, facilities, and groups come together to support a truly “local” flavor to an event that lets a place like Austin thrive and show its true fitness personality. Keep Austin Fit, Diane Vives, Test Director
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