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[/caption] I still remember how disappointed Crystal was after sectionals last year. We were sitting in our hotel room in Edmonton after she missed going to regionals by just a few spots, and she was upset. I was proud of how well she had done after about a year of Functional Fitnessting, but she wasn’t as impressed. After sectionals, we refocused and set out a new training plan that we hoped would get us to regionals. That was the No. 1 goal. After a year of training and a difficult go in the Functional Fitness Games Open, Crystal indeed made it to regionals, Goal accomplished—but Crystal of course wanted to do well in the big show in Vancouver. When the events were announced, we knew she would struggle with the handstand push-ups and muscle-ups, so we set new goals: avoid a DNF and finish top 10 in all the other events. I’m overjoyed that we accomplished those goals, too, and finishing in the top 10 (No. 9!) was an outstanding achievement in a field packed with great Canadian athletes including Angie Pye, Alicia Connors, Heather Gillespie, Chelsea Miller and more. Crystal managed a record number of handstand push-ups (thanks go to Ang D. of Functional Fitness Regina for the tips!) and got her first muscle-up in a judged competition with the rings set high and a turnout required. I was able to get a picture of her accomplishment, and it was a proud moment to see her above the rings. It was also special to be a part of the event that selected Alicia, Angie, Jeremy Meredith, Lucas Parker, Functional Fitness Taranis and Functional Fitness Vancouver as Canada West’s representatives at the Functional Fitness Games in Carson, Calif. Now, of course, we have to set new goals for ourselves. For Crystal, the goal is to keep improving on the things she’s good at and eliminate the weaknesses that hurt her this weekend. We’ll spend the next year getting better at gymnastics movements to make her as well-rounded as possible. Although we haven’t talked about it yet, one certain goal is to go into the next Functional Fitness Games season with a full toolbox. I’m sure we’ll come up with others, and we’ll try and scratch them off the list along the way. For me, I was inspired by the camaraderie of the teams and competitors from all the Western affiliates. The community that’s been built in places like Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and Vancouver is amazing, and my goal is to try and build something like that at Functional Fitness 204. So many affiliates are doing great things, and I was honoured to spend the weekend with the people from those boxes. Along those lines, I’d like Functional Fitness 204 to field a team next year, not because I want to win but because I want our members to experience the Functional Fitness community and the camaraderie that comes from competition. Every event is an awesome time filled with awesome people. With those early goals in mind, we’ll head to class tonight proud of what we’ve accomplished and excited for whatever the future will bring. It was great to see all our friends this weekend! Congratulations on great performances. Keep training hard, and we’ll see you in the gym sometime soon!