b'In this episode, Kevin Ogar* and Alec Zirkenbach** discuss the evolution of the adaptive division in the CrossFit space, their role in the 2021 season, and the future of the division in the CrossFit Games.
In 2021, the NOBULL CrossFit Games Open included eight adaptive athlete divisions for the first time \\u2014 Men and Women\\u2019s Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, Neuromuscular, Short Stature, Intellectual, Vision, Seated Athletes (With Hip Function), and Seated Athletes (Without Hip Function).
Three of those divisions \\u2014 Men and Women\\u2019s Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Neuromuscular \\u2014 competed at the CrossFit Games.
\\u201cI think over the next couple of years you\\u2019re going to see not just an outgrowth in the sport but an outgrowth in the adaptive community and the general population as a whole. People are going to stop being scared to be out in the world with a disability. They\\u2019re going to be more outgoing, more comfortable in their own skin because they are capable and they are being told that they\\u2019re capable, and I can\\u2019t imagine something that can be more impactful on someone\\u2019s life who\\u2019s being told \\u2018no\\u2019 their entire life than someone telling them, \\u2018Yes, you can, and I\\u2019ll show you how.\\u2019\\u201d \\u2014Kevin Ogar
*Kevin Ogar is a Level 3 CrossFit Trainer, Head Trainer on the CrossFit Seminar Staff, member of the Adaptive Training Academy, owner and head coach of CrossFit WatchTower, and a CrossFit District 4 Affiliate Rep.
**Alec Zirkenbach is a U.S. Navy veteran, executive director of the Adaptive Training Academy, a Level 3 CrossFit Trainer, and a Head Trainer on the CrossFit Seminar Staff.'