FORT SILL, Okla., Nov. 8, 2018 -- A packed turnout of nearly 70 individuals competed in the inaugural "Ghost Thrusters" functional fitness competition Nov. 3, at Goldner Fitness Center.
Stacey Oliver, Goldner Fitness Center manager and overall lead and creator of the coed event, said the competition filled up fast, and the staff wants to host it quarterly.
She said she's planning for an event in February, and it may offer a Valentine's Day theme.
Participants in 34 teams competed across four events that somewhat mirrored the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) that is undergoing field testing now until October.
Events included: a ground overhead ladder with 15 different weights and barbells; a partner dead lift hold with dumbbell thrusters and 30 double unders, including 12 minutes of AMRAPS, or as many rounds as possible; and an obstacle course that must be completed in under 20 minutes or as far as they can go, according to Oliver. The events are either RX (or done as they're supposed to be); and scaled, meaning some leniency is given depending upon gender and other differences.
"They're chipping away at the workout," Oliver said several hours after the eight-hour event started. "The women start with 40 reps (repetitions) of partner wall balls, partner fox jumps, partner toes-to- bar, then they have to row. Then they have to go back and do the same movements but at 30 reps and go to the rower, and go back and do 20 reps of those three things, and go back to the rower."
Men compete in the same event but at different repetitions, she explained.
"It was open to the public as long as they could get a visitor's pass to get on post," Oliver said. "Black Dog CrossFit and Southwest Barbell (and Fitness) off post are two main groups off post. We had several Goldner (Gym) people and active duty competing. We even had one team from Oklahoma City, one of the female teams. Roughly 80 percent of the participants are Soldiers who use the facility. We had 21 volunteers."
The event filled fast. "I think a lot of military waited too long to register," she said. "I was getting a lot of phone calls, and we were already filled up. I think our next one they won't wait as long. I'm definitely happy for the military signing up. There hasn't been a competition like this in the area for a few years. We hope to do it quarterly. It filled up fast with a lot of people off post. "We've been trying to get that word out. I don't think (advertising) got out there until about five weeks before the event. Now that we've done our first one and kind of ripped the bandage off and gotten the first one done, and we did it ourselves. We didn't get any sponsors. Next time we'll definitely try to get sponsors," said Oliver.
Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Marrett, volunteered to help out with the competition and assisted with its oversight.
Oliver said she couldn't have done it without him. Marrett coaches at Goldner three days a week as a volunteer. He had experience organizing other and similar events at gyms around the country, so he served instrumentally in organization.
Toward the end of the competition, Marrett said, "There were no injuries and everything started on time."
Winning teams in first, second and third places took away trophies and swag bags filled with fitness-related items.
For more information on this event and future events, visit the Goldner Fitness Center Facebook fan page or call 580-442-2740.
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