We talked to The Progrm founder John Singleton about his unique competition for teenage athletes.
Last updated on September 23rd, 2024
Over Easter weekend in April 2024, the third iteration of The Progrm’s The Crown concluded, crowning Icelandic teens Bjarni Leifs and Bergros Bjornsdottir after the four-day competition held at the “Nike Castle” in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
The weekend featured teens competing against each other and forming friendships and core memories with fellow competitors. This led The Progrm’s founder and event organizer, John Singleton, to think of ways to grow the event.
- “This has been a passion project,” Singleton told Morning Chalk Up in an interview, “and I was challenged on how to make it grow and how to make it sustainable.”
Singleton collaborated with the organizers of the Madrid Fitness Festival to plan a new installment in the competition series, held in Madrid, Spain.
- By utilizing other competitions as a vehicle to host a multi-part series, Singleton saw that The Crown could grow and serve more young athletes.
Thus, the “Crown Series” was born.
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The Details
The Madrid Fitness Festival served as the first of three in The Crown series, which allowed athletes to experience fitness on a giant, well-organized stage.
The Progrm plans to make each subsequent event grander in an effort to provide young athletes with meaningful competitive experiences that they will be able to reflect upon for the rest of their lives.
The next event in the series will be held at the Iberian Throwdown in early December. The third event’s location is TBA, and will possibly head outside Spain.
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All three events will host 20-30 athletes and funnel competitors to the finale, which will be held once again in the “Nike Castle ” from March 13-17, 2025.
It will feature six boys and six girls, just like the 2024 competition. Singleton and his team will announce the schedule for the upcoming 2026 season as he hopes to expand further and double the number of finalists.
What They’re Saying
Like every year, Singleton hopes to give the young athletes lasting experiences and facilitate relationships that can extend beyond the competition weekend.
While adults have ample opportunity to train together every day and compete against one another at local and high-level competitions, teenage athletes don’t often have this privilege.
- “Our focus is experience over competition. Are they interacting? Are they learning to compete in a friendly environment? Kids don’t have enough to connect them like adults, and we are trying to find more ways for them to do that,” Singleton said.
- “Right now, there’s no real support net for [young athletes] to grow and thrive. They need shared experience, connection, and struggles. It’s important that we have multiple touchpoints throughout the year,” Singleton says.
It’s worth noting that others in the CrossFit ecosystem have recognized this as well and join Singleton in his interest in bringing up the next generation of elite CrossFit athletes.
The Bottom Line
The Progrm’s motto is “acta non verba,” which translates to “deeds, not words.”
It is their belief that concrete steps must be taken to support the future of CrossFit.
In a press release regarding the Crown Series, Singleton states:
- “It’s not enough to talk about how young athletes are our future; we must highlight them and give them a platform to start building their athletic careers.”
With the Crown Series, Singleton and The Progrm are doing just that.
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Featured image: @mad.fitnessfestival / Instagram
