CrossFitters put to the test during Rotorua pairs competition

Competitors in the RX Men's division of the 2TOA Aotearoa CrossFit Pairs Competition at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre perform overhead squats. Photo/Stephen Parker

Organisers of the inaugural 2TOA Aotearoa CrossFit pairs competition are already looking at how to make the event "bigger and better" next year after a successful debut.

The event, held in Rotorua on Friday and Saturday and organised by CrossFit Rotorua, saw 150 same-gender pairs compete in six divisions, including teenagers as young as 12, beginner level athletes, intermediate, advanced, RX and Masters.

The workouts were designed to test competitors' fitness in a wide range of activities including swimming, paddle boarding, weight lifting, gymnastics and cardio at Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) and the Energy Events Centre.

CrossFit Rotorua owner Munro Waerea said the competition was "awesome" and plans were underway to run it again in 2018.

"The feedback from the competitors was that they absolutely loved the workouts and they really appreciated the short interchange times between workouts and divisions. It was quite fast and efficient," Waerea said.

He said the standard of competition was "excellent".

"We had CrossFit Games athletes come and compete as well as your everyday 9-5 workers. Anyone can get involved, we even had crews that weren't typically CrossFit, they were just from normal gyms and they gave it a go.

"The lake was awesome, it was something different. Because it was elevated on the terraces, everyone could see the whole event unfold, it was very spectator friendly."

Waerea said there was capacity to have even more athletes compete next year and it was all made possible by a hard-working team of volunteers.

"We had an awesome team - judges, runners, co-ordinators, they all made the event run smoothly, they were a well-oiled machine. We're really grateful for the community and whanau at CrossFit Rotorua, they gave up their weekend to make this competition successful," he said.

Hamilton's James Connew, who has family in Rotorua and has competed at multiple CrossFit Games Pacific Regionals, was part of the 2TOA Aotearoa winning men's team and said he was surprised by the size of the event.

"It was awesome. I didn't actually realise it was at the Events Centre, I thought it was just going to be at the gym - I was really surprised how many people there were. It was a nice surprise.

"Competing at [Lake Tikitapu] was real cool, but freezing. The spot at the lake is so nice, it was good getting outside of the gym and doing events out in the land," Connew said.

He said the standard of competition between the men's pairs was high and the teamwork with his partner Andre Alipate was crucial.

"It was definitely important to work together, communication is the big one. I haven't done too much team stuff before so it was a good change of pace and good to have a good team dynamic.

"I really enjoyed it, the programming was good and it was run really well, it was all on time," he said.

He said if CrossFit Rotorua decided to hold the event annually he would "definitely" be back to defend the title.

Almost as entertaining as the workouts were the team names which some of the pairs came up with for themselves. They included; Weights B4 Dates, Sistas with Blisters, Squat it like it's hot, Bottom of the Barrel, Salute the Glutes and Blood, Sweat and Beers.

2TOA Aotearoa CrossFit Pairs competition winners

Teen 12-14 Female: Fobalicious (Rautangi Pitiroi and Piata Morehu)
Teen 12-14 Male: Inferno BC (Colin Tomlinson and Blake Anderson)
Teen 15-17 Female: Vendetta (Te Rina Wineera and Case Mastny-Jensen)
Teen 15-17 Male: Nefarious DRS (Delane Bell and Dante Karangaroa)
Beginner Female: Long and little (Rosie Peterson and Shelby Wilson)
Beginner Male: Taranaki Boys (Zeb Skipper and Ricky Engelberger)
Intermediate Female: 3B Girls (Johnny-Lee Berry and Jazmin Taylor)
Intermediate Male: Southern (Jeremy Johnston and Shane Cleaver)
Advanced Female: CrossFit West Auckland (Kothar Esau and Katrina Barrack)
Advanced Male: Limitless Gold (Owen Pomare and Sean Plant)
RX Female: Stace and Niggy in Vegas (Tracey Stewart and Gemma Root)
RX Male: Uce Willis (James Connew and Andre Alipate)
Masters Female: Deb&Tarns (Debbie Hutchings and Tania Rauna)
Masters Male: Vatos Locos (Grant Slater and Fraser Johnstone)