May 19, 2020: Today the International Functional Fitness Federation announced the addition of a virtual Masters’ World Cup to the 2020 competition season. The World Cup will feature an initial online qualifier stage and a live but virtual final. The competition will be open to any athlete age 30 or over as of December 31, 2020. However, athletes who are not members of one of the iF3’s National Federations are ineligible to participate in the live final should they qualify.
The online qualifier will feature six tests and athletes will have the entire month of September to complete the tests and submit their scores. This initial online qualifier phase is not live, and athletes can complete the tests at their leisure and in the order they wish. The top 5 athletes from the qualifier phase in each age and gender division will then be invited to participate in a live 90 minute final in November which will include multiple tests. Each athlete will log onto the online platform and perform the final from their gym against the other athletes in their division. Athletes will be required to set up their equipment in a specific configuration during the final so as to create the most equal opportunity between the athletes. Additionally, athletes will be responsible for securing their own Technical Official who will count their repetitions and record their score accurately.
The first place athlete in each division after the final will win a spot to the 2021 Masters’ Worlds in Lisbon, Portugal. Spots won through the World Cup will not count against the total number of spots allotted to National Federations for Masters’ Worlds in Lisbon. If an athlete wins a spot through the World Cup but already has been given a spot to Masters Worlds through their Federation, the spot earned from the Masters’ World Cup will take precedence over the National Federation spot, and thus the National Federation will be able to select an additional athlete to send to Masters’ Worlds in that age group.
More information and registration information about the World Cup will be placed on the iF3 website in the coming months.