Event-Ausrüstung

It is the end of August and DropIN accompanies Felix Egli, owner of cross equip and head coach of CrossFit Züri Oberland, on an inspection of his inventory. Felix strides quickly through the rows of equipment. His head is visibly rattling. After a while, he nods with satisfaction. “Yes, that should be enough,” he says with a smile.

The partner for competitions of all kinds Felix Egli is the CrossFit supplier in Switzerland, both for boxing and home gyms. So anyone in this country who lifts a barbell or throws themselves onto the mat for a burpee is very likely to be doing so with and on equipment from cross equip.

But the commitment of Felix Egli and his team goes even further: they have always supported various CrossFit-related events throughout the country by providing the organisers with the necessary equipment. It is therefore a matter of honour that they also supply the two major events, the Zurich Games and TOUGH’N’ROUGH. But what poses a challenge even for the experienced event suppliers from cross equip is the fact that both events take place on the same day in September. When hard-working helpers in the background bring in tons of material There are many factors that contribute to the fascination of CrossFit. Competitions and events of all kinds are definitely part of it! And although this year’s competition season was rather modest due to Corona, two major events celebrated their premiere in Switzerland:

The Zurich Games and the TOUGH’N’ROUGH in St. Gallen. We take a look behind the scenes and show what has to happen logistically in the background so that individuals and teams can compete on the competition floor. Text: Matthias Mehl, Pictures: zVg Event Equipment Reportage 65 “It will work out,” Felix Egli reassures us. After all, he says, the joint procedure was planned well in advance with those responsible for both events. For Felix and his team, the Zurich Games and TOUGH’N’ROUGH mean that they have to move a lot of equipment to two different locations.

How much lead time do they need for this? “It varies from event to event,” Felix explains. As little as a week can be enough, depending on the size and venue of the event, but this is not the norm. “Most of the time we work with a lead time of three to six months.” As a matter of principle, he said, they try to support every event. “That’s very important to me, because after all, competitions are an important – and fun – element of our sport,” Felix emphasises. At the same time, however, the resources of cross equip are limited and the effort required to pack up and transport the material is enormous. “Therefore, unfortunately, it is not enough for every event, but we do our best.”

At the same time as the Zurich Games, the first edition of TOUGH’N’ROUGH took place about 65 kilometres further east in St. Gallen. This event marks the biggest competition in eastern Switzerland (which already has a lot to offer in this area with competitions like the Suburb Battle). “As soon as we made the decision to hold the competition, there was no question that we wanted to have cross equip as a partner,” explains Claudia Nef, press officer of TOUGH’N’ROUGH. This is because we can rely on the quality of the equipment and also because we have experience with comparable events. For TOUGH’N’ROUGH, cross equip delivered a real battle of materials: “A total of 10.5 tonnes of equipment was delivered to us, including 300 floor mats for our competition floor,” Claudia explains. The logistics were organised with cross equip’s partner forwarding agency. “They organised the delivery, we organised the collection. Both worked very well.” The cooperation was very cooperative and uncomplicated.

Anyone who wants to organise their own event in Switzerland can contact cross equip directly (www.crossequip.ch). “We assume, however, that the organisers will work out a concept for their event that we can see,” explains Felix Egli. Depending on the event, we also help the organisers to optimise the workouts so that the supply of materials is not too costly.