CrossFit WDM Athletes,

We are excited about the increased attendance from you all coming back from quarantine. Seriously, check out these numbers based on all of our athletes for this year. SUPER PROUD of the March, April, May numbers since we were primarily Zoom Online classes! WOW!

Note the January and February compared to all months after May. We believe this shift has happened for a couple of reasons. Likely a big thanks to our reservation system. We have recognized that the athletes who have taken full advantage of this are attending more regularly and making it a priority since they have already blocked out that time. Also due to the level of eagerness to get back into the gym but numbers have been consistently up. Way to go!

After examining the cancellations the last few months and seeing consistently full reserved classes we are going to release a series of adjustments to our reservation system. Allowing you to gradually adjust to these standards. Please note that using the reservation system is best for coaches and athletes alike. The sooner you can promise yourself that you have decided to commit to that day’s workout the less you have to convince yourself to go. However, we understand that not ALL athletes have the flexibility to guarantee their availability to work out at that specific time. We encourage you to organize your calendar and priorities AT LEAST 24 hours in advance, but up to a week in advance when it comes to arranging your day. If you cannot do that then you can reserve your spot in class at any time, up to a minute before class starts… as long as there is availability in that class.

I will restate that just to be clear. You do not need to use the reservation system in advance if you’re unsure of your availability, you will have up to 1 MINUTE before class starts to reserve your spot… as long as there is availability in that class. Meaning that the class has not “capped out” in actual attendance. The loop hole there is if somebody no-shows then of course we want you there.

“WE WANT YOU THERE SO BADLY THAT WE WANT YOU TO RESERVE AND PROMISE YOURSELF THAT YOU WILL MAKE IT!”

We don’t want to have a limited number of participants due to space, safety, equipment. But we also don’t want people making reservations and setting a lot of other people’s expectations that you are saying “Yes, I will be there.” But then cancel and not show up. Someone may have been looking at attending that class but pivoted their schedule and/or just made sure they reserved their class sooner for the next day. Which leads me to my next point.

The waitlist feature is very handy. If you find yourself on the back end of a full class, especially if that class is still 12-72 hours away but you really want to be in that class. Then do everyone a favor and PUT YOURSELF ON THE WAIT-LIST. This signals the people who have reserved that if something did come up they don’t feel bad about canceling because they know they’re just allowing someone else to take that spot. Also, for the athletes on the wait-list, on a first-come first-serve basis you will be automatically pulled into the class. And, by being on the wait-list it does not prevent you from reserving your spot at another class! So it’s a win-win. If they cancel within the cancellation window and email will go out to all athletes on the wait-list and you will manually have to go in and reserve.

Another reminder… the new Wodify Athlete app has an option to synchronize your Wodify Class reservations with your personal calendar. This is a SUPER convenient feature that I find lovely. However, I find it nice to keep both the Wodify (legacy) app and Wodify Athlete app.

Okay, here are the adjustments we are making. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding as we make CrossFit West Des Moines an even more effective experience by adding in a layer to help our athletes prioritize the way they think about their health and fitness.

Phase 1
(1st and 2nd Week) November 2nd

We are opening up the reservation window to 7 days. Every athlete will receive 1 FREE PASS for a late cancellation fee per month.

• This means you will be able to reserve your desired class times throughout the whole week. Whether you are an everyday CrossFitter or a 3x a week. Try to promise yourself and make sure you follow through!
• To use your FREE PASS please email [email protected] with subject line “Free Pass”. Please list the date and class time and we will keep an account of these within Wodify. 1 per month. No-Show fee’s are excluded so please make sure you cancel ahead of time.

Phase 2
(3rd and 4th Week) November 16th

We are going to increase the length of what is considered a “Late Cancellation” to 8 hours.

• This means that if you decide to use the reservation system then your last chance to cancel without a late cancellation fee will be 8 hours before the class starts. Here is a schedule below. So any class reservation that is canceled within 8 hours of start time or an athlete “no-show” would result in the $5 Fee.
• The 8 hour window implementation is primarily a morning and weekend class issue but I feel it is only fair to hold the same standards across the board. However, again… the reservation system does not need to be used, especially for lower attended classes.

Phase 3 
(5th Week) November 31st

We are keeping the late cancellation fee at $5 and increasing the no-show fee to $10.

By reserving you are simply promising your spot, which is promising other athletes and your coaches that the spot is already taken. When people don’t show up it takes away the value of someone else’s opportunity to be in that class.

The coach likely has considered a plan for you in their class so please make sure that if you are not going to show up that you cancel prior to the class beginning.

I will be the first to admit, I have canceled my reservation just outside of the window. But I am also very known to wait 10 minutes before class (or even 2 minutes) to decide whether or not I’m going to participate. So, there is a little strategy that you can use to help you choose whether to reserve or not.

When to use reservations.

• To organize your fitness schedule in advance.
• To build a habit that you need pressure to hold yourself accountable.
• A highly desired class that will fill up if you don’t! Like a Monday 4:30 PM, or Special Event/Holiday WOD.

When NOT to use reservations.

• If it’s a busy day and truly questionable you will even have time.
• You recognize that even the “pressure” of $10 fee won’t promise yourself of going to the gym.

Case by case instances will be taken care of for emergency late cancellations or no-shows. Please email [email protected] ASAP if you find yourself in a predicament that this applies to you. We ask that you notify us no later than the end time of the said reserved class. We hope that like many of you have already confessed to us, you see the benefits of setting your schedule and holding yourself accountable to your fitness and health goals. This is just one of the many ways that we plan on enhancing your experience at CrossFit West Des Moines.

If you are truly concerned about your habits associated with the enhanced system please email [email protected] or call/text 515-771-7926 to discuss any further options needed to specifically apply to your goals. I absolutely want you to succeed and be as transparent with the data and experience related to this enhancement. All out of love, we thank you incredibly for your support.

Please know that at CrossFit West Des Moines we truly believe that today… we are just getting started. That is a mindset that you can carry with your entire life. Renew yourself daily and set goals and ambitions that keep you pushing forward.

Just think… you are just getting started!

Kris Gregory