Earlier this week, HYROX sent a message to athletes who have competed in the Elite 15 division this season. The email was authored by Mat Lock, recently appointed as the Technical Director of Elite Racing, and directly addressed the fallout from the Glasgow Major result correction.

In addition to reviewing the decision regarding Sean Noble’s wall ball penalty, the email outlines new expectations for wall ball completion, formalizes the process for race result challenges, and signals the organization’s intention to improve communication as the sport scales.

The full message is published below for transparency and context.

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Hi All,

Forgive the group nature of this communique but, we felt it was important to share our visions and thoughts with all those who have raced in the Elite 15 this season. 

Additionally, it is clear that the decision to correct the race results following the Glasgow Major created questions for some of you. 

Therefore, now seems to be the perfect opportunity to share our approach to decision-making and race ‘challenges’ in a transparent way.

Before all else, our decision-making transcends any individual athlete or situation and our primary focus is the sanctity of the sport and the integrity of the competition. 

With that in mind, we have always considered the judges ‘in-race’ call for movement standards final. This remains the case.

What also remains is it being the responsibility of each racer to ensure they complete the required distance and/or reps. That will never change.

What this means therefore is, challenging a race result is reserved for examples of unsporting behaviour and/or alleged missing distance or reps.  

And this is what we received in the case of the Glasgow Major. 

A written challenge was submitted along with supporting evidence that the racer in question had not completed 100 wall balls. 

Our subsequent investigation determined that the athlete’s 100th wall ball was a no-rep. 

This was derived by the digital wall ball technology and allied visual confirmation from our own, and community-supplied sources. Given the clarity these tools provided, together with our responsibility to protect the integrity of the sport, we are very confident with the decision. 

But we also acknowledge that our sport is evolving rapidly. 

Whilst we are working hard to develop the systems and processes to keep pace with this growth, we recognise not everything is perfect. 

And therefore, as many of you already know, our systems are not fixed and we shall continue to communicate our changes openly, listening to feedback at every step. Many of you will recall the evolution of the qualification structure was a direct result of feedback that got folded into the latest iteration.

So what changes do we want to communicate here?

1) Firstly, I have been appointed in a new role as the Technical Director of Elite Racing. My appointment reflects our determination to uphold the integrity of the sport across the globe, evolve systems and technologies to keep pace with the growth of the sport and provide you, the Elite 15 athletes, with a direct communication channel. 

2) We would also like to provide clarification around the process of challenging an Elite 15 race result.  

Athletes have up to 60 minutes post-race to lodge a formal race result challenge. This is to be submitted via email ([email protected]) along with supporting evidence. 

Note: As above, challenging a race result is reserved for examples of unsporting behaviour and/or alleged missing distance or reps. Challenges based on movement standard breaches will not be considered.

Once a valid race result challenge is received, HYROX will continue to have up to 48 hours to correct race results based on their investigation. 

With immediate effect, in the event that a valid race result challenge is received, the target athlete will be informed via email that an investigation will take place. This will be to the email used for registering for that race and is intended to ensure transparency in the process for all involved athletes.

The findings of an investigation will be shared with the involved athletes via phone in the first instance, and followed up in writing. We want to ensure we retain a human-centric style, regardless of the scale of the sport.

3) In regards to the digital wall ball targets. 

This is an exciting technology and speaks to our overarching responsibility to continue evolving the sport, and to protect the sanctity of the same. 

Whilst we actively avoid mid-season updates to the rulebook, for the upcoming Last Chance Qualifier and World Championship Elite races, it will be for each athlete to ensure that their target screen displays 100 completed wall balls before they head for the finisher stage. 

As was discussed in the in-person briefing, the Head Judges were/are briefed not to call an athlete back down from the stage in the event of a missing wall ball rep(s).  

As was the case in Glasgow, each missing wall ball repetition will incur a penalty of 10 seconds. 

All of this, along with further movement standard clarifications, will be reflected in next season’s rulebook. 

As you know, like you, we take this sport seriously. It is a young sport which means we must remain mindful of its evolving needs, listen to its pioneers and make decisions that will ensure its integrity.

As your Technical Director, together with the strong team around me, I accept these responsibilities.

I look forward to many future seasons filled with exciting racing and open dialogue. 

Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions. 

Cheers,

Mat Lock 

Technical Director – Elite Racing | HYROX Global

Country Manager | HYROX Australia & New Zealand