Low Wood Bay Fitness Instructor, Mel, took on a massive fitness challenge when she entered Tribal Clash 2018 in the heat of Southern Portugal. She shares a bit about the event and a few of the photos which give some idea of just how tough it was out there.
Tribal Clash – Beginnings
The vision was to create a spectacular beachside fitness competition that would challenge athletes and take them out of their comfort zone. The first Tribal Clash was held on Blackpool Sands beach in Devon on the south coast of UK during a hot August weekend in 2013. There were 100 teams of 4 athletes, 2 men and 2 women and it had a real beach party vibe, with DJs and the famous Taiko drummers. A Tribal Clash community festival was born and continued to grow year on year.
The first European competition in Southern Portugal took place in 2017. Teams from Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Finland and UK competed. It was so popular that the second instalment of Tribal Clash Portugal 2018 was never in doubt.
European Event 2018
We were representing Westmorland Crossfit team, in the 6-man team event – 3 males and 3 females. This year there were 132 teams from all over Europe competing on Praia do Almargem beach under the hot Algarve sun.
Putting the Fun in Functional
You can be faced with any type of task – lifting, shifting (carrying, dragging, pulling), locomoting (running, swimming,) or climbing. The team that does the most work in the shortest time is awarded the highest score. Every team gives it their all, and, most importantly, everybody has a blast.
Brain as well as Braun
Teams compete in a six gruelling events over the weekend. The top scorers progress to a race-to-the-finish final. The events are highly tactical and teamwork and communication, as well as strength and endurance, are key.
- Event 1a. ‘The Log Run’: Team run carrying a 6 handled log down the beach.
- Event 1b. ‘The Cannibal Run’: Mixed terrain run of 5k. Sand, grass, road, hills, mud, rocks.
- Event 2. ‘Sandstorm 2.0’: This event starts exactly 30 minutes after events 1a and 1b. On GO, the team must complete as many rounds as possible of: 12 sand worm ground to overhead, 6 rope climbs with a time cap of 12 minutes.
- Event 3. ‘The Red Paddle Race’: Athletes must pump up the board until the gauge shows 5psi. Teams must then run with the board to the marker and paddle the marked course.
- Event 4. ‘King Kong’: Split to male/female pairs to work. Athletes must do one up and over each, followed by 3 synchronised atlas stone lifts (light), 2 synchronised atlas stones lifts (medium), 1 synchronised lift (heavy).
- Event 5. ‘The Water Worm’: 10 log worm thrusters, followed by worm lunge to shoreline, 2 swim laps, log worm lunge back to the lane, and to finish as many log worm thruster reps as possible in the time left over.
- Event 6. ‘The Sandbag Shift’: The team starts with chest to sand behind the baseline. Behind the baseline they have one truck tyre and five (5) sandbags weighing 60kg. On the lane they have two up and over beams. On ‘GO’ the team starts to transport the objects from one end of the lane to the other. The athletes, tyre and sandbags must go over the beams.
Our team have successfully got a ticket for next year and look forward to competing again in Portugal, May 2019 as the competition goes from strength to strength. There’s already an International Tribal Clash to be held in Australia 2019 – now that’s a location to aim for!
Get Competition Ready
Preparing for your own fitness event? The team at The Health Club at Low Wood Bay would love to hear from you and compare notes. Come in and have a chat, or call 015394 39344 to find out about gym membership and our fantastic range of indoor and outdoor classes.
