WOD for Water shares ‘Living Water’

Published 11:00 pm Tuesday, October 4, 2016

CrossFit competitors, whether advanced, moderate or beginners, will come together on Saturday to raise money for the provision of clean water wells to people in underdeveloped countries.

After raising $83,000 last year on a $75,000 goal, the WOD for Water Troy team decided to raise the bar higher with a goal of $100,000 for the year.

Four days out from the event, WOD for Water has already raised $115,000.

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“It’s mind-blowing to know that the people in the community have given that much,” said event organizer Jason Jones. “We’ve never fallen short because of the people in the community that believe in what we’re doing.”

The annual event has exceeded goals each year since it was started in 2012, bringing in a total of over $300,000 over those five years. This year also saw a record number of competitors sign up, Jones said.

“One of the reasons for bringing CrossFit Ilium on was to make this a legitimate competition,” Jones said. “This year we have 36 teams signed up and great prizes that have been donated for this event for a prize purse of $5,000.”

Two different workout competitions will be held at CrossFit Ilium at the event, with each having separate divisions for men and women.

The RX, or prescribed weight, competition is for the more advanced competitors and the scaled weight competition is for moderate competitors. Beginners can sign up to workout at the event as well, but will not be competing.

The proceeds from the event go to benefit Neverthirst, a faith-based organization in Birmingham that helps bring clean water to the underprivileged in parts of the world where water is dirty and barely accessible.

“There are 662 million people who still lack access to clean water and 2,000 kids die every day,” jones said. “We partner with Neverthirst to help end the cycle of poverty. They provide these clean water sources while advancing the gospel of Jesus, which I s the number one reason we use Neverthirst.”

The event will be held at CrossFit Ilium this Saturday, October 8, beginning at 8 a.m. and lasting throughout most of the day. CrossFit Ilium is located at 208 Wiley St.

Donations can be made at the event or online. For more information or to donate online go to www.wodforwatertroy.com.