Hi everybody. Sean Woodland inside the Update Studios
as we get set for the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games Open.
New feature this year for law enforcement, firefighters and military personnel.
You're going to be able to compare yourself to your peers on the Leaderboard,
and to help us talk about that we welcome in Corporal Larry Moss,
the Assistant S.W.A.T. Commander for the Lake Charles Police Department,
and a member of our Games Media Team.
You might recognize Larry when he's on the floor with a microphone
calling out the action as one of our floor announcers.
Larry, thanks so much for being here, man. We appreciate it.
Thank you for asking me, Sean. I'm so stoked to be here with you guys.
A lot of law enforcement officers use CrossFit on their own to train.
You guys actually use it in your department.
How do you use it to get yourselves ready for what goes on on the street?
Well, our biggest usage of CrossFit and where it really comes to bear for us
is for our S.W.A.T. guys.
It's been our choice of fitness for several years now,
We wanted to get away from the standard O-course, static run type stuff,
something a little bit more real-world, little bit more beneficial to our guys.
Santa Monica PD put a video out along with HQ
Dave Castro, and Greg Amundson
as well as Andy Rios of Simi Valley CrossFit
about utilizing Murph.
The hero workout Murph is their S.W.A.T. qualifier,
and we pretty much stole the idea about three years ago.
We've been using it ever since.
You're going to be able to compare yourselves now to other law enforcement officers
in the country and around the world.
What does it mean now to have that feature on the Leaderboard?
Well, it's fantastic, Sean,
because I know, at least I speak for myself and the guys that we talk to--
You know there's other law enforcement officers out there
but you may not know who they are.
And you don't know who in your age bracket or who in your particular line of work
how you're gonna stack up against them unless you know them personally,
and this new feature in the Open gives us the option to check out our counterparts worldwide
and see how I myself as a police officer stack up against some guy,
you know, halfway across the world.
I know you guys are a competitive lot
and I know you're gonna be looking at the Leaderboard.
Who are you going to be putting on the Leaderboard as far as law enforcement officers are concerned?
Well, other than the kind of obvious guys that are Games competitors,
you know, Jon Pera, you know, Albert-Dominic Larouche,
you know, the big studs,
we have a guy here at our department, Mitch Sawyer,
who's a regional competitor. He's been an individual and a team competitor--
and he's just an absolute monster,
and I work out with him on a daily basis,
and so I really kind of know how I stack up against him,
but it's still fun to be able to look at that
and how he stacks up against everybody else as well.
You recently had a woman by the name of Stefanie Tatum
qualify for your S.W.A.T. team.
First woman to ever do that at your police department.
What kind of role did CrossFit play in that?
At the time when Stefanie came onboard as a new police officer,
which was about three or four years ago,
part of their initial training was a segment on fitness
and we exposed them to CrossFit at that point
as an option--you know, not trying to force it on anybody--
just giving them the benefit of being able to see different aspects of it.
And part of that was they did a baseline at a box,
did a couple of workouts, and she was hooked from the word go.
So she really had a leg up on a lot of the competition
that she had done the qualifier. She had done Murph several times
just as a workout on Memorial Day, or whatever it came up in the Workout of the Day.
There's a lot of trash talking that goes on even without CrossFit
on a daily basis in police departments.
I'm sure yours is no different.
What is this now going to do to the trash talking that goes on at your department?
Well, there's a lot,
a whole lot,
and that's part of the fun of the business, I guess,
and it's part of being in law enforcement.
I'm sure it's the same, it's definitely the same in the military.
I've been there as well.
And I'm sure it's the same for firefighters.
But we have some French guys that CrossFit with us, they come in, they work out with us on a daily basis,
but they haven't partaken of the Open.
They like to come in do the workout, maybe not have a judge with them,
that kind of deal,
and talk a little trash,
but now that this has opened up, this is going to give them the opportunity
to ante up, kick in, and get stacked up against everybody else
in a really legit fashion,
so I think this is fantastic. I can't wait.
Larry, thanks so much for joining us. Please, stay safe out there,
and we'll see you during the regionals,
and out in Carson for the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games.
Absolutely, my friend. I look forward to seeing you guys.
Y'all be good.
Corporal Larry Moss, the Assistant S.W.A.T. Commander with the Lake Charles Police Department.
New feature this year in the Open.
If you're a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or in the military,
you're gonna be able to compare yourself to your peers, and like Larry said,
"You gotta sign up to be able to talk trash."
Registration's open at games.crossfit.com
to get yourself into the mix.