WODism for Autism is inspired by Taylor (left), son of CrossFit Over the Mountain Coach Dawn South.
On Saturday, April 18, Crossfit Over the Mountain will host "WODism for Autism," a special workout event benefitting local nonprofit organization KultureCity.
The event is inspired by Crossfit Over the Mountain Coach Dawn South. Her oldest son, Taylor, has high functioning autism. He is now 17 years-old. About five years ago, Dawn went to an event hosted by Sean Dickson, owner of Riverchase CrossFit. This event was called Backpack for Buddies. Dickson set up a tent and did a day-long workout as people came by to watch and make donations.
Taylor started doing CrossFit Kids not long after Dawn began CrossFit in 2010. Dawn said it was wonderful to see him finally find something that would keep him active and help him stay engaged with his peers. She decided to combine her love for CrossFit and her desire to help other families who are living with autism.
"I decided that I wanted to create an event that would introduce CrossFit to children and adults with autism or other special needs and as a result raise money for our local Autism charity," she said.
Taylor's favorite movements in CrossFit are the gymnastic movements. The idea was to create a workout in his honor using movements that he likes to do. She enlisted the help of her friend, Jeff Tucker with GSX CrossFIt.
The event would be called WODism for Autism and the format was simple. Do the WOD (Workout of the Day), "Taylor", which is a short AMRAP (As many rounds as possible) and pay a donation to participate.
Around 60-70 people participate that first year and the event raised a little over $7,000. Since that first year, hundreds of people have come out to support WODism for Autism. In 2013, they raised over $17,000 for the Autism Society of Alabama.
"This year will mark the fourth year for the WODism for Autism and I can't wait to see what we will achieve this year," she said. "Taylor looks forward to WODism for Autism every year now. He marks it down on the calendar as soon as we hang up the new yearly calendar for him.
The event will take place at Crossfit Over the Mountain in Vestavia Hills and will raise money for KultureCity, a local nonprofit that provides resources to families affected by autism.
There will be three versions of the WOD “Taylor” programmed by Jeff Tucker of GSX CrossFit: kids, scaled and advanced. Vendors will include The Egg and I, Elite Nutrition, The WOD LIfe and Wright Equipment. T-shirts will also be on sale the day of the event.
For more, visit kulturecity.org or crossfit-otm.com
