Being a CrossFit affiliate owner is a wild ride. From coaching classes to managing operations and all the unexpected adventures that come with both​, you end up wearing a lot of hats. If this resonates, the 2026 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference was made for you.

The conference takes place on July 22-23 at the Signia by Hilton San Jose (the official affiliate hotel during The CrossFit Games). It brings together affiliate owners, coaches, and business partners for sharing helpful info and connecting with others who understand the industry.

Here’s everything CrossFit affiliate owners need to know.

Why You Should Attend the Conference

The 2026 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference is designed for you to choose the areas where you could use the most help with your business. A five-year affiliate said the varied paths of content “added value for us from tons of angles, all while giving us different learning styles to choose from. So we didn’t just sit and listen to people speaking at us for two days.”

Also, after attending last year’s conference, a 10+ year affiliate owner said the event was “phenomenal” and that the info would “definitely help take our gym to the next level.”

Here are a few other helpful things to know about the event:

  • CF-L3 and CF-L4 coaches can earn up to 14 CEUs for attending
  • The 20th anniversary of the CrossFit Games immediately follows the 2026 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference (the Affiliate Appreciation Party is Friday night), so you can spend Friday through Sunday watching the competition and hanging out in the Affiliate Lounge
  • If you bring family, kids 12 and under stay free at the hotel
  • Early bird tickets are on sale now, with group discounts for four or more
  • Lunch is included both days

How the 2026 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference Works

The conference is set up for you to pick sessions from three different tracks (Business, Coaching, and Partner Activations) to build a schedule ​for your specific needs. Whether you’re trying to increase revenue at your affiliate, sharpen your coaching skills, or find new partners to collaborate with, there’s a path for you.

After check-in, you’ll go to one of three different tracks: Business, Coaching, or Partner Activation.

1. Business Track

This comprehensive track gives you the blueprint for gym growth. The speakers are a mix of CrossFit HQ leaders, affiliate owners, and coaches who’ve built and scaled successful gyms. Here’s what’s included:

  • A Road Map to Wealth Creation (Daniel Chaffey, owner of CrossFit Louvre I, II, and III): A breakdown of the five levels of CrossFit gym ownership, from athlete-coach through manager, owner/investor, and entrepreneur. Feeling stuck at a certain stage? Here’s why, and how to get unstuck.
  • CrossFit’s Media and Marketing Engine (Jenna Hauca, CMO at CrossFit LLC): A behind-the-scenes look at how HQ makes marketing decisions. Learn how campaigns connect and what’s coming next.
  • Leadership in the Gym: Developing and Retaining Coaches (Ed Morrison, Owner of Charge CrossFit): Learn how to build real career pathways, set expectations without killing creativity, and keep your coaches around longer.
  • Affiliate Mastermind (Jenn Green, Senior Manager of U.S. Affiliate Operations): A peer-to-peer discussion with other owners.
  • Forging Elite Healthcare (Dr. Tom McCoy and Jenn Pishko, Co-Founders of the CrossFit Medical Society and co-owners of Chagrin Falls CrossFit): Challenge how you think about your gym’s role in your community. How to add diagnostics, lab testing, and health education without losing your identity.
  • The Sales Lesson Plan (Jason Fernandez, CEO of Best Hour of Their Day and owner of CrossFit Rife): By the time someone walks in for a consult, most of the sale is already made or lost. Learn about the full sales picture, from brand positioning to conversion, so you’re not just chasing leads.
  • Affiliate Owner Panel Q&A (Danielle Dressel, Karl Solberg, and MacLarin Jones, owners of Ironclad CrossFit, CrossFit Medis, and Harvest CrossFit): Live Q&A with owners about everything from staffing and retention to profitability and market shifts.

2. Coaching Track

Want to learn what makes good coaches great, and level up your coaching? This track at the 2026 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference is for you. You’ll leave with helpful info that you can use on the floor as soon as you get back to your affiliate. Here’s are the options:

  • The Art of the Hour (Katie Hayes, CF-L4): A live class breakdown with CrossFit Seminar Staff, debriefing every segment.
  • Calibrate Your Eye (Aimee Lyons, CF-L4): Identifying faults when athletes are moving at full speed, focusing on real-time feedback and peer collaboration across common CrossFit movements.
  • Beyond “Eat Real Food”: Nutrition Coaching for Real Athletes (Jocelyn Rylee, CF-L4): Case studies and real member profiles to help you give nutrition guidance that actually fits how people live.
  • Coaching at Game speed: The Pressure Drill (Connor McDonald, CF-L4): Simulating what group coaching actually looks like under intensity and connecting with all athletes.
  • Beyond the Nine (Katie Hogan, CF-L3): Hands-on practice building teaching progressions for movements outside of the nine foundational CrossFit movements.
  • One Workout, Every Body (Eric O’Connor, CF-L4): When your class has a competitive athlete, a pregnant member, a beginner, and someone recovering from an injury all working side by side, scaling becomes a real challenge. This session gives you frameworks for managing that.
  • The Coach They Can’t Quit (Lily Free and Kelley Jackson Essig): Athletes keep coming back because of relational skills like presence, connection, and feeling seen. Learn how to build these skills to increase gym retention.
  • They’ll Beg to Come Back: Building Kids and Teens Programs (Aimee Lyons, CF-L4): How to design kids and teens programming with practical frameworks and youth-specific coaching that creates genuine excitement and builds parents’ trust.
  • Ask the Masters (Kelley Jackson Essig, Connor McDonald, Eric O’Connor, Jocelyn Rylee, and Katie Hayes): Unfiltered Q&A with Masters CrossFit coaches.
Coaching tracks will help you level up your cues, connection, and class facilitation.

3. Partner Activation Track

This track at the 2026 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference connects you with the platforms, products, and brands that are trusted by CrossFit HQ to help your affiliate be more successful. You’ll get early, exclusive access before the Games weekend starts, which is a practical advantage if you’re evaluating vendors or looking for deals.

One presentation you don’t want to miss: Wodify’s own Ben Timm will be helping affiliate owners improve revenue and retention. Timm is presenting “Retention Math: The 3% Shift that Doubles Your Revenue,” discussing how just a three percent improvement in monthly retention compounds into 42% more revenue by year three. According to Timm, most gym owners don’t know their retention rate, churn triggers, or at-risk member count. He aims to fix that, breaking down retention mechanics using data from 5000+ facilities, plus his own experience scaling from 60 to 400 members. You’ll learn how to calculate your actual retention rate, the three early-warning signals of silent churn, and the low-lift touchpoints that move retention 5-7 points in 90 days.

The 2026 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference Agenda

Here’s a quick overview of what’s on the agenda for conference week:

  • Tuesday, July 21: Optional early arrival. Check in, welcome workout, and happy hour.
  • Wednesday, July 22: Morning workout followed by registration and coffee. Conference sessions run 9am to 6pm. Lunch is included and networking built in throughout the day. Evening networking social.
  • Thursday, July 23: Morning workout, followed by the keynote. Then sessions from 9am to 5pm. Lunch is included.
  • Friday-Sunday (Games weekend): Affiliate Lounge at the SAP Center (Games ticket required), EDU booth, exclusive owner workouts, and the Affiliate Appreciation Party on Friday night.

Connect with Wodify at the 2026 CrossFit Affiliate Owners and Coaches Conference

We’d love to see you at the conference!

​Stop by the Wodify booth anytime during the event for Wodify swag, expert advice and fun! And if you’re not a client yet, be sure to book a demo with our team today.

Early bird tickets for the conference are on sale now at crossfit.ticketspice.com, with group discounts available when you purchase four or more tickets. The conference hotel (Signia by Hilton San Jose) is offering discounted rates for affiliate owners, and rooms are limited.

If you’re serious about growing your affiliate and leveling up your coaching skills, the 2026 CrossFit Affiliate Owners and Coaches Conference is a must-attend event.