Several years ago I wrote an article about how The World Needs More Wonder Women, calling for more women of purpose, courage, and conviction. (It was really good; click the link and read it.) In the years since then, I’ve been privileged to build a community of Wonder Women in my life. Many are from my long-time gym home, others are from my church, and others still are colleagues and teammates. But a couple weeks ago, I met 10 more Wonder Women in my newest community — The Tactical Games.
In case you haven’t heard of The Tactical Games, it’s like CrossFit and competitive shooting had a baby, and the kiddo came out slinging guns and doing burpees. Chances are high that you’ve never done anything like The Tactical Games before. It’s a new but quickly growing sport that attracts a certain kind of woman (or man) to come out and give it a try.
What kind of woman (or man) comes to The Tactical Games? Real life superheroes, that’s who. They are Tactical Athletes that may not wear capes, but they wear blood, sweat, tears, grit, and body armor.
The Adventurous. These are the ones who love the challenge of something new. The thrill of the unknown and unknowable calls to them and demands their attention. Their curiosity empowers them and pushes fear to the margins, while they step forward in faith and excitement.
The Driven. These are the people who aren’t satisfied with where they’re at. Not that they’re not grateful; they’re extremely grateful for everything they have, because they’ve worked so hard to achieve it. But these are the ones who constantly strive to do more, and be better, faster, stronger — because they know they have that extra little bit inside of them.
The Mentally Tough. These are the athletes who know how to go to that dark place where your legs are cramping and your lungs are burning, but you keep pushing forward because the mission isn’t complete yet. These are the shooters who know when to slow down and make their hits when they desperately want to hurry up and catch their opponent. These are the people who know how to keep their head down and play their own game, under their own circumstances, regardless of what their opponents are doing.
The Dedicated. These are the people who wake up early to train. Every. Single. Day. They skip the brownie and reach for the apple, because clean food is fuel for their pursuits. They work on mobility and take rest days. They stick to the plan and trust the process, even when incremental success is hard to recognize.
The Team Players. These are the athletes who want to see you succeed every bit as much as they personally want to win. So they share their snacks, lend you their gear, and cheer you on, even if it means you may leapfrog over them in the standings. Because they know the team is stronger when everyone achieves their highest potential.
The Self-Aware. These athletes know their strengths, but don’t turn a blind eye to their shortcomings. They humbly accept praise, as acknowledgement of the hard work they’ve put in. But they also welcome constructive criticism, so they can seek out and destroy their weaknesses. Most importantly, they embrace failure, because it shows them who they are and what they’re really made of.
These are the women and men of The Tactical Games. These are Tactical Athletes, who apply the same code on and off the range, and in real life situations where these qualities matter far more than in a friendly competition. These are Wonder Women and Super Men, and the world needs more of them. Will you be one?
guns and barbells 
Good ending question! To be the contrarian here, my answer is- “No, thank you” but I know I’d love to do it and would get something out of it. Bottonline- I’m turned off by photos and publicity. First off, there’s that “silent professional” thing (maybe even “forgotten professional”). Second, sharing facetime or sharing my time in general with potentially unvetted competitors. Third, shared employer and employee opsec/persec issues arising from regular overseas visits to enjoy unfriendly and unhealthy competition with internet/social media-proficient adversaries. Having done events where you dodge the camera, try to convince the organizers to obscure your name at the race end or even dare ask how an organizer stores basic registrant info; way easier said than done and it gets old real fast even just planning those countermeasures. So for those sharing those concerns there are “LE only” training and competive events or “word of mouth only” events, both of which have clear downsides. To be clear… I’m a minority voice but I also know that an event like this is still a business and that means publicity. So for those without those concerns
or plain ol’ IDGAF then I unreservedly encourage participation for the reasons listed above.