June 28, 2021
FRANCE – a special new intern and a crossfit challenge
IRIS, as many organisations, receives applications from students in search of internships. Armand’s resume was the usual one of a 21 years old student from a business school looking for practical experience in an organisation. But the picture he added was well known to us, as he stood together with Prof Alain Fischer in a poster that IRIS released some years ago.
Actually, Armand was diagnosed with X linked Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID) a few months after birth. Having no matching donor, his parents were asked if they would consider participating in a clinical trial on gene therapy, which they agreed to. In 2000 came the announcement of the first successful gene therapy on X-SCID by Prof Alain Fischer, Prof Salima Hacein-Bey-Abina and Prof Marina Cavazzana at Necker hospital Paris. Some severe complications happened to some babies, but Armand was fortunate enough to have a successful therapy. And now he is working at IRIS for some months: a way to close the loop.
Solidarity challenge: Crossfit by IRIS
The Solidarity CrossFit Challenge in a virtual meeting aiming at discovering and practicing CrossFit together (sport is healthy) and at fundraising for IRIS (sport is useful).
But what is CrossFit? CrossFit is a lifestyle characterized by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition. CrossFit can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to weight loss to better performance. The program works for everyone — people who are just starting out and people who have trained for years. The magic is in the movement. CrossFit workouts are different every day and can be modified to help each athlete achieve their goals. The workouts may be adapted for people at any age and level of fitness.
How did the challenge work?
– The tests were to be carried out at home after registration (home gym, garage, etc)
– The WODs (Workout Of Day) were announced on the day of the event, live on the event page, for children and for adults. There were two categories, one with gym material, and one without, mainly for those who wanted to discover the practice.
– Every participant had to provide the organisers with their videos, using their phone, the Woodproof app letting them film themselves and add a timer easily (as timer is important). Then they had to send the organisers the videos before a specific time (5:30 pm same day).
A team of judges checked the videos from the first WOD to announce the podium ranking.
The event was supported by some companies interested in Crossfit.
