4th Annual Santa’s Helpers

Every year, Santa’s Helpers has been about something bigger than competition.

Since the beginning, Santa’s Helpers has never charged a registration fee. Instead, we’ve asked athletes to earn their spot by bringing a toy to help make Christmas brighter for children in our community. It has always been our way of bringing people together, having some fun, testing our fitness, and using that fitness to serve others.

This year, our mission looks a little different.

For 2026, there will still be NO registration fee. But instead of asking athletes to bring a toy, we are asking our community to come together for Baby Shepard Hillard and his family.

And because our goal is to help Shepard and his family as much as we possibly can, this year we’re doing something else a little different:

We’re opening Santa’s Helpers to athletes from other gyms!

The more people we can bring together, the more support we can give this family.

This year’s event will be a mixed-sex team competition designed so athletes of different fitness and skill levels can participate and compete. Workouts will include RX movements along with scaled options, giving everyone an opportunity to step onto the competition floor, challenge themselves, and be part of something much bigger than a leaderboard.

So grab a partner, come throw down with us, and help us make this year’s Santa’s Helpers something special.

 

Why Baby Shepard?

Over the past several weeks, young Shepard Hillard has faced a battle that no child or family should ever have to endure.

What began as Shepard simply not acting like himself quickly became a transfer to Cook Children’s, approximately four weeks in the Pediatric ICU, time on a ventilator, countless tests, and ultimately a diagnosis that finally gave his family answers.

Baby Shepard has been diagnosed with a rare genetic immune disorder called X-Linked Hyper IgM Syndrome.

Because of this condition, Shepard’s immune system cannot produce the antibodies his body needs to effectively fight many everyday infections. Illnesses that most children can recover from with relatively little trouble can become extremely serious—or even life-threatening—for Shepard.

But there is hope.

Shepard’s doctors have determined that a bone marrow transplant offers the opportunity for a cure.

Over the coming months, Shepard and his family will prepare for that transplant and the long road of recovery that follows. His immune system will remain extremely vulnerable leading up to the transplant and for an extended period afterward while it rebuilds.

Along with the medical journey will come extended hospital stays, ongoing care, travel, time away from work, and expenses that no family can completely prepare for.

That is where Santa’s Helpers comes in.

This year, instead of our traditional toy donation, we are asking athletes, coaches, volunteers, sponsors, spectators, friends, family, and anyone else who wants to be a Santa’s Helper to consider making a donation directly toward helping the Hillard family through the journey ahead.

There is no required registration fee.

Give what you can.

Every donation matters.

Because every dollar given represents something far greater than an entry into a competition. It represents a community standing beside a family and reminding them that they do not have to walk this road alone.

That is what Santa’s Helpers has always been about.

We will compete.

We will challenge ourselves.

We will celebrate fitness.

We will probably talk a little trash, suffer through some workouts, and have a whole lot of fun doing it. 🎅🎄

But at the end of the day, the scores, times, and leaderboard aren't what will make this event successful.

What matters is what we can accomplish together for Baby Shepard and his family.

So grab your partner. Bring your friends. Bring your gym. Come compete with us.

And most importantly...

Come be one of Santa’s Helpers for Baby Shepard. 💙

Competition Information • Mixed-sex teams

• RX and scaled movement options will be available. Full standards and scaling rules will be provided with each workout.

• There is NO registration fee. Donations for the Hillard family are encouraged in place of the traditional Santa’s Helpers toy donation.

• All workouts are subject to change and/or revision.

• Movement standards will be posted below each workout. Please read all standards completely.

• Questions regarding workouts, movements, standards, or scaling options can be directed to Matt Sprayberry

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Event website

https://competitioncorner.net/events/22106

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Organized by: CrossFit Tyler

Member since 2023 · Hosted 3 event(s) on Competition Corner

Just putting on comps for fun

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