SHE first entered a Crossfit box 18 short months ago, but now Kendal athlete Beth Hoggarth is set to take on the continent’s finest at the European Regional finals in Copenhagen.

Dubbed the ‘sport of fitness,’ Crossfit is a fast-growing worldwide initiative which emanates from America and is designed to test ten core components of fitness.

The broad principal of the sport sees skill, speed, stamina, strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, power, coordination, balance, accuracy all tested through a brutal combination of workouts.

Hoggarth qualified for the regional finals from a pool of 8000 female competitors after undergoing five workouts, each performed and videoed for online adjudication.

And the 27-year-old – currently ranked among the top 48 Crossfit competitors in Europe – believes an historic sporting pedigree has stood her in good stead for her new venture.

“I did a lot of competitive sport when I was younger and represented Great Britain at Judo in the Youth Olympics when I was 16,” she said.

“When I started Crossfit I just wanted to get fit and get involved with sport again. It was pretty intimidating walking into a Crossfit box but it was right up my street.

“I started working out and was told I might be able to compete. Having a good athletic background certainly helped and I just got better and better.

“I now train at least five days a week for three hours at a time, working on weight-lifting, gymnastics and endurance – rowing, running and swimming specifically. It’s pretty intense.”

The workouts for the regional finals have been released, with Hoggarth set to undergo a thorough examination through a combination of gymnastics, weight-lifting and met-con events.

With her range and depth of capabilities set to be tested to the full, Hoggarth insists this year’s competitive action is more about laying the foundations for greater success in the years ahead.

“At this stage it’s more about testing the water so the goal was just to qualify for the European Regional finals,” she added.

“I was quite low down the qualification and only just made it but it’s all about experience before pushing for one of the higher European spots in future.

“With Crossfit, new movements are always being thrown in. This year for instance, strict handstand press ups and legless rope climbs have been introduced which require high levels of skill.

“But this sport has totally changed my focus and given me new drive. It’s exciting as I really don’t know how far I can go.”