Math teacher and soccer coach, Drew Smith, will compete at the Camp Gladiator Finals in Austin on November 10. 

“[The competition] started over the summer when [Camp Gladiator] released five events called prelims,” Smith said. “People across the nation sign up, and you are timed in five different events.”

The prelims determine who is eligible for to compete in the finals. Teams can compete or individuals can compete. The top 60 individuals in the prelims go onto the finals.

“I was 57 out of 60 that qualified,” Smith said. “I have been going to Camp Gladiator workouts and then doing some other [workouts] on the side [to prepare].”

At Camp Gladiator they use sandbells, medicine balls and dumbbells. They have also been doing previously released workout events.

“Each [competition] is based on one week of the Camp Gladiator cycle,” Smith said. “There is an endurance event, strength event, agility event, interval event and peak week, the really intense one.”

The top team in each division and top individual men and women in each division will receive a cash prize. Over $30,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the Camp Gladiator Games Finals winners.

“[I am] excited, scared and nervous,” Smith said. “I’m not showing up to go win. I was 57 out of 60 that qualified, so my goal is to finish top thirty in the finals and to finish top 20 in one event.”