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ElimComp3-5

Overview of the eliminator courses from seasons 3 to 5

The Eliminator was an obstacle course that was the final event of each episode. The event saw contenders race head-to-head to complete the course, and effectively determined the winner of each competition.

The format and obstacles of the event changed and several times over the years, but the obstacles were always arranged straights running the full length of the arena with a turnaround at each end. The original Eliminator course included a straight in each direction with one turnaround. From the second season onward, the course consisted of three lengths of the now-larger arena, the second of which which was a zipline trip back to the starting side of the arena.

Cargo1

The cargo net and zipline were signature mainstay elements from season 2 onward

Contenders initially began the event simultaneously, and their times were converted into points to determine the episode's winner based on score. Beginning with the third season, the contenders' scores up to The Eliminator were converted into a head-start for the leader, so that the person who crossed the finish line first was also the winner of the episode.

The involvement of the Gladiators in The Eliminator was incrementally reduced as the event was revised each year to the point where the event ultimately became strictly a head-to-head race between the contenders that did not involved the Gladiators at all.

First season Eliminator[]

ElimS1a

First-half season 1 course

ElimS1b

Second-half season 1 course

The Eliminator was originally a timed and scored event with contenders having 60 seconds to complete the course. Both contenders started at the same time with the trailing contender having to beat the leader by a certain amount of time in order to earn enough points to win. The deficit was determined by dividing the amount of the lead by five (first half of season one) or two (second half through end of season two). If a trailing contender won by the precise amount of time required to overcome the leader, the match would end in a tie and the contender who was trailing before The Eliminator would advance on a tiebreaker due to their faster time in The Eliminator.

The first season Eliminator was conducted in the following manner:

  • Contenders rolled giant balls up a ramp, then pushed them into a receptacle
  • Ran across balance beam, where Gladiators swung three medicine balls at each contender in attempt to knock them off (lengthened in second half of season)
  • Crossed a pit using a set of commando lines (also lengthened in the second half, with top line raised several inches and slack removed to aid taller contenders)
  • Swung on a rope over a wall (commonly referred to as the "Swing for Life")
  • Negotiated/slalomed a set of cones, with each set of cones ending in four paper barriers (a choice of two for each contender) to break through. One of the two barriers for each contender concealed a Gladiator with the other being a free run (the final straightaway was lengthened in the second half of the season, and a third Gladiator being one of the barriers leaving only one free run out of the four barriers)
  • Crossed a finish line marked on the floor
  • In the first half of season one, five points were awarded for every second remaining on the clock and penalties deducted 25 points (five seconds of time) from a player's score. Beginning in the second half and continuing until the end of season two, each second remaining was worth two points and a penalty deducted ten points from a player's score

Second season Eliminator[]

ElimS2a
  • Contenders ran up a ramp on a reverse treadmill (if a contender was unsuccessful in scaling the treadmill after three tries, the contestant would climb the side of the ramp without the treadmill); the speed of the treadmill was increased in later rounds
  • Crossed a pit via a "hand bike" (contenders hung from two overhead handles which they had to "pedal" in circles like bicycle pedals to move forward)
  • Crossed a balance beam, where two Gladiators swing weighted blocking pads to tried to knock contenders off
  • Climbed a 20-foot (6.1 m) cargo net
  • Took a Zipline back to floor of arena
  • Jumped two track hurdles, then chose from four corridors ending in a paper barrier with three concealing gladiators and one open
  • Crossed a finish line marked on the floor
  • Scoring remained the same, but now the women had 75 seconds to complete the course while the men still had 60 seconds
  • For the second half of the season two, if contenders fell from either the handbike or the balance beam, they incured a 5 point (2.5 second) penalty in addition to the time lost from the fall itself

Third season Eliminator[]

ElimS3a
  • The Contender with the lead was given a head start (one half-second for every point ahead) and the contender who crossed the finish line first person across the finish line was the winner of the episode
  • The initial ramp/treadmill remained the same, followed by the hand bike
  • If contenders fell from the hand bike, a Gladiator imposed a real-time penalty (ten seconds for women, seven seconds for men) before the contender could climb out of the pit
  • The contestant had to run across a spinning cylinder (replacing the balance beam). Contenders who fell would climb out of the pit on a rope ladder. No additional time penalty was incurred
  • The cargo net and zipline were unchanged
  • For the first two episodes of the season:
    • Contenders had to scale an 8-foot wall (with an appx. 2-foot step at the base) with a rope available
    • On the other side of the wall, two Gladiators used two giant (appx. 6-foot diameter) medicine balls to try to pin the contenders down, dubbed the "Gauntlet". A waist-high padded wall had to be hurdled to clear this section
  • From the third episode of the season on:
    • Contenders had to scale two 8-foot walls with a rope available - the first being a full 8-foot wall, and the second having an appx. 2-foot step at the base
  • The contenders faced a final straight-away in which two Gladiators threw two more giant medicine balls at contenders from an elevated platform
  • contenders hurdled a final waist-high wall before crossing the finish line, which had a waist-high "finish tape" for contenders to break

Fourth season changes[]

ElimS4a
  • Second wall taken out, first wall changed to plexiglass
  • The Gladiators throwing medicine balls were eliminated
  • Swinging blocking pad gauntlet operated by two Gladiators for the run from the wall to the final waist-high wall

Fifth season changes[]

ElimS5b
ElimS5a
  • In place of the opening treadmill ramp, contenders started by using VersaClimber fitness machine that climbed a near-vertical track 25-feet after which which contenders slid down a slide where they continue on to the handbike as before
  • The Treadmill ramp was moved to end of course in place of the blocking pad gauntlet. Two attempts were given before the contender could climb the side of the ramp
  • Rope swing through mesh paper barrier to win
  • Game judge starts both players (not referee who is stationed at the treadmill)
  • The Gladiators' only involvement was in the penalty pit under the handbike.

Note: This configuration (specifically the treadmill/rope swing combo) was based on the UK Gladiators Eliminator.

Sixth season changes[]

ElimS6b
  • Instead of two attempts, the contender had to attempt for one minute to make it to the top of the treadmill before they could run up the side
  • The rope ladders contenders climbed if they fell off the spinning cylinders were absent in certain episodes of the qualifying round only. Instead, a crew member boosted contenders out of the pit, greatly reducing the time lost by falling.
  • Padding was added underneath the platform at the far end of the cylinders after two contenders in previous seasons fell and had their momentum carry them past the crash mats that previously ended right below the edge of the platform. The extra padding was removed partway through the qualifying round.
  • The mesh paper barrier was replaced by a solid paper barrier

Seventh season changes[]

ElimS7a
  • Spinning cylinder replaced by two ball-filled pits, which contenders had to wade through

International tournaments[]

Eliminator-large

For both International Gladiators tournaments (1994 and 1996), which were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, the Eliminator was the same one that the UK Gladiators show was using at the time:

  • Jumping over high hurdles and crawling under low ones
  • Climbing a commando rope to a platform, then crossing the pit using a "hand ladder" (monkey bars; women only), or the hand bike (men only)
  • Running across the spinning cylinders
  • Climbing the cargo net
  • Riding down the zip line
  • Walking across a balance beam
  • Running up the Travelator (treadmill)
  • Rope swing through barrier for finish

2008 Revival[]

Season 1[]

  • Climb an 8-foot (2.4 m) wall (a rope is provided if needed).
  • Jump into a 20-foot (6.1 m) long pool from the 8-foot (2.4 m) wall and swim underneath a "fiery surface"
  • Climb 30-foot (9.1 m) cargo net
  • Barrel roll
    • Very similar to the "Rolling Log" obstacle in the Japanese series SASUKE (Ninja Warrior). Contenders grip the barrel and roll with it down an incline. There is no penalty for falling off the barrel.
  • Handbike
    • No penalty is mentioned for falling off the handbike. However, some contenders appeared to be detained for 7 seconds after falling off the handbike.[citation needed]
    • Very similar to the "Arm Bike" obstacle in the Japanese series SASUKE (Ninja Warrior).
  • Downhill balance beam
  • Ascend the Pyramid
  • Ride down the zip line
  • Treadmill (Called the Travelator)
    • There is a rope about halfway for assistance if necessary.
    • There is no "free pass" permitted if contenders cannot ascend the treadmill, unlike the original series. In the spirit of sportsmanship, if a winner has been determined, the second contestant may have the treadmill stopped if that contestant is unable to successfully cross the treadmill.
  • Climb up stairs and crash through a wall for finish

Season 2[]

The second season's eliminator was revamped with the following changes:

  • 8-foot (2.4 m) wall removed, pool lengthened to 40 feet (12 m)
  • Barrel roll replaced with a rope swing
  • Commando lines ("Tightrope") added before Hand bike
  • 6-foot (1.8 m) deep ball pit added underneath the hand bike instead of time penalty
  • Balance beam removed, replaced with spinning cylinder, called the "rolling pin"
  • Teeter-totter balance beam added before the travelator
  • Final wall replaced with a rope swing through banners and into water with pyrotechnics for the winner

[edit] How Eliminator was conducted[]

The Eliminator was originally a timed and scored event. The contenders were given a set time of 60 seconds (later 90 and then 75 for the women) to complete the course, with both starting at the same time. Each second left on the clock when the contender crossed the finish line was worth two (originally 5) points. Any falls on the course or other violations resulted in 5 or 10 (originally 25) point deductions.

The trailing contender would have their deficit divided by two (five), and the number left would be the number of seconds they had to beat their opponent by. Doing so won them the competition. If they managed to tie their opponent, they would advance based on faster time.

Starting in season 3 (including the 2008 revival), the contender in the lead was given a head start based on how big their lead was, with each point being worth a half-second in time. (For example, a 10 point lead would be a 5 second head start). The trailing contender then had to make that deficit up. If there is a tie before the Eliminator, however, both contenders start at the same time. Also, the contenders had no time limit to complete the course. The contender who finished first won the match, regardless of score. From season 3 to season 7, if a contender managed to fall off the handbikes, the contender was detained by a Gladiator, 10 seconds for the women, and 7 seconds for the men. In the 2008 revival, no penalty was announced, but video evidence appears to show several contenders detained after falling off the handbike.

From season 5 on, there were no Gladiators operating any obstacles in the Eliminator, but in seasons 5 and 6 two Gladiators and a Game Judge were used in the Penalty Pit for the purpose of "enforcing" the time penalty for any contender that fell off the hand bike. The referee was now positioned at the end of the course, on the treadmill, instead of the start line; at the start line, the game judge would start the competition, and often the referee or second game judge would assist if the two start times were very close. In Season 7 and the 2008 revival, no Gladiators were present anywhere on the course.

Often in Season 3, the finish line created controversy over who crossed the line first as many photo finishes took place. There was no "player's torso" rule on crossing the tape, and often it was decided which part of the contender's body crossed the marked finish line won the game, not the torso crossing over the tape.

In the first and second season the contender who got off the swing over the barrier or zipline first would have a choice between which lane to take. For seasons 3, 4, and earlier rounds in 5, the player who arrived first at the end of the zip line took the outside line the player who arrived second took the inner line. Late in season 5, whoever got off the zipline first took the inside lane and the second one off took the outside. In very close races, the Game Judge would inform which player had which lane.

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