Castaway

Castaway (キャスタウェイ) was a VIKING obstacle that was originally placed as the third obstacle in the First Marine Stage in the first two VIKING tournaments, however, with the introduction of Alphabet Parley, it was pushed to the fourth obstacle in VIKING 3. It was again relocated to another position, this time as the first obstacle in Third Fantasy Stage) due to the format used in VIKING 4.

It consisted of a yellow sphere (white for VIKING 4), 60 cm in diameter, that attached to a zipline track about 10 metres long. Competitors had to jump off a small platform and wrap their arms around the top of the sphere and ride the zipline down towards a net they have to propel themselves to. Once they hit the net, they climb over and proceed to the next obstacle.

In VIKING 4, the netting was covered with a white sheet, due to potential hazards with getting caught in the netting if a competitor landed on it wrong, which nearly happened several times during the obstacle's lifetime in the first three VIKING competitions. In addition, competitors do not need to jump onto the sphere, reducing the difficulty of the obstacle.

Many of the failures were spectacular as most competitors flipped into the water due to the lack of grip. It was also possible to fail on the dismount to the net, with the usual case is the competitors toppled backwards into the water.

Competitors' Success Rate

 * All results based on the Fuji TV broadcast and external information found.