Big Dipper

The Big Dipper is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the second obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 7 in Kansas City.

It consisted of a metal pipe on a track and rope ladder. Competitors held on to the pipe and slid down the track, and timed their release in order to grab the rope ladder and pulled themselves onto the mat. Some competitors who didn't time their release right, did not go far enough to reach the rope ladder.

The Big Dipper was considered to be a modified version of the Downhill Pipe Drop from American Ninja Warrior 6 in Miami.

In its debut, this obstacle took out 42 competitors during Kansas City qualifiers, including several female competitors like Amy Pajcic, Laura Kisana, and Kirsti Pratt. Most had either failed to keep the bar even, or be unable to acquire a firm grip on the cargo net.

During Kansas City finals, it took out Spencer Mestel and most surprisingly, Meagan Martin.

American Ninja Warrior 8
The Big Dipper made its second appearance on American Ninja Warrior 8 in Atlanta, once again as the second obstacle. This time, the cargo net has laid horizontally. Similar to the previous season, this obstacle took out many competitors, including Shaun Murray and most shockingly, JJ Woods.

As it wasn't difficult enough, during Atlanta finals, the cargo net was removed, requiring the competitors to fly across it without hesitation. The track was also made a foot longer. As the result, it took out a total of 5 out of 30 competitors, including Kenny Niemitalo, Bobby Bohannon, Caleb Watson, and Danny Adair.

Ninja Warrior UK
On Ninja Warrior UK 3, the Big Dipper appeared twice during the season.


 * Firstly, as the seventh obstacle during the semi-finals. However, unlike on American Ninja Warrior, the cargo net was replaced with the Fly Wheels' third wheel (the pendulum wheel).
 * Therefore, competitors must time their release from the bar to grab the pendulum wheel, and then built enough swing and momentum to make the dismount to the landing platform.
 * This version of the Big Dipper was proven to be easier, as among the 27 competitors who attempted the obstacle, only 3 of them failed to complete it.
 * This version of the Big Dipper appeared once again on Ninja Warrior UK 4, as the second obstacle in Heat 2 and Heat 4. This time, the obstacle eliminated much more competitors than the one used on Ninja Warrior UK 3.




 * Secondly, as the seventh obstacle during the finals' Stage 1, and was called as the Big Dipper with Tassels. This time, at the end of the curved track, there was a resting bar as an intermediary to help competitors traversed 7 bungee cords (similar to the one used in the Bungee Road), and then used their feet to reach a dancing stone, as an intermediary to the next obstacle, the Three Logs.
 * This version of the Big Dipper was proven to be much easier, as no competitor failed on this obstacle (although several competitors showed struggles while traversing the bungee cords).
 * During the broadcast, both the Big Dipper with Tassels and Three Logs were referred as the "Kammy's Corner of Chaos" (named after Christopher 'Kammy' Kamara, the co-host of Ninja Warrior UK).

Australian Ninja Warrior
On Australian Ninja Warrior, the Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle in Stage One, with the cargo net was replaced with a rope placed vertically at the end of the track.

Then on Australian Ninja Warrior 5, the Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle during the heats, with a pole added at the starting platform of this obstacle and the tracks being connected to:
 * a sliding pole (similar to the one from the Pole Rider) in Heat 1 and Heat 4, and
 * a sliding rope in Heat 2 and Heat 3.

Ninja Warrior Poland
In Ninja Warrior Poland 2, the Big Dipper (locally named Wielki Wóz) appeared twice during the Heats, as the second obstacle in Heat 1 and Heat 4. The structure remained the same with the American Ninja Warrior's qualifying version, with rope ladder placed at the end.

In Ninja Warrior Poland 3, the Big Dipper was moved to the Final, placed as the second obstacle in Stage One. Instead of a rope at the end of the obstacle, competitors now had to make a 1.2-meter transition to a disk/saucer, which was similar to the one from from Area 51. Three competitors fell on the obstacle, including two by releasing the stick too early and one because the stick was positioned on the top of the ramp instead of on the side edge.

Ninja Israel
In Ninja Warrior Israel 2, the Big Dipper appeared in the final as the second obstacle in Stage One. At the end of the track was the Fly Wheels' first wheel (swinging wheel), similar to Ninja Warrior UK 3 replacing the rope ladder from the American Ninja Warrior 7. Only one competitor failed on this obstacle.

Double Dipper
Similar to The Wedge, the Big Dipper has a doubled variant and appeared as the third obstacle in Stage One on American Ninja Warrior 9, where it is known as the Double Dipper, replacing the Giant Log Grip from the previous season.

This iteration of Big Dipper worked similarly to its single set counterpart, but competitors would have to make the transition to a second bar at the end of the first one. Also, the first track and the bars were much longer.

The Double Dipper retained the difficulty of its original incarnation within the past two seasons, taking out multiple competitors like Lindsay Eskildsen, Jeri D'Aurelio, Lorin Ball, Maggi Thorne, Dan Yager, Kacy Catanzaro, Ben Antoine, Zhanique Lovett, Gabe Hurtado, Michael Johnson, Jelani Allen, Luke Chambers, and Kyle Mendoza. Some have failed it the traditional way by not keeping the bar even, but some also failed the transition between bars as well. 18 competitors fell on this obstacle, in addition of Lê Văn Thực from Team Asia during USA vs. The World 4.

Even though this obstacle was a modified version of the Big Dipper, it was revealed that the Double Dipper was one of the eight obstacles that won the first edition of American Ninja Warrior: Obstacle Design Challenge, and designed by Hannah W.

A similar obstacle made an appearance in SASUKE 35, which was known as the Dragon Glider, with an addition of trampoline at the starting platform. Later, the Dragon Glider appeared in KUNOICHI 11, with just one track instead of two (similar to the Big Dipper).

American Ninja Warrior 10
On American Ninja Warrior 10, the Double Dipper returned once again as the third obstacle in Stage One.

This time, the obstacle became significantly more brutal, as it took out a whopping 26 competitors, which was 2 competitors less than the Dragon Glider (a very similar obstacle to the Double Dipper) in SASUKE 35 (with 28 competitors).

Despite no modification (albeit a gap in between the landing platform and the next obstacle), among its 26 victims, 9 of them had completed it before on the previous season, as it was responsible for taking out David Campbell, Flip Rodriguez, Chris DiGangi, Karsten Williams, Abel Gonzalez, Tyler Yamauchi, and Rigel Henry. Most notably, it was responsible for ending the season of Joe Moravsky, who was the Last Man Standing on the previous season and had ultimately faced his first Stage One defeat during his American Ninja Warrior appearances.

A serious elimination on the obstacle occurred during Travis Rosen's run. On the second track, he lost grip of the second bar, resulting in him dropping at an angle and slamming on the side of the landing pad. This caused his right ankle to bend awkwardly before hitting the water, which eventually resulted in him urgently being rushed to the hospital, as it was confirmed by the paramedics that his right ankle had been fractured from the impact.

Other competitors eliminated here include Brett Sims, Jeremiah Morgan, Neil Craver, Todd Bourgeois, Bootie Cothran, Rachael Goldstein, Michael Bougher, Abby Clark, Michael Johnson (who failed on the obstacle once again), Spencer Clapp, Derek Miyamoto, Phillip Hucke, and Danny Bergstrom. During USA vs. The World 5, it eliminated Team Europe's Georgia Munroe.

American Ninja Warrior 11
The Double Dipper appeared as the third obstacle in Stage One once again on American Ninja Warrior 11. This time, the landing platform was slightly smaller and trapezoidal-shaped, with a larger gap in between the starting platform to the next obstacle, the Jumping Spider. It was changed so that an incident similar to Travis Rosen on the previous season would not happen or drop in severity.

This time, the obstacle was slightly less brutal, as just 15 competitors failed on it. It did still, however, take out the most competitors in Stage One. It was responsible for eliminating notable competitors like Scott Willson, Anna Shumaker, Brian Burk, Mady Howard, Karter Ohlson, Verdale Benson, Caitlyn Bergstrom, Jeff Harris, Jessie Graff (who completed the obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 9), Sem Garay, Chris Wilczewski (who completed the obstacle on the previous season), and Ben Udy. During USA vs. The World 6, it eliminated Team Europe's Kesu Ahmed.

American Ninja Warrior 13
The Double Dipper would return in Stage One once again on American Ninja Warrior 13 as the Las Vegas finals return after the change of format from last season, with the same configuration as its previous appearance. It took out competitors like Megan Rowe, Rachel Degutz, Amir Malik and Jay Lewis.

Australian Ninja Warrior
The Double Dipper appeared as the second obstacle during the semifinals on Australian Ninja Warrior 5. This version had a rope at the start, and a hanging net in which competitors must transfer from the second track in order to landing. This obstacle eliminated many competitors, including top competitors like Raphaela Wiget, Celeste Dixon and Jordan Papandrea.

Competitors' Success Rate

 * All results based on the NBC broadcast and external information found