Walk the Plank

Walk the Plank is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the second obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 11 in Los Angeles.

Competitors must crawl up a see-saw board, which would gradually start to tip. Then, they must time their jump from the board to grab a bar, which would slide down a track (similar to the second track on the Double Dipper or Dragon Glider), and finally made the dismount to landing platform.

During Los Angeles qualifiers, the obstacle was proven to be brutal, as several competitors either misjudged their timing to grab the bar or lost their grip after grabbing the bar. In the end, the obstacle eliminated 31 out of 70 competitors who attempted it, including Tiana Webberley, Greg Freeman, Anna Shumaker, Benjamin Humphrys, Jesse Orenshein, Anthony Porter, Victor Chan, and Cheyenne Arrington.

In a strange reversal, during Los Angeles finals, the obstacle eliminated Rebekah Bonilla, Samantha Bush, and Emmi Rose, who were the only three female competitors to complete the obstacle during Los Angeles qualifiers. Whereas, Tiana Webberley and Anna Shumaker (both of whom failed on the obstacle during Los Angeles qualifiers) were the only women who completed the obstacle.

Giant Walk the Plank
A variation of Walk the Plank, (called as Giant Walk the Plank), appeared as the first obstacle in Stage Two on American Ninja Warrior 11, replacing the Epic Catch & Release from the previous season.

This version involved a rope at the start as a medium to reach the plank. In addition, the plank and the track were made bigger and longer than the original counterpart.

The obstacle only eliminated two competitors: Dave Cavanagh (who later completed the obstacle, thanks to the Safety Pass that he earned during Baltimore finals) and Ben Wales.

Due to its low knockout rate, the obstacle was replaced by the Striding Steps on American Ninja Warrior 13.

Australian Ninja Warrior
On Australian Ninja Warrior 5, Walk the Plank appeared as the second obstacle in Stage One. The obstacle was renamed as the Launchpad to Trapeze and compared to the one used on American Ninja Warrior 11, the board would not tip when the competitors applied their weight on them, and served as the run-up for the competitors to reach a trapeze swing.

Ninja Warrior Germany
On Ninja Warrior Germany 6, Walk the Plank appeared as the fifth obstacle in Heats 1 and 4. The obstacle would have a similar function to American Ninja Warrior in which competitors have to walk up the board and reach to the bar.

Ninja Warrior Poland
On Ninja Warrior Poland 5, Walk the Plank appeared as the fourth obstacle in finals' Stage One. The obstacle had a similar function to that of American Ninja Warrior 11 in that the board tilted with the weight of the competitors' bodies. The obstacle turned out to be difficult, as out of 12 competitors who attempted to negotiate the obstacle, 5 failed on it and 7 of them finished the obstacle.

Competitors' Success Rate

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

Trivia

 * Walk the Plank was one of the obstacles that won the third edition of American Ninja Warrior: Obstacle Design Challenge, designed by Jeff Thompson.
 * Walk the Plank is the first obstacle on American Ninja Warrior to eliminate all top 5 female competitors in a qualifying city course at least once. Its appearance in Los Angeles course on American Ninja Warrior 11 wiped out Tiana Webberley and Anna Shumaker during city qualifiers, and Rebekah Bonilla, Samantha Bush, and Emmi Rose, during city finals.