Diving Boards

The Diving Boards is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the fourth obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 11 in Oklahoma City.

It consisted of three boards, each was supported by a spring in the middle, and the second board was made shorter than the other two boards. Competitors must run across the boards to reach the landing platform.

During Oklahoma City qualifiers, this obstacle was proven to be challenging, taking out 25 competitors, including Mike Murray, Kevin Klein, Brittany Hanks, Venn Johns, and Quest O'Neal. One major source of error came from not stepping in the middle of the board platforms. Because the boards were supported by a spring in the middle, many competitors would fall from stepping too far on the left or right side of the boards. This would cause the boards' axis of rotation to shift, and as a result, would interfere with competitors' momentum.

During Oklahoma City finals, the obstacle only eliminated Chris Talon Green. Also, there were two notable completions on the obstacle:
 * Jeff Harris: Rather than running across the three boards, he instead took a slow approach where he walked across each board in a sideways surfboard-like stance.
 * Maggi Thorne: She stumbled on the third board, bruising her face. She struggled to recover, but was ultimately able to reach the landing platform and finish the obstacle.

Later on the same season, the Diving Boards reappeared as the seventh obstacle in Stage One, replacing the Razor Beams from the previous season. This time, the obstacle featured four boards instead of three, and swapped the first and the second board.

The obstacle retained the difficulty from its appearance in Oklahoma City, as eight competitors failed there. This included Brandon Mears, Caleb Bergstrom, Trevor West, and Travis Rosen (on his final American Ninja Warrior appearance). It also was responsible for originally taking out Flip Rodriguez, who used his Safety Pass (which he earned during Los Angeles finals) and later completed it. During USA vs. The World 6, it eliminated Josh O'Sullivan from Team Australia.

The obstacle was replaced by the Dipping Birds in American Ninja Warrior 13.

American Ninja Warrior 13
After two seasons, the obstacle returned as the ninth obstacle during the third and fourth episodes of the semifinals on American Ninja Warrior 13. This time, the first board was shortened and the second board was longer and placed higher than the other two. In addition, the landing platform was at a higher relative height compared to its previous appearances. Also, the springs attached at the bottom part of the boards are not placed at the center. The obstacle was also paired with The Dungeon as part of the Split Decision.

During the third semifinal episode, out of the nine competitors who reached the Split Decision, three of them (R.J. Roman, Tyler Gillett, and Nate Pardo) decided to attempt the obstacle and all three of them failed on it. In the fourth semifinal episode, more competitors chose the Diving Boards, and while three of them (Jamie Rahn, Donovan Metoyer, and Jonah Muñoz) failed on it, the other four (Jake Murray, Austin Gray, Kyle Soderman, and Eric Middleton) were able to complete this obstacle and later the entire semifinal course.

American Ninja Warrior: Women's Championship 2
On Round 2 of the second competition for female competitors, this obstacle was paired with Inverter as part of the Split Decision. During the second round, out of the four female athletes reached to the Split Decision (Jesse Labreck, Meagan Martin, Megan Rowe and Allyssa Beird), only Megan Rowe decided to attempt the obstacle and she completed it while the rest chose the Inverter

Australian Ninja Warrior
On Australian Ninja Warrior 4, the Diving Boards appeared as the third obstacle during the semifinals and in Stage One. Compared to the version appeared in American Ninja Warrior 11's National Finals Stage 1, the last board was removed.

Ninja Warrior France
Les Planches à Ressorts, Ninja Warrior France's official name for the Diving Boards, would appear in Ninja Warrior France 6 as the first obstacle of the Semifinals. This would have a similar configuration to its appearance on Australian Ninja Warrior 4.

Competitors' Success Rate

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

Trivia

 * The Diving Boards had a similar concept to the Balance Bridge, in which both obstacles involved platforms that were supported by a middle force. For these reasons, both obstacles also involved tilting as a method of tripping competitors' momentum.
 * The Diving Boards had also a similar concept to the Tuning Forks, as they both consisted as balance obstacles composed of three separate objects that competitors must run across. Both obstacles had also taken out Kevin Klein, Brittany Hanks, Adam Naids, and James Gross.