American Ninja Warrior Junior 3

American Ninja Warrior Junior 3 is the third season of American Ninja Warrior Junior. The show premiered on September 9th, 2021 (after American Ninja Warrior 13's season finale) at Peacock (NBC-owned streaming service), with Matt Iseman, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, and Victoria Arlen reprising their roles as the host, co-host, and sideline reporter respectively.

Since the competition was taped during the COVID-19 pandemic, only family members of the competitors and audience in limited numbers were allowed to attend the taping.

Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used to differentiate the episodes in between the qualifying, quarterfinals and semifinals for simplicity sake and to avoid confusion:
 * QR - Qualifying Round
 * QF - Quarterfinals
 * SF - Semifinals
 * EP - Episode

Competition Format
The competition format remained nearly the same from the previous two seasons. 96 kids from across the U.S., between ages 9 and 14, would compete in three different age brackets (9 and 10 years old, 11 and 12 years old, and 13 and 14 years old). Each bracket consisted of 32 kids, and all would be mentored by two top American Ninja Warrior competitors: Najee Richardson and Jesse Labreck.

Competitors would race side-to-side on an obstacle course, just like on Team Ninja Warrior and American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja. However, competitors could face other competitors from the opposite gender, unlike on those two shows.

In general, the competition for each age bracket consisted of three rounds:
 * Round One (Seeding Round)
 * There were two matchups, with two competitors in each matchup.
 * Each matchup consisted of just one heat, where two competitors would race side-by-side on a series of obstacles.
 * In each matchup, the competitor who completed the course (or made the furthest, in case of no competitor could complete the course) in the fastest time would win the matchup and face the losing competitor from another matchup in Round Two (Knockout Round).
 * Round Two (Knockout Round)
 * The competition worked the same as in Round One, with the competitor who won the first matchup in Round One would face the competitor who lost the second matchup in Round One, and vice versa.
 * This time, the two competitors who won in each matchup would advance to Final Showdown, while the two losing competitors would be eliminated from the competition.
 * Final Showdown
 * In Final Showdown, the two winning competitors from Round Two would face each other.
 * The competitor who won the Final Showdown would advance to the next round, while the losing competitor would be eliminated from the competition.

In the quarterfinals, the format worked the same as in the qualifiers, with the first two rounds serving as the seeding and knockout rounds, respectively. In the Quarterfinal Showdown, the two winning competitors would face for a spot in the semifinals. Wildcards are reintroduced this season, with the fastest eliminated ninjas securing the last quarterfinal spots.

The same system would be utilized for the semifinals, featuring the seeding, knockout, and semifinal showdown rounds. Wildcards are added as well, with the fastest eliminated ninjas securing the last semifinal spots.

In the finals, the two finalists and two wildcards in each age group would race to find out who would be the next American Ninja Warrior Junior champion. Each finalist would receive the following:


 * $15,000 for the champion (first place),
 * $7,500 for the second place,
 * $5,000 for the third place, and
 * $2,500 for the fourth place.

Obstacles
① Hopscotch

② Lunatic Ledges

③ Liquid Pipe (Bracket 1), Spike Crossing (Bracket 2), Sideways (Bracket 3)
 * For competitors in Bracket 3, the cargo net at the end of Lunatic Ledges was removed.

④ Broken Bridge

⑤ Flying Saucers (Bracket 1), Spring Forward (Bracket 2), Spinball Wizard (Bracket 3)

⑥ Warped Wall (13 feet tall)
 * For competitors in Bracket 1, there were two handholds placed at the 10 and 11.5-foot marks.
 * For competitors in Bracket 2, the 10-foot mark handhold was covered, leaving with just a handhold at the 11.5-foot mark.

Episode 9 (QF EP 1)
(From this point on, a * will be put next to the competitors who are wildcards)