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American Ninja Warrior: Obstacle Design Challenge is a contest that was first announced on American Ninja Warrior 8. As the name applies, fans must create an obstacle and submit it to the ANWNation website (and later, to an external website). It then will be modified and be used in one of the courses on the next season. It can be either used during the city qualifiers, city finals, or Las Vegas national finals.

Here are some of the rules on how to submit an obstacle:

  1. Upload a photo of the obstacle.
  2. Type down the title of the obstacle.
  3. Type the description and rules on how to attempt the obstacle in 100 words or fewer.
  4. Upload a submission video about the obstacle.

There are some rules pertaining to the obstacles themselves:

Additional rules for the submission itself include:

  • No real-life demonstrations of the obstacle.
  • No music.

The challenge is only available to U.S. citizens ages 18 years old and above who are currently residing within any of the 50 states and District of Colombia. If a minor wants to submit their entry, they must have a parent or guardian submit the entry on their behalf. Up to two entries can be submitted per person per season.

The winning designer(s) of the obstacle will have an opportunity to go see the obstacle they created come to life up close and personal in an American Ninja Warrior course, as well as a gift bag worth US$250. In each season, one of the selected obstacles will be selected as the "Best Obstacle" in the contest.

While there is only one official winner, multiple selections will be used on each season.

American Ninja Warrior 9[]

With the introduction of the contest last season, the winning obstacles were used on American Ninja Warrior 9. Eight obstacles submitted by fans were used on this season. Four of them debuted during the City Qualifiers round, three of them during the City Finals round (the back half part of the courses), and one during the Las Vegas National Finals.

Among the eight obstacles on the list below, four (the Battering Ram, Sky Hooks, Wingnuts, and Iron Maiden) would make their first SASUKE/Ninja Warrior international appearance on Australian Ninja Warrior 2, while the Double Dipper made an appearance on SASUKE 35 as Dragon Glider.

Obstacle Position Course Debut Designer Notes
Battering Ram 5th Los Angeles qualifiers Luke Pereira First introduced during Celebrity Ninja Warrior: Red Nose Day. The name of its designer was not revealed upon broadcast and was found due to external information.
Sky Hooks 4th San Antonio qualifiers Benjamin Tan Winner of the American Ninja Warrior 9 Obstacle Design Challenge.

Youngest winner of the contest at seven years old.

Wingnuts 3rd Daytona Beach qualifiers Kevin Carbone Carbone became the only person to complete his own obstacle that he submitted, doing so during the Daytona Beach qualifiers and finals. Modified as the Wingnut Alley in Stage Two.
Crank It Up 4th Kansas City qualifiers Kevin Brekke Brekke was later hired to become a professional obstacle designer on ATS (the company that builds the obstacles presented on the show).
Iron Maiden 9th Kansas City finals Brett Sims
Nail Clipper 8th Cleveland finals Calvin Boyce Reappeared again in Stage Three.
Ninjago Roll 9th Denver finals Josephine Starr Stevenson Served to promote The LEGO Ninjago Movie.
Double Dipper 3rd Las Vegas national finals (Stage One) Hannah Willie Doubled variant of the Big Dipper. Credited as "Hannah W." during the broadcast.

American Ninja Warrior 10[]

For the second year, the Obstacle Design Challenge was announced on American Ninja Warrior 9. Just like last year, fans would create an obstacle and must submit it to the ANWNation website. The winning obstacles would set to debut on American Ninja Warrior 10.

There were four obstacles submitted from the fans that were used on this season. One debuted during the City Qualifiers, two debuted during the City Finals (the back half part of the courses), and one debuted during the Las Vegas National Finals.

Obstacle Position Course Debut Designer Notes
Slippery Summit 5th Miami qualifiers Ciaran Gault
Fallout 9th Dallas finals Jake Clark Served to promote Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Cane Lane 9th Indianapolis finals Kevin Brekke Also designed Crank It Up in American Ninja Warrior 9.
Déjà Vu 3rd Las Vegas national finals (Stage Two) Kevin Carbone

Winner of the American Ninja Warrior 10 Obstacle Design Challenge.

Won the same contest the previous season by designing the Wingnuts.

American Ninja Warrior 11[]

For the third year, the Obstacle Design Challenge was announced on American Ninja Warrior 10. Just like last year, fans would create an obstacle and must submit it to the ANWNation website. The winning obstacles would set to debut on American Ninja Warrior 11.

There were six obstacles submitted from the fans, that were used on this season. Four debuted during the City Qualifiers, one debuted during the City Finals (the back half part of the courses), and one obstacle debuted during the Las Vegas National Finals.

Obstacle Position Course Debut Designer Notes
Walk the Plank 2nd Los Angeles qualifiers Jeff Thompson
Coconut Climb 5th Oklahoma City qualifiers Till Ebener Competed on Ninja Warrior Germany three times.
Barrel Roll 3rd Seattle-Tacoma qualifiers Tyler Rizzo Winner of the American Ninja Warrior 11 Obstacle Design Challenge.
Slingshot 5th Cincinnati qualifiers Kevin Carbone
Slam Dunk 8th Cincinnati finals Kevin McCormack
Iron Summit 2nd Las Vegas national finals (Stage Three) Brett Sims Modified from his own obstacle, the Iron Maiden.

American Ninja Warrior 12[]

For the fourth year, the Obstacle Design Challenge was announced on American Ninja Warrior 11. Just like last year, fans would create an obstacle and must submit it to the ANWNation website. The winning obstacles would set to debut on American Ninja Warrior 12.

There were four obstacles submitted by fans that were used on this season. Two of them debuted during the Qualifiers and the other two debuted during the Semifinals.

Obstacle Position Course Debut Designer Notes
Weight for It 2nd Qualifiers EP 1 Unknown
Ring Chaser 3rd Qualifiers EP 1 Kevin Carbone
Clockwork 3rd Semifinals EP 1 Unknown
Corkscrew 8th Semifinals EP 1 Josh Norton Winner of the American Ninja Warrior 12 Obstacle Design Challenge.

American Ninja Warrior 13[]

For the fifth year, the Obstacle Design Challenge was announced on American Ninja Warrior 12. Just like last year, fans would create an obstacle and must submit it to the ANWNation website. The winning obstacles would set to debut on American Ninja Warrior 13.

There were two obstacles submitted by fans that were used on this season. One of them were debuted in the Qualifiers rounds, and one debuted in the Las Vegas National Finals.

Obstacle Position Course Debut Designer Notes
Air Surfer 4th Qualifiers EP 3 Jennie Bensley Winner of the American Ninja Warrior 13 Obstacle Design Challenge.

Modified as the Epic Air Surfer on Stage Two.

Stalactites 2nd Las Vegas national finals (Stage Three) Christian Youst

American Ninja Warrior 14[]

For the sixth year, the Obstacle Design Challenge was announced on American Ninja Warrior 13. Just like last year, fans would create an obstacle and must submit it to the ANWNation website. The winning obstacles would set to debut on American Ninja Warrior 14.

There were four obstacles submitted by the fans used on this season. One debuted in the Qualifiers, two debuted in the Semifinals, and one debuted in the Las Vegas National Finals.

Following the shutdown of ANWNation at the beginning of 2022 prior to American Ninja Warrior 14, an official website was made to continue the challenge in future seasons.

Obstacle Position Course Debut Designer Notes
Serpent 3rd Qualifiers EP 1 Unknown
Ghost Town 8th Semifinals EP 1 Unknown
Box Office 8th Semifinals EP 2 Unknown (online alias known as RPG445)
Tetherball 5th Las Vegas national finals (Stage One) Stacie Harris Winner of the American Ninja Warrior 14 Obstacle Design Challenge.

Oldest known winner of the contest at 50 years old.

American Ninja Warrior 15[]

For the seventh year, the Obstacle Design Challenge was announced on American Ninja Warrior 14. The winning obstacles debuted on American Ninja Warrior 15.

There were two obstacles submitted by the fans used on this season. One of them debuted during the Qualifiers and the other debuted in Las Vegas national finals.

Obstacle Position Course Debut Designer Notes
The Cubes 5th Qualifiers EP 3 Grace Quagliata Winner of the American Ninja Warrior 15 Obstacle Design Challenge.

Grace is from Ithaca, New York. Was 10 years old at the time of the submission.

Pressure Cooker 6th Las Vegas national finals (Stage Three) Dr. Steven Bachta Based on a similar obstacle, Operation, used in local Ninja gyms and competitions.

External Links[]

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