Bar Hop

American Ninja Warrior - Crashing the Course- Oklahoma City (Digital Exclusive)

The Bar Hop was revealed during American Ninja Warrior 8's "Crashing the Course" series, as an obstacle featured in Oklahoma City course

The Bar Hop is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the fifth obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 8 in Oklahoma City. Competitors would have to:

• Jump to a mini-tramp to reach a bar resting in a cradle,
• Then, transit the bar from one cradle to another, which was 3 feet in distance,
• Then, they will use a waiting bar to transition to another bar, which was 2 feet in distance in a cradle,
• And finally, they must transit the bar to the next cradle and made the dismount, which was 5 feet away from the landing platform.

The dismount was made tricky, because if the competitors didn't swing enough, they would miss the landing platform or touch the water, but if they swung too much, the bar would slide out of the cradle.

Also, several competitors failed on this obstacle, because their grip gave out, as they couldn't hang on when the bar spun after hopping. During Oklahoma City qualifiers, 16 out of 25 competitors who attempted the obstacle could complete it (however, Brent Steffensen failed on this obstacle).

During Oklahoma City finals, the gap between both sets of cradles were made bigger, raising the difficulty. As the result, six competitors failed on this obstacle. This obstacle was also notable for eliminating Cass Clawson, Kyle Mendoza, Jared Bandy, Hamidulah Khazi, Sudul Diahkah, and David Campbell (when his foot touched the water while dismounting), making it the first time since American Ninja Warrior 1 that he didn't advance to Las Vegas national finals/Mount Midoriyama finals.

Other Season Appearances

American Ninja Warrior 9

American Ninja Warrior 9's Bar Hop in Kansas City

The Bar Hop returned as the fifth obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 9 in Kansas City. This time, the entire obstacle was gradually ascended.

During Kansas City qualifiers, the obstacle was nearly as difficult as during Oklahoma City qualifiers on the previous season, taking out competitors such as Dan Polizzi, Jeremiah Morgan, Hunter Guerard, Eric Middleton, Brad Spine, Alex Carson, Drew Hendry, Bobby Bohannon, Kyle Mendoza (who failed on this obstacle during Oklahoma City finals) and Mitch VeDepo (who failed on this obstacle during Oklahoma City qualifiers). A total of 12 competitors completed the obstacle out of 25 competitors who attempted it.

A unique elimination in the obstacle occurred during Dan Polizzi's run as he accidentally knocked the bar out of the cradle, which resulted in him having to lache 15 feet to the dismount. He failed to do so.

During Kansas City finals, despite no modification was made to the obstacle, 7 competitors fell on it, including Maggi Thorne, Kyle Schuze, Tyler Smith, Broc Bebout, and Wes Whitlam. With only 14 competitors could complete the obstacle, the Bar Hop became the cut off for the top 15 competitors to advance to Las Vegas national finals. In addition to Thorne (who advanced via the top 2 female competitors), Donovan Metoyer was the only competitor to fail on the obstacle, but still advanced to Las Vegas national finals, as he finished in 15th place.

Other Appearances

Ninja Warrior UK

Ninja Warrior UK 4's Bar Hop

On Ninja Warrior UK 4, the Bar Hop appeared as the fourth obstacle during the semi-finals, with the presence of a cargo net at the end of the obstacle.

However, compared to the one used on American Ninja Warrior, the obstacle became more brutal, as more than half of the number of competitors who attempted the obstacle failed to complete it. Among the 57 competitors who attempted the obstacle, only 26 of them could complete it. With the top 30 competitors would advance to the finals on that season, the Bar Hop became the cut off for advancing to the finals.

Australian Ninja Warrior

Australian Ninja Warrior 2's Bar Hop

On Australian Ninja Warrior 2, the Bar Hop appeared as the second obstacle in Stage Two.

Then, on Australian Ninja Warrior 3, the Bar Hop appeared as the fifth obstacle in Semifinal 2 and Semifinal 3. This time, the obstacle became much more difficult, as it eliminated many competitors such as Ben Polson. In fact, in Semifinal 3, since only 7 competitors completed the obstacle and the top 10 competitors in each semifinal would advance to the grand final on that season, the Bar Hop became the cut-off for advancing to the grand final.

Australian Ninja Warrior 4's Bar Hop

On Australian Ninja Warrior 4, the Bar Hop appeared as the fourth obstacle in Heat 3 and Heat 4.

Competitors' Success Rate

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

ANW	Clears	Attempts	Percentage
ANW8 (qualifiers)	16	25	64%
ANW8 (finals)	16	22	72.72%
ANW9 (qualifiers)	12	25	48%
ANW9 (finals)	14	21	66.67%
Total	58	93	62.36%

Trivia

• The inspiration for this obstacle came from the Flying Bar, Pipe Slider, and a circus trapeze.
• The Bar Hop during Kansas City finals on American Ninja Warrior 9 became the third obstacle in American Ninja Warrior history, where a front-half obstacle (i.e. the obstacles before the Salmon Ladder) was served as the cut off for the top 15 competitors to advance to Las Vegas national finals, with others being the Warped Wall (on American Ninja Warrior 4 during Northeast region finals) and the Hourglass Drop (on American Ninja Warrior 7 during Venice Beach finals). This would later be followed by the Lightning Bolts on American Ninja Warrior 10 during Philadelphia finals.