American Ninja Warrior 7's Big Dipper in Kansas City
The Big Dipper is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the second obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 7 in Kansas City.
It consisted of a metal pipe on a track and rope ladder. Competitors held on to the pipe and slid down the track, and timed their release in order to grab the rope ladder and pulled themselves onto the mat. Some competitors who didn't time their release right, did not go far enough to reach the rope ladder.
The Big Dipper was considered to be a modified version of the Downhill Pipe Drop from American Ninja Warrior 6 in Miami.
In its debut, this obstacle took out 42 competitors during Kansas City qualifiers, including several female competitors like Amy Pajcic, Laura Kisana, and Kirsti Pratt. Most had either failed to keep the bar even, or be unable to acquire a firm grip on the cargo net.
During Kansas City finals, it took out Spencer Mestel and most surprisingly, Meagan Martin.
Other Season Appearances
American Ninja Warrior 8
American Ninja Warrior 8's Big Dipper in Atlanta
The Big Dipper made its second appearance on American Ninja Warrior 8 in Atlanta, once again as the second obstacle. This time, the cargo net has laid horizontally. Similar to the previous season, this obstacle took out many competitors, including Shaun Murray and most shockingly, JJ Woods.
As it wasn't difficult enough, during Atlanta finals, the cargo net was removed, requiring the competitors to fly across it without hesitation. The track was also made a foot longer. As the result, it took out a total of 4 out of 30 competitors, including Kenneth Niemitalo and Caleb Watson.
Double Dipper
American Ninja Warrior 9's Double Dipper in Stage One
Similar to The Wedge, the Big Dipper has a doubled variant and appeared as the third obstacle in Stage One on American Ninja Warrior 9, where it is known as the Double Dipper, replacing the Giant Log Grip from the previous season.
This iteration of Big Dipper worked similarly to its single set counterpart, but competitors would have to make the transition to a second bar at the end of the first one. Also, the first track and the bars were much longer.
The Double Dipper retained the difficulty of its original incarnation within the past two seasons, taking out multiple competitors like Lorin Ball, Maggi Thorne, Kacy Catanzaro, and Dan Yager. Some have failed it the traditional way by not keeping the bar even, but some also failed the transition between bars as well. 18 competitors fell on this obstacle, in addition of Lê Văn Thực from Team Asia during USA vs. The World 4.
Even though this obstacle was a modified version of the Big Dipper, it was revealed that the Double Dipper was one of the eight obstacles that won the first edition of American Ninja Warrior: Obstacle Design Challenge, and designed by Hannah W.
The Double Dipper also made an appearance in SASUKE 35, which was known as the Dragon Glider, with an addition of trampoline at the starting platform. Later, the Dragon Glider appeared in KUNOICHI 11, with just one track instead of two (similar to the Big Dipper).
Other Season Appearances
American Ninja Warrior 10
American Ninja Warrior 10's Double Dipper in Stage One
On American Ninja Warrior 10, the Double Dipper returned once again as the third obstacle in Stage One.
This time, the obstacle became significantly more brutal, as it took out a whopping 26 competitors, which was 2 competitors less than the Dragon Glider (a very similar obstacle to the Double Dipper) in SASUKE 35 (with 28 competitors).
Despite no modification, among its 26 victims, 9 of them had completed it before on the previous season, as it was responsible for taking out Flip Rodriguez, Rigel Henry, Tyler Yamauchi, David Campbell, Karsten Williams, Abel Gonzalez, and Chris DiGangi. Most notably, it was responsible for ending the season of Joe Moravsky, who was the Last Man Standing on the previous season and had ultimately faced his first Stage One defeat during his American Ninja Warrior appearances.
Additional notable eliminations on the obstacle were Brett Sims, Neil Craver, and Michael Johnson (who failed on the obstacle once again).
A serious elimination on the obstacle occurred during Travis Rosen's run. On the second track, he lost grip of the second bar, resulting in him dropped at an angle and slamming on the side of the landing pad. This caused his right ankle to bend awkwardly before hitting the water, which eventually resulted in him urgently being rushed to the hospital, as it was confirmed by the paramedics that his right ankle had been fractured from the impact.
Other competitors eliminated here were:
Other Appearances
Ninja Warrior UK
On Ninja Warrior UK 3, the Big Dipper appeared twice during the season.
Ninja Warrior UK 3's Big Dipper
- Firstly, as the seventh obstacle during the semi-finals. However, unlike on American Ninja Warrior, the cargo net was replaced with the Fly Wheels' third wheel (the pendulum wheel).
- Therefore, competitors must time their release from the bar to grab the pendulum wheel, and then built enough swing and momentum to make the dismount to the landing platform.
- This version of the Big Dipper was proven to be easier, as among the 27 competitors who attempted the obstacle, only 3 of them failed to complete it.
- This version of the Big Dipper appeared once again on Ninja Warrior UK 4, as the second obstacle in Heat 2 and Heat 4. This time, the obstacle eliminated much more competitors than the one used on Ninja Warrior UK 3.
Ninja Warrior UK 3's Big Dipper with Tassels
- Secondly, as the seventh obstacle during the finals' Stage 1, and was called as the Big Dipper with Tassels. This time, at the end of the curved track, there was a resting bar as an intermediary to help competitors traversed 7 bungee cords (similar to the one used in the Bungee Road), and then used their feet to reach a dancing stone, as an intermediary to the next obstacle, the Three Logs.
- This version of the Big Dipper was proven to be much easier, as no competitor failed on this obstacle (although several competitors showed struggles while traversing the bungee cords).
- During the broadcast, both the Big Dipper with Tassels and Three Logs were referred as the "Kammy's Corner of Chaos" (named after Christopher 'Kammy' Kamara, the co-host of Ninja Warrior UK).
Australian Ninja Warrior
Australian Ninja Warrior's Big Dipper
On Australian Ninja Warrior, the Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle in Stage One, with the cargo net was replaced with a rope placed vertically at the end of the track.