The Bouncing Spider is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the third obstacle in Denver during American Ninja Warrior 9.
Competitors jump off of a springboard and prop themselves between the two Plexiglas walls 4 feet (1.22 meters) wide. Then, they must make a transition to another pair of Plexiglas walls, which are 2-feet away from the first. From there, they jump to an 8-foot (2.44-meter) drop to a trampoline, grab to one of the two suspended pipes with a small pipe suspended in front of them, and swing up to the landing platform.
The first part of this obstacle (the springboard and the Plexiglas walls) is very similar to the Jumping Spider, while the second part of this obstacle (the trampoline and the pipes) is very similar to the Wall Drop.
During Denver qualifiers, a total of 27 competitors failed on this obstacle, including notable competitors like Noah Kaufman, Jon Stewart, Jake Murray, Josh Souter, Ryan Sutter, Venn Johns, Luke Halterman, Ben Jackson, Cannon Meyer, Daniel Fox, and Pierce Frazer. Most of the competitors failed the landing on the trampoline, to where they weren't able to get a effective bounce to grab the pipes. Some competitors additionally grabbed the smaller pipe, which didn't give them much to hold onto.
However, during Denver finals, the Bouncing Spider only eliminated Ian Weber and Tammy McClure.
Other Season Appearances[]
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
On American Ninja Warrior 10, the Bouncing Spider appeared as the third obstacle in Dallas. This time, the height of the drop from the walls to the trampoline was decreased to 7 feet.
Despite that, during the Dallas qualifiers, the obstacle was proven to be deadly once again, as 22 competitors fell on this obstacle. However, unlike during Denver qualifiers on the previous season, it took out several female competitors, including Kat Ratcliff, Lauren Keen, Tawnee Leonardo, and both Haymaker sisters (Kaiti Haymaker and Cara Haymaker). Several other competitors who failed on the obstacle were Jeff Harris, Jonathan Bange, Andrew Naquin, Sam Sann (who completed the obstacle twice in Denver during the previous season), Justin Hobbs, and Father Stephen Gadberry.
On the contrary, there were three competitors who failed on this obstacle during Denver qualifiers on the previous season and later completed it during Dallas qualifiers: Jon Stewart, Garrett Takach, and Venn Johns.
The obstacle was also served as the cut-off for the top 5 female competitors. However, in this instance in particular, it served as the cut-off because April Steiner Bennett, who fell on the next obstacle, the Tuning Forks, had to withdraw due to an injury.
Just like during Denver finals on the previous season, a total of 30 competitors attempted the obstacle during the Dallas finals. However, it eliminated four competitors this time around: Kat Ratcliff (who fell on the same obstacle previously during Dallas qualifiers), Dylan Lancaster, Victor Gonzalez and Quest O'Neal.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
On American Ninja Warrior 11, the Bouncing Spider appeared as the fourth obstacle in Atlanta. With the gap between the two sets of panel now increased from 2 to 4 feet.
A new change was added to the obstacle, in which a white dot was added to the center of the trampoline to indicate the ideal spot for the competitors to land while hitting on it. Likely for this reason, only 18 competitors failed on this obstacle. However, it still wiped out notable competitors, such as Bootie Cothran, Grace Sims, Emily Durham, Caleb Watson, and Andrey Collins. This obstacle also served as the cut-off for the top 5 female competitors for advancing to Atlanta finals.
Additionally, two competitors suffered an injury on this obstacle:
- Chad Hohn: his head hit the small pipe, resulting a cut on it (similar to his injury during American Ninja Warrior 7's Orlando qualifiers, when he cut his head on the Rolling Log).
- Casey Suchocki: he injured his right knee after slamming it to the small pipe.
A unique elimination on the obstacle came from Mindy Hylton's run, where she landed back on the trampoline after losing her grip from the pipes, resulting in a disqualification.
During Atlanta finals, it only wiped out Grace Sims and Jessica Clayton. However, since Caitlyn Bergstrom was the only female competitor to get past it, the obstacle became the cut-off for the top 2 female competitors, in which Jessica Clayton managed to make it through.
Other Appearances[]
In most international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior formats, the Bouncing Spider was very similar to the Spider Walk (since no springboard or trampoline was given). This trend seem to be started with Ninja Warrior France.
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
On Australian Ninja Warrior 3, the Bouncing Spider appeared as the eighth obstacle during the semifinals. This time, the springboard was replaced with a trampoline (making it similar to the Jumping Spider) and the small pipe was removed, leaving with two big pipes to grab onto.
In total, 21 competitors attempted the obstacle and only three of them failed to complete it (all in Semifinal 1).
Ninja Warrior France[]
On Ninja Warrior France 4, the Bouncing Spider, locally called Le Saut De L'Araignée (literally Spider Leap) was the third obstacle of Path A in Heat 4. However, the obstacle was very different compared to the one used American Ninja Warrior, in which:
- The set of Plexiglas walls would increase in height per set,
- No springboard or trampoline was given (making it similar to the Spider Walk), and
- Only one big pipe was left to grab onto (making it similar to the Jumper Cables).
Ninja Israel[]
On Ninja Warrior Israel 2, the Bouncing Spider, locally called מקפצת העכביש (literally Jumping Spider, not to be confused with Jumping Spider, which was the origin of the Bouncing Spider) appeared as the fourth obstacle in all the semifinals, then returned as the first obstacle in the finals' Stage Two, which was similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior France 4, except all three set of Plexiglas walls were arranged in a straight line (in a similar fashion to the Spider Walk in Ninja Warrior UK 4) and only Ilan Blufarb failed the obstacle.
Then, on Ninja Warrior Israel 4, the Bouncing Spider appeared as the third obstacle in Semifinal 3. This time, the obstacle was modified, in which the panels would increase in height per set, making the obstacle very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior France 4.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
On Ninja Warrior Germany 4, the Bouncing Spider (locally known as Tunnelsprung 2.0, literally Tunnel Jump 2.0) appeared as the fourth obstacle in the Finals Qualification, which was very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior Israel 2 (since all three set of Plexiglas walls were arranged in a straight line). The obstacle was very brutal, as it eliminated 14 out of 36 competitors who attempted it.
Then, in Ninja Warrior Germany 5, the Bouncing Spider appeared as the fifth obstacle in every Preliminary Round. This time, the obstacle was modified, in which the panels would increase in height per set, making the obstacle very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior France 4.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the NBC/RTL/Keshet 12 broadcast and external information found.
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
ANW9 (qualifiers) | 40 | 67 | 59.7% |
ANW9 (finals) | 28 | 30 | 93.33% |
ANW10 (qualifiers) | 48 | 70 | 68.57% |
ANW10 (finals) | 26 | 30 | 86.67% |
ANW11 (qualifiers) | 32 | 50 | 64% |
ANW11 (finals) | 24 | 26 | 92.31% |
Total | 198 | 273 | 72.53% |
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
NWG | Stage | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|
NWG4 | 23 | 36 | 63.88% | |
NWG5 | Preliminary Round 1 | 15 | 19 | 78.94% |
Preliminary Round 2 | 24 | 30 | 80% | |
Preliminary Round 3 | 17 | 20 | 85% | |
Preliminary Round 4 | 11 | 19 | 57.89% | |
Preliminary Round 5 | 16 | 29 | 55.17% | |
Preliminary Round 6 | 18 | 24 | 75% | |
Total | 124 | 177 | 70.05% |
Ninja Israel[]
NWI | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
NWI2 (Semifinal 1) | 2 | 3 | 66.67% |
NWI2 (Semifinal 2) | 3 | 6 | 50% |
NWI2 (Semifinal 3) | 3 | 4 | 75% |
NWI2 (Semifinal 4) | 9 | 10 | 90% |
NWI2 (Final) | 1 | 2 | 50% |
NWI4 | 8 | 12 | 66.67% |
Total | 26 | 37 | 70.27% |