The Big Dipper is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the second obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 7 in Kansas City.
Similar to the Downhill Pipe Drop, it consisted of a metal pipe on a curved track with a 5-foot (1.524-meter) drop 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.
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[]
The Big Dipper made its second appearance on American Ninja Warrior 8 in Atlanta, once again as the second obstacle. This time, the track is made thicker, and the cargo net is laid parabolically. 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 5 out of 30 competitors, including Kenny Niemitalo, Bobby Bohannon, Caleb Watson, and Danny Adair.
Double Dipper[]
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 consists of 51 feet of traveling distance, and worked similarly to its single set counterpart, but competitors would have to make an 8-foot transition to a second bar at the end of the first one. Also, the first track is now at 28 feet 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 Lindsay Eskildsen, Jeri D'Aurelio, Lorin Ball, Maggi Thorne, Dan Yager, Kacy Catanzaro (in her final ANW appearance), Ben Antoine, Zhanique Lovett, Gabe Hurtado, Michael Johnson, Jelani Allen, Luke Chambers, and Kyle Mendoza. 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.
A similar obstacle 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 2018, with just one track instead of two (similar to the Big Dipper).
Other Season Appearances[]
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
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 (albeit a gap in between the landing platform and the next obstacle), among its 26 victims, 9 of them had completed it before on the previous season, as it was responsible for taking out David Campbell, Flip Rodriguez, Chris DiGangi, Karsten Williams, Abel Gonzalez, Tyler Yamauchi, and Rigel Henry. 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.
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 dropping 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 include Brett Sims, Jeremiah Morgan, Neil Craver, Todd Bourgeois, Bootie Cothran, Rachael Goldstein, Michael Bougher, Abby Clark, Michael Johnson (who failed on the obstacle once again), Spencer Clapp, Derek Miyamoto, Phillip Hucke, and Danny Bergstrom. During USA vs. The World 5, it eliminated Team Europe's Georgia Munroe.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
The Double Dipper appeared as the third obstacle in Stage One once again on American Ninja Warrior 11. This time, the landing platform was slightly smaller and trapezoidal-shaped, with a larger gap in between the starting platform to the next obstacle, the Jumping Spider. It was changed so that an incident similar to Travis Rosen on the previous season would not happen or drop in severity.
This time, the obstacle was slightly less brutal, as just 15 competitors failed on it. It did still, however, take out the most competitors in Stage One. It was responsible for eliminating notable competitors like Scott Willson, Anna Shumaker, Brian Burk, Mady Howard, Karter Ohlson, Verdale Benson, Caitlyn Bergstrom, Jeff Harris, Jessie Graff (who completed the obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 9), Sem Garay, Chris Wilczewski (who completed the obstacle on the previous season), and Chad Flexington. During USA vs. The World 6, it eliminated Team Europe's Kesu Ahmed.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
The Double Dipper would return in Stage One once again on American Ninja Warrior 13 as the Las Vegas finals return after the change of format from last season, with the same configuration as its previous appearance. It took out Megan Rowe,Bob Reese, Will Schlageter Rachel Degutz, Francisco Barajas, and most shockingly ended the seasons of semifinal finishers Amir Malik and Jay Lewis.
Even though the obstacle has a decent knockout rate, the obstacle was replaced by the similar Giant Rollercoaster in American Ninja Warrior 14.
Other Appearances[]
Big Dipper[]
Ninja Warrior UK[]
On Ninja Warrior UK 3, the Big Dipper appeared twice during the season.
- 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.
- Secondly, as the seventh obstacle during the finals' Stage One, 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[]
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.
Then on Australian Ninja Warrior 5, the Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle during the heats, with a pole added at the starting platform of this obstacle and the tracks being connected to:
- a sliding pole (similar to the one from the Pole Rider) in Heat 1 and Heat 4, and
- a sliding rope in Heat 2 and Heat 3.
The track length was also revealed to be 5m, the bar being 1.2m long.
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
In Ninja Warrior Poland 2, the Big Dipper (locally named Wielki Wóz) appeared twice during the Heats, as the second obstacle in Heat 1 and Heat 4. The structure remained the same with the American Ninja Warrior's qualifying version, with rope ladder placed at the end.
In Ninja Warrior Poland 3, the Big Dipper was moved to the Final, placed as the second obstacle in Stage One. Instead of a rope at the end of the obstacle, competitors now had to make a 1.2-meter transition to a disk/saucer, which was similar to the one from from Area 51 or UFO. Three competitors fell on the obstacle, including two by releasing the stick too early and one because the stick was positioned on the top of the ramp instead of on the side edge.
On Ninja Warrior Poland 6, the Big Dipper returned as the second obstacle during the Heats with various modifications:
- in Heat 1 and Heat 4, restoring the version from American Ninja Warrior 7, with a rope ladder at the end,
- in Heat 2 and Heat 6, with trapeze bar and hanging rope at the end,
- in Heat 3 and Heat 5, with hanging rope at the end (similar to the one used in Australian Ninja Warrior), and
- in Stage One, restoring the third season version with the hanging disc at the end, except that the disc was stationary and didn't swing.
Ninja Warrior Spain[]
On Ninja Warrior Spain 2, Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle of Heat 3. This time, the bar slide is succeeded by 2 vertical ropes.
Ninja Warrior Arabia[]
Big Dipper appeared as the first obstacle of Stage Two of Ninja Warrior Arabia. This version uses the track from American Ninja Warrior 7, but the rope ladder was replaced with a cargo net similar to those found on Ninja Warrior UK 4's Jump Hang variants.
Ninja Warrior Austria[]
On Ninja Warrior Austria 2, Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle of Heat 3 and 5. It uses a configuration similar to the one in ANW8.
It returned as the second obstacle of Stage One of Ninja Warrior Austria 3. However, the rope ladder at the end was replaced by a disc attached to a pendulum that swings back and forth. Hence the obstacle was called the Big Dipper to Saucer.
Ninja Israel[]
In Ninja Warrior Israel, the Big Dipper, locally called זינוק בעלייה (literally A Jump Uphill) appeared as the second obstacle in the Heat 4, Heat 9, Heat 12 and Heat 13. The track was very similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 7. However, the obstacle has various modifications:
- In Heat 4 and Heat 13, with a hanging rope at the end, making the obstacle very similar to the one used in Australian Ninja Warrior.
- In Heat 9 and Heat 12, with a long bungee cord at the end.
Then, in Ninja Warrior Israel 2, the Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle in Heat 9, Heat 12, Heat 14 and Finals' Stage One. This time, the sliding track was modified to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 8. Just like the previous season, the obstacle have various modifications:
- In Heat 9 and Heat 12, restoring the one used in Heat 9 and Heat 12 of the previous season with a long bungee cord at the end.
- In Heat 14, with the Fly Wheels' third wheel (the pendulum wheel) at the end, making the obstacle was very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior UK 3.
- In Finals' Stage One, with the Fly Wheels' first wheel (the spinning wheel) at the end.
American Ninja Warrior Junior[]
The Big Dipper, now renamed as Little Dipper, appeared as the second obstacle for all brackets in American Ninja Warrior Junior 2.
This obstacle turned out to be massively difficult, ending the runs of 32 competitors, including but not limited to: Emily Keener, Devan Alexander, Bella Palmer, Nate Pardo, Payton Myler, and Avery Glantz.
Ninja Warrior France[]
On Ninja Warrior France 2, the Big Dipper, locally called La Rampe de Lancement (literally The Launchpad) introduced as part of the Split Decision in Qualification 1, with the cargo net being replaced with three ropes placed vertically at the end of the track, and the track was very similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 8.
Then, on Ninja Warrior France 8, the Big Dipper, this time locally called La Piste Noire (literally The Black Trail) appeared as the third obstacle in Qualification 1, with was very similar to the one used in Australian Ninja Warrior, except that the sliding track was modified to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 7 just like Ninja Warrior Israel's version.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
Big Dipper[]
On Ninja Warrior Germany 2, Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle of Preliminary Rounds 1 and 6. It used a track similar to the one from ANW8, but was followed by a rope ladder similar to the one from ANW7.
Big Dipper to Wheel[]
Big Dipper returned in Ninja Warrior Germany 4, as the second obstacle of Semifinals Qualification 5, 6 and 7. It used the track from ANW7, but instead of a rope ladder, there was a Fly Wheel that spins on an axis.
Then, in the Ninja Warrior Germany: Four Nations Special 2, the Big Dipper + Wheel appeared as the seventh obstacle in the First Stage.
Team Ninja Warrior Germany[]
On Team Ninja Warrior Germany 1, the Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle of the K.O. round of Episode 4 and 5. A rope was placed at the end, which was shared by both competitors
On Team Ninja Warrior Germany 2, the Big Dipper appeared as the second obstacle of the Seeding and Relay round of Episode 2 to 4. A rope was again placed at the end of each track this time.
Double Dipper[]
Ninja Warrior France[]
On Ninja Warrior France 3, the Double Dipper, locally called Le Roller Coaster (not to be confused with the Rollercoaster) appeared as the third obstacle in Finals' Stage One.
The obstacle was very similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 9. However, due to space constraints, the tracks were shorteer than its American counterpart, in which the first track was 6m while the second track was 3.50m. This making an incident similar to Travis Rosen's injury on American Ninja Warrior 10 would not happen. Despite that, the obstacle was very brutal, as it eliminated 16 out of 25 competitors who attempted it.
Despite of the high knock-out rate, the obstacle was replaced by the Double Twister in the next season.
As a side note, the Double Dipper in Ninja Warrior France 3 is more commonly used for some international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior formats which have space constraints.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
On Ninja Warrior Germany 3, the Double Dipper (locally known as Doppelter Rohrschlitten, literally Double Pipe Slide) appeared as the second obstacle in Semifinal Qualification 6 and 7, which was very similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior France 3.
Then, on Ninja Warrior Germany 5, the Double Dipper was combined with Rope Ladder (locally known as Doppelter Rohrschlitten mit Cargo-Netz) as the ninth and final obstacle in all two Semi-finals. The only different compared to the other versions of Double Dipper was the structure of all two tracks was very similar to the Big Dipper in American Ninja Warrior 7. It was brutal in the first Semi-Finals round as out of 24 attempts only 14 ninjas could conquer it while in the second Semi-Finals round it was slightly easier as out of 8 attempts only 3 ninjas failed it.
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
The Double Dipper appeared as the second obstacle during the semifinals on Australian Ninja Warrior 5. This version had a rope at the start, and a hanging net in which competitors must transfer from the second track in order to land. This obstacle eliminated many competitors, including top competitors like Raphaela Wiget, Celeste Dixon and Jordan Papandrea.
It returned in Australian Ninja Warrior 6, as the seventh obstacle of the semifinals, and the first obstacle of the Race for Advantage, and was extractly similar to the one used in Ninja Warrior Israel 4. Due to being placed later in the course, the obstacle caused considerably less damage, as it only eliminating Aiden Princena-White in Semifinal 1 and John Sterio in Semifinal 2.
Ninja Israel[]
On Ninja Warrior Israel 4, the Double Dipper, locally called זינוק בעלייה כפול (literally Double Uphill Leap) appeared as the fourth obstacle of Semifinal 2 and Semifinal 3, which was similar to the one used in Australian Ninja Warrior 5 (since the obstacle featured a hanging net in which competitors must transfer to from the second track in order to land), albeit no rope at the start so competitors must held on to the pipe just like American Ninja Warrior's version.
Big Dipper Freestyle[]
The Big Dipper Freestyle is a staple event throughout the American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special series, starting with the fourth edition. Here, competitors slide through the first track used on the Double Dipper, then perform a special trick, usually extraordinary, for the judges to score.
Notable freestyles include:
- A backwards dive from Jessie Graff; American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5.
- Grant McCartney's flip into a target ring; American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5.
- A tied flip between Adam Rayl and Grant McCartney; American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5.
- A gymnast dive from Najee Richardson, replicating Ethan Swanson's dive in All Stars Special 4; American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5.
Other Appearances[]
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
On Australian Ninja Warrior: Record Breakers 2, the Big Dipper Freestyle Challenge was the fourth event of this special, with the same ruleset as in American Ninja Warrior.
Trivia[]
- The Big Dipper is named after the asterism of the same name, which is part of the greater Ursa Major constellation. Both the obstacle and the asterism bear a similar shape to each other.
- The Double Dipper, however, is named after the concept of double dipping, defined as dipping a piece of food into a shared sauce, taking a bite, then repeating the action with the same food item.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the NBC/Polsat/Keshet 12 broadcast and external information found.
American Ninja Warrior[]
Double Dipper | |||
---|---|---|---|
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
ANW9 | 64 | 82 | 78.04% |
ANW10 | 55 | 81 | 67.90% |
ANW11 | 62 | 77 | 80.52% |
ANW13 | 55 | 62 | 88.70% |
USA vs. The World 4 | 7 | 8 | 87.5% |
USA vs. The World 5 | 5 | 6 | 83.33% |
USA vs. The World 6 | 6 | 7 | 85.71% |
Total | 254 | 323 | 78.63% |
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
Big Dipper | |||
---|---|---|---|
NWP | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
NWP3 | 21 | 24 | 87.5 |
NWP6 | 24 | 24 | 100% |
Total | 45 | 48 | 93.75% |
Ninja Israel[]
Big Dipper | |||
---|---|---|---|
NWI | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
NWI1 (Heat 4) | 11 | 12 | 91.67% |
NWI1 (Heat 9) | 9 | 17 | 52.94% |
NWI1 (Heat 12) | 8 | 9 | 88.89% |
NWI1 (Heat 13) | 3 | 4 | 75% |
NWI2 (Heat 9) | 7 | 9 | 77.78% |
NWI2 (Heat 12) | 21 | 24 | 87.5% |
NWI2 (Heat 14) | 19 | 22 | 86.36% |
NWI2 (Final) | 27 | 28 | 96.43% |
Total | 105 | 125 | 84% |
Double Dipper | |||
---|---|---|---|
NWI | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
NWI4 (Semifinal 2) | 8 | 11 | 72.73% |
NWI4 (Semifinal 3) | 6 | 8 | 75% |
Total | 14 | 19 | 73.68% |