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Floating Boards, romanized as Floating Board (フローティングボード), is a Third Stage obstacle introduced in SASUKE 25 as part of Kanzen Renewal, appearing as the third obstacle. The obstacle consisted of five boards hanging from the scaffolding above that's separated 90cm (2.95ft) apart from each other, with the boards raised in height except for the fifth board, being placed at the lowest height.

Competitors must climb onto the first board up until they can cling onto the side of the board using their hands and feet. From there, they must transfer to the next boards until they could reach the landing platform, which was placed just above the water. Despite being very fatiguing for Ultimate Cliffhanger that was placed immediately after, it eliminated no competitors and was replaced by Cycling Road in the following tournament.

Takahashi Kenji attempting Floating Boards in SASUKE 25

Takahashi Kenji attempting Floating Boards
in SASUKE 25


Uninstalled Floating Boards

Floating Boards yet to be installed prior to Third Stage in SASUKE 25

Interestingly, part of the reasons why the obstacles in SASUKE 25's Third Stage are covered in sheets prior to being attempted is due to the fact that Floating Boards were yet to be installed until the stage was about to commence. The producers decided to cover the already installed obstacles with sheets to hide this fact, as well as to add tension among the competitors when Third Stage commenced.

Other Appearances[]

Except SASUKE Vietnam, the Floating Boards in most international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior formats have four boards only.

American Ninja Warrior[]

This obstacle first appeared during American Ninja Warrior 2's Boot Camp finals, but it wasn't used in any of the Team Relays. Its first appearance in an official course would be in American Ninja Warrior 4.

Prototype[]

Anw4 floating boards unused

American Ninja Warrior 4's Floating Boards (Prototype)

An unused version of Floating Boards can be seen in broadcast of American Ninja Warrior 4, during a drone shot over Stage Three. It consisted of five boards, and what appears to be an identical arrangement to that in SASUKE 25, with the fifth board placed lower than the others.

First Version[]

ANW4 Floating Boards

American Ninja Warrior 4's Floating Boards in Stage Three

ANW5 Floating Boards

American Ninja Warrior 5's Floating Boards in Stage Three

The first version of Floating Boards appeared as the third obstacle of Stage Three in American Ninja Warrior 4 and American Ninja Warrior 5. Each board is 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall and 42 inches (1.07 meters) wide. It again preceded Ultimate Cliffhanger. However unlike in SASUKE:

  • The first board was removed,
  • The distance from the starting platform to the boards is shorter, making it easier for competitors to cling onto the first board immediately,
  • The gaps between the boards were marginally increased to 3 feet (0.91 meters), and
  • The thickness of each board was 2.25 inches (5.715 centimeters).

In American Ninja Warrior 4, the obstacle was completed by the only remaining competitor, Brent Steffensen.

In American Ninja Warrior 5, for the first time, the obstacle eliminated competitors, namely Travis Rosen, James McGrath, and Joe Moravsky. It became the most difficult obstacle for competitors. Only Brian Arnold was able to complete this obstacle. It still became a hard obstacle during USA vs. Japan, with three more competitors failing, James McGrath, Yamamoto Shingo, and Urushihara Yuuji.

Second Version[]

ANW6 Floating Boards

American Ninja Warrior 6's Floating Boards in Stage Three

ANW7 Floating Boards

American Ninja Warrior 7's Floating Boards in Stage Three

The second version of Floating Boards appeared in American Ninja Warrior 6 and American Ninja Warrior 7, at the exact position with the first version. This time, the fourth board was placed equally high as the other three boards. There was now a 3.5ft (1.07m) gap between boards.

In American Ninja Warrior 6, two competitors, Elet Hall and Joe Moravsky, attempted the obstacle, but only Joe Moravsky could complete it.

In American Ninja Warrior 7, all competitors completed the obstacle.

Third Version[]

ANW8 Floating Boards

American Ninja Warrior 8's Floating Boards in Stage Three

The third version of Floating Boards appeared in American Ninja Warrior 8. It still preceded Ultimate Cliffhanger, however now was the second obstacle, and some modifications were made. The bottom part of the boards was tapered, so the boards looked trapezoidal, rather than the usual rectangular-shape. Despite that change, all competitors completed this obstacle; both Drew Drechsel and Daniel Gil completed it, as well as competitors during USA vs. The World 3.

Fourth Version[]

ANW9 Floating Boards

American Ninja Warrior 9's Floating Boards in Stage Three

ANW10 Floating Boards

American Ninja Warrior 10's Floating Boards in Stage Three

The fourth version of Floating Boards appeared in American Ninja Warrior 9 and American Ninja Warrior 10. It was moved to the first obstacle, and while the boards' were the same trapezoidal shape as in the previous version, the boards' size and length were modified, as the boards were increasing in length as they progressed, with the first board being the shortest, and the fourth board being the tallest. Despite those changes, no competitor failed on this obstacle once again on both two seasons.

During two USA vs. The World specials, only Marco Jubes from Team Latin America failed in USA vs. The World 4, when he lost his balance at the dismount.

After being in American Ninja Warrior for seven seasons, the obstacle was replaced by Grip & Tip in the next season.

Ninja Warrior UK[]

NWUK3 Floating Boards

Ninja Warrior UK 3's Floating Boards

During the first three seasons of Ninja Warrior UK, Floating Boards appeared during the finals:

However, the obstacle was never attempted, and it was eventually replaced by Spider Flip in Ninja Warrior UK 4.

Australian Ninja Warrior[]

-41- Floating Boards

Australian Ninja Warrior's Floating Boards

AusNW3 Floating Doors

Australian Ninja Warrior 3's Floating Doors

Floating Boards appeared:

During the first two seasons, the obstacle was not attempted. In Australian Ninja Warrior 3, four competitors, Josh O'Sullivan, Bryson Klein, Daniel Mason, and Charlie Robbins, were able to reach the obstacle, but none of them could complete it; all of them failed while trying to make a transition to the second board. Therefore, the obstacle became the cut-off to determine which competitor became the season's winner and took home the AU$100,000 cash prize, which ultimately went to Charlie Robbins. However, no one failed on this obstacle in Australian Ninja Warrior 4.

SASUKE Vietnam[]

Ảnh chụp màn hình (13)

SASUKE Vietnam 3's Floating Boards

The Floating Boards, locally called Ván Treo (literally Hanging Boards) appeared as the second obstacle in Stage Three on SASUKE Vietnam 3.

The obstacle was similar to one used in SASUKE 25, with the presence of five boards. However, the first, third, and fifth boards were placed lower than the second and fourth boards. Also, competitors were not allowed to touch/grab the white trail near the top of the boards. If they did that, they would be disqualified; this particular rule came into play when Phạm Xuân Hùng got disqualified for touching the white trail on the third board. Along with him, three competitors failed this obstacle, including Bùi Hoàng Hải, Nguyễn Văn Long and Nguyễn Quang Minh.

SASUKE Vietnam 4's Floating Boards

SASUKE Vietnam 4's Floating Boards

In SASUKE Vietnam 4, Floating Boards appeared once again as the second obstacle in Stage Three. This time, all five boards were placed equally high, making the obstacle similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 6 and American Ninja Warrior 7, except only four boards were used on those American Ninja Warrior seasons. The obstacle eliminated four competitors, with three of them, Nguyễn Phi Hùng, Chunmin Yang, and Perry Oosterlee, being disqualified for touching the white trail on the board, and one competitor, Fang Bin, falling while making the transition to the final board.

Ảnh chụp màn hình (38)

SASUKE Vietnam 5's Floating Boards

In SASUKE Vietnam 5, the obstacle was moved to the fourth obstacle in Stage Two. With the introduction of the 180-second time limit in Stage 2, the obstacle mostly served as the time waster for the competitors, as only two competitors failed out of 26 competitors who attempted it.

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia[]

SNWI2017 Floating Boards

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia 2017's Floating Boards in Semifinal Stage 2

In SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia 2017, Floating Boards appeared as the fourth obstacle during Semifinal Stage 2.

It featured four hanging boards, with the fourth board shorter than the other three boards, in order to make the obstacle more difficult. Also, similar to the Floating Boards in SASUKE Vietnam, competitors were not allowed to touch/grab the top blue part of the boards. If they did so, they would be disqualified; this particular rule came into play when Josh Levin was disqualified for touching the top part of the fourth board during SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia: International Competition.

Ninja Warrior Austria[]

Nwat1 floating boards

Ninja Warrior Austria 1's Floating Boards

On Ninja Warrior Austria 1, Floating Boards appeared as the first obstacle of Stage Three. The design of the boards was very similar to the design of the one used on American Ninja Warrior 6, both in terms of design and configuration. Only one competitor attempted it, but failed as he came up short.

Ninja Warrior France[]

Nwfr1 floating boards

Ninja Warrior France 1's Floating Boards

On Ninja Warrior France 1, Floating Boards appeared as the first obstacle of the untimed part of Stage Two. The design of the boards was very similar to the design of the one used on American Ninja Warrior 6, both in terms of design and configuration. Of the two competitors who attempted it, only one cleared.

Nwfr6 floating boards

Ninja Warrior France 6's Floating Boards

It returned after a four-year hiatus in Ninja Warrior France 6, as the third obstacle of Stage Two.

Ninja Warrior Germany[]

NWG-Third Stage-Obstacle-Floating Boards

Ninja Warrior Germany's Floating Boards (Schwebende Türen)

In Ninja Warrior Germany, the Floating Boards (locally known as Schwebende Türen, literally translated as Floating Doors) first appeared in Ninja Warrior Germany 1, serving as the first obstacle of the Third Stage of said season. In this particular appearance of the Floating Boards, the obstacle configuration was very similar to the second Floating Boards version from American Ninja Warrior.

In this particular appearance of the Floating Boards, however, the obstacle never got attempted, with the Last Man Standing of that season, Oliver Edelmann, failing the fourth obstacle of the Second Stage, the Unstable Bridge.

NWG 2-Third Stage-Obstacle-Floating Boards

Ninja Warrior Germany 2's Floating Boards (Schwebende Türen)

Nwgr3 floating boards

Ninja Warrior Germany 3's Floating Boards

In Ninja Warrior Germany 2 and Ninja Warrior Germany 3, the Floating Boards then re-appeared, this time serving as the second obstacle of the Third Stage of said season, due to the introduction of the Curved Body Prop. In this particular appearance of the Floating Boards, the obstacle configuration was the exact same as in the previous season.

Nwgr4 floating boards

Ninja Warrior Germany 4s Floating Boards

In this second appearance of the Floating Boards, the obstacle got attempted by Moritz Hans, René Casselly and Benjamin Grams, and not only proved to be a massive stamina waster for all of the three above-mentioned competitors, but also proved to be the killer of Benjamin Grams run, with him failing the transition from the final board to the safe ground.

NWG 5-Third Stage-Obstacle-Floating Boards

Ninja Warrior Germany 5's Floating Boards (Schwebende Türen)

Nwgr5 floating boards front

Ninja Warrior Germany 5's Floating Boards (viewed from front)

Starting from Ninja Warrior Germany 5, the Floating Boards were modified, so that each board would be tilted vertically, making it significantly harder to grip, making this Floating Boards iteration very similar to the Floating Boards of Ninja Warrior Israel. In addition to that, the boards were increasing in length as they progressed, similar to the fourth version that appeared in American Ninja Warrior 9 and 10.

The above stated modifications proved to be majorly sufficient and resulted in the obstacle being incredibly brutal in Ninja Warrior Germany 5, with more than half, or 7 to be precise, of the 13 competitors, who attempted this obstacle, failing it, also including Top-Ninja Warrior Germany athletes, such as Joel Mattli, Jun Kim and the Last Man Standing of Ninja Warrior Germany, Oliver Edelmann.

NWG 6-Third Stage-Obstacle-Floating Boards

Ninja Warrior Germany 6's Floating Boards (Schwebende Türen)

In Ninja Warrior Germany 6, the Floating Boards then re-appeared, once again serving as the first obstacle of the Third Stage of said season. In this particular appearance of the Floating Boards, the obstacle remained unchanged, with the obstacle configuration being the exact same as in the previous season.

However, despite the above-mentioned fact, that the obstacle remained unchanged in that season, the obstacle still proved to not only be a massive stamina waster for the competitors, but it also proved be quite difficult, with three of the 12 competitors who attempted this obstacle failing it.

Ninja Warrior Italy[]

NWIt-Obstacle-Floating Boards

Ninja Warrior Italy's Floating Boards

In Ninja Warrior Italy, the Floating Boards (Le quattro porte, literally The Four Doors) appeared as the very first obstacle of the Third Stage of the Finals of said season. In this appearance, the configuration of the Floating Boards was similar to the iteration of American Ninja Warrior 6 to 7.

In this appearance of the Floating Boards, only one competitor, Riccardo Piazza, the Last Man Standing of said season, attempted this obstacle, but failed to complete the obstacle and got eliminated, with him failing the transition from the final board to the safe ground, not only bringing his performance, but also the entire season to an end.

Ninja Israel[]

NWI-Third Stage-Obstacle-Floating Boards

Ninja Israel's Floating Boards

On Ninja Warrior Israel, the Floating Boards, literally translated הלוחות הצפים appeared as the second in Third Stage. The design of the boards was very similar to the design of the one used from American Ninja Warrior 7 onwards (except of the color design). However, unlike most national or international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior formats, all four rectangular-shaped boards were tilted vertically, making it significantly harder to grip. This resulted in the obstacle was very brutal, as it eliminated 2 out of 3 competitors who attempted it. Only Yuval Shemla completed the Floating Boards.

NWI2 Floating Boards

Ninja Israel 2's Floating Boards

Then, on Ninja Warrior Israel 2, the Floating Boards appeared as the third obstacle in Stage Three staring from this season. The obstacle is the same, except that the design of the boards was very similar to the design of the one used on Australian Ninja Warrior. The obstacle was still very brutal, as only Gil Marantz attempted it, but later failed when transition to the second boards, leaving the new version of Flying Bar unattempted. Despite of its difficulty, the obstacle would be modified on the next season.

NWI3 Floating Boards

Ninja Israel 3's Floating Boards

Later, on Ninja Warrior Israel 3, the Floating Boards received a major modification, in which it was very similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 9 and American Ninja Warrior 10, albert of the different visual design of the boards. However, unlike American Ninja Warrior, this modification made the obstacle very brutal once again, as it eliminated 3 out of 5 competitors who attempted it. Only Alex Khazanov and Yuval Shemla (who cleared the Floating Boards in Ninja Warrior Israel) cleared it.

NWI4 Floating Boards

Ninja Israel 4's Floating Boards

On Ninja Warrior Israel 4, the obstacle was modified to the one used in Ninja Warrior Germany 5 (since all four trapezoidal shape boards was replaced back by four tilted rectangular-shaped boards), with a bit modification of the boards design. Also, the gap between the final board and the landing platform was smaller. This making the obstacle was easier, as both three competitors cleared it, including Yuval Shemla, who cleared the Floating Boards in the first and previous season of Ninja Israel.

NWI5 Floating Boards

Ninja Israel 5's Floating Boards

On Ninja Warrior Israel 5, the Floating Boards was reverted back to the one used in the first two Ninja Israel seasons (since all four boards were placed equally high). Both competitors who attempted this obstacle cleared it.

Ninja Warrior Poland[]

NWP Floating Boards

Ninja Warrior Poland 1's Floating Boards

In Ninja Warrior Poland, the Podwieszane Płyty appeared as the sixth obstacle in Stage Two. The obstacle involved four boards with the same height and are spaced one meter apart. Only Jakub Zawistowski attempted this obstacle. However, he fell from the second board, passing to the third, thus winning the title of Last Man Standing.

NWP5 Floating Boards

Ninja Warrior Poland 5's Floating Boards

Later in Ninja Warrior Poland 5, the Floating Boards, this time locally called Wiszące Drzwi (literally Hanging Doors) appeared as the eighth and penultimate obstacle in Stage Two. There was a small landing in front of the obstacle (similar to the last one used in Parkour Run, with a difference in size) to rest in front of the obstacle. At the end of the obstacle, the competitors had to grab the rope leading to the last obstacle, the Flying Bar. Only Igor Fojcik, who completed the previous obstacles, attempted the Floating Boards and was the first Polish competitor to complete them.

In the next season, it was replaced by the Window Hang.

NWP5 Floating Boards 2

The landing in front of the obstacle

Trivia[]

  • On several Ninja Warrior's international formats (e.g. Ninja Warrior UK, Ninja Warrior Poland and Ninja Warrior Russia), the board of this obstacle was made as an individual obstacle, called as the Door Rider.
  • On Ninja Israel, the local name of the Unstable Bridge (הלוחות המרחפים) in Ninja Warrior Israel 2 and Ninja Warrior Israel 5 has the same English meaning of the local name of the Floating Boards (הלוחות הצפים).

Competitors' Success Rate[]

  • All results based on the TBS/NBC/RTL/NOVE/Polsat/Keshet 12 broadcast and external information found.

SASUKE[]

SASUKE Clears Attempts Percentage
25 4 4 100%
Total 4 4 100%

American Ninja Warrior[]

ANW Clears Attempts Percentage
ANW4 1 1 100%
ANW5 1 4 25%
ANW6 1 2 50%
ANW7 8 8 100%
ANW8 2 2 100%
ANW9 3 3 100%
ANW10 2 2 100%
USA vs. Japan 5 8 62.5%
USA vs. The World 7 7 100%
USA vs. The World 2 8 8 100%
USA vs. The World 3 9 9 100%
USA vs. The World 4 5 6 83.33%
USA vs. The World 5 3 3 100%
Total 55 63 87.3%

Ninja Warrior Germany[]

NWG Clears Attempts Percentage
NWG1 0 0 N/A
NWG2 2 3 66.66%
NWG3 4 5 80%
NWG4 4 4 100%
NWG5 6 13 46.15%
NWG6 9 12 75%
Total 25 37 67.56%

Ninja Warrior Italy[]

NWI Clears Attempts Percentage
NWI 0 1 0%
Total 0 1 0%

Ninja Warrior Poland[]

NWP Clears Attempts Percentage
NWP1 0 1 0%
NWP5 1 1 100%
Total 1 2 50%

Ninja Israel[]

NI Clears Attempts Percentage
NI1 1 3 33.33%
NI2 0 1 0%
NI3 2 5 40%
NI4 3 3 100%
NI5 2 2 100%
Total 8 14 57.14%
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