The Utility Pole Slider is an obstacle first introduced as the second obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 5 in Miami.
Competitors had to ride a 8-foot-long thin pole, with two sets of bars at the top, all laid out horizontally. Then, they must slide down the pole onto a track with a drop at the middle. Finally, they must make a dismount to the landing platform to advance. Competitors could use the pole to put their legs around, but some just rode it by hanging onto a pair of bars.
This obstacle was extremely easy, as no competitor failed, whether during Miami qualifiers or Miami finals.
Other Appearances[]
Ninja Warrior UK[]
The Utility Pole Slider appeared as the second obstacle on the first three seasons of Ninja Warrior UK. On Ninja Warrior UK, the obstacle was called Telephone Pole Rider, while on Ninja Warrior UK 2 and Ninja Warrior UK 3, the obstacle was simply called Pole Rider.
However, on Ninja Warrior UK and Ninja Warrior UK 2, to make the obstacle harder than the one used on American Ninja Warrior 5, there was a sudden stop just before the end of the track, requiring competitors to time their release from the pole to the landing platform, or else, they would be eliminated. As a result, the obstacle was more brutal, as several competitors failed on this obstacle, whether failed to time the dismount correctly or didn't make the dismount, so competitors were hung up and forced to fall into the water. The stopper was removed in NWUK3
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
On Australian Ninja Warrior, the Utility Pole Slider appeared as the second obstacle in Heat 5, and just like on Ninja Warrior UK 2 and Ninja Warrior UK 3, the obstacle was called as the Pole Rider. However, unlike on American Ninja Warrior 5 and all three seasons of Ninja Warrior UK, the bars were removed, resulting competitors must hug the pole and slide down the pole onto a track in a similar fashion to the Log Grip, except it was thinner.
Then, on Australian Ninja Warrior 2, the Pole Rider appeared as the second obstacle in Heat 5 once again. This time, the track was made similar to the one used on the Cannonball Drop. However, unlike on the previous season, the obstacle was more brutal than ever, as only sixteen competitors could get past it. With the top twenty competitors from each heat advancing to the semifinals that season, the Pole Rider became the cut-off for the competitors in Heat 5 to advance.
Ninja Warrior Turkey[]
The Pole Rider appeared in Ninja Warrior Turkey. Unlike the other versions, the pole was attached to a zip-line instead of a metal track, hence it was able to spin a 270° (per observation) during its whole journey.
There is also once again, a stopper, around three-quarters the way down.
Ninja Warrior Austria[]
The Pole Rider appeared in Ninja Warrior Austria 3, as the second obstacle of Heat 3 and 5. It used the metal track from Cannonball Drop which had two drops. All handles had been removed from its body
Due to the geometry of the track, and the mass of the pole. The pole does not rest at the beginning of the track initially, but at somewhere before the first drop. This required the contestants to make a risky leap from the starting mat to the pole.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
On Ninja Warrior Germany 1, Pole Rider appeared as the second obstacle of Preliminary Round 1. The pole had one set of handles only, and the track had one drop with a stopper halfway through the second drop.
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
On Ninja Warrior Poland 4, the Utility Pole Slider appeared as the second obstacle in Heat 2 and Heat 6. This obstacle turned out to be difficult as it eliminated half of the participants from the course.
Then on Ninja Warrior Poland 5, the Utility Pole Slider appeared as the second obstacle in Heat 1 and Heat 4.
The Australian Ninja Warrior's Utility Pole Slider version appeared in Ninja Warrior Poland 7, as the second obstacle in Heat 2 and Heat 6. However, in this version the pole was much thinner, which made it more similar to the poles used in the Pole Grasper. Despite the fact that the obstacle seemed to be more difficult because of it, the obstacle was not a major difficulty for the competitors.
On Ninja Warrior Poland 8, the regular version of the obstacle returned as the second obstacle of Heat 3 and Heat 5.
Team Ninja Warrior Denmark[]
The Pole Rider appeared as the 2nd obstacle of Heat n of Team Ninja Warrior Denmark. However there is only 1 set on handles on the pole, and it was attached to a zip-line instead of a track.
Ninja Warrior Russia[]
On Ninja Warrior Russia, the Utility Pole Slider, locally called Перископ (literally Periscope) appeared as the second obstacle in Heat 1 and Heat 6.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the Polsat broadcast and external information found
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
NWP | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
NWP8 (Heat 3) | 25 | 27 | 92.58% |
NWP8 (Heat 5) | 24 | 27 | 88.89% |
Total | 49 | 54 | 90.74% |