Walk the Plank is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the second obstacle on American Ninja Warrior 11 in Los Angeles.
Competitors must crawl up a 13-foot (3.96-meter) see-saw board, which would gradually start to tip. Then, they must time their jump from the board to grab a bar, which would slide down a track (similar to the second track on the Double Dipper or Dragon Glider), and finally made the dismount to landing platform.
The obstacle has a similar function and concept to the Ipponbashi from SASUKE 12, as both of these obstacles require competitors to walk on a tipping plank and then to jump off of it as soon as it tips. Walk the Plank, in comparison, is more elaborate than Ipponbashi.
During Los Angeles qualifiers, the obstacle was proven to be brutal, as several competitors either misjudged their timing to grab the bar or lost their grip after grabbing the bar. In the end, the obstacle eliminated 31 out of 70 competitors who attempted it, including Tiana Webberley, Greg Freeman, Anna Shumaker, Benjamin Humphrys, Jesse Orenshein, Anthony Porter, Victor Chan, and Cheyenne Arrington.
In a strange reversal, during Los Angeles finals, the obstacle eliminated Rebekah Bonilla, Samantha Bush, and Emmi Rose, who were the only three female competitors to complete the obstacle during Los Angeles qualifiers. Whereas Tiana Webberley and Anna Shumaker, both of whom failed on the obstacle during qualifying, were the only women who completed the obstacle.
Giant Walk the Plank[]
A variation of Walk the Plank, (called as Giant Walk the Plank), appeared as the first obstacle in Stage Two on American Ninja Warrior 11, replacing Epic Catch & Release from the previous season.
This version involved a rope at the start as a medium to reach the plank. In addition, the plank and the track were made bigger and longer than the original counterpart.
The obstacle only took out two competitors: Dave Cavanagh (who later completed the obstacle, thanks to the Safety Pass that he earned during Baltimore finals) and Ben Wales.
Due to its low knockout rate, the obstacle was replaced by the Striding Steps on American Ninja Warrior 13.
Other Appearances[]
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
On Australian Ninja Warrior 5, Walk the Plank appeared as the second obstacle in Stage One. The obstacle was renamed as the Launchpad to Trapeze and compared to the one used on American Ninja Warrior 11, the board would not tip when the competitors applied their weight on them and served as the run-up for the competitors to reach a zipline-connected trapeze bar.
Then on Australian Ninja Warrior 6, this version of Walk the Plank appeared as the second obstacle during the semifinals and Grand Final's Stage One, but with some differences:
- In Semifinal 1 and Semifinal 2, the launchpad connected to a trapeze bar, similar to the Launchpad to Trapeze version.
- In Semifinal 3, the launchpad connected to a sliding bag (similar to the one used in Jumper Cables or the pole in Pole Slider), thus being renamed as Launchpad to Bag.
- In Stage One, the launchpad connected to a blade (similar to the one used in Eagles Claw), thus being renamed as Launchpad to Eagles Claw.
The distance from the pad to all connecting stuffs was revealed to be 2.8 meters (9.19 feet).
Ninja Warrior France[]
On Ninja Warrior France 5, Walk the Plank appeared as the third obstacle of Qualifications 4. It was paired with Inclined Cylinder as part of Route B of the Crossroads.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
On Ninja Warrior Germany 6, Walk the Plank appeared as the fifth obstacle in Preliminary Rounds 1 and 4. The obstacle would have a similar function to American Ninja Warrior in which competitors have to walk up the board and reach to the bar.
It returned in Ninja Warrior Germany 7, as the third obstacle of the Semifinals, with no observable modifications.
On Ninja Warrior Germany 8, Walk the Plank reappeared as the second obstacle of Preliminary Round 3.
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
On Ninja Warrior Poland 5, Walk the Plank (Wejście po Desce, literally Entrance Through the Plank) appeared as the fourth obstacle in finals' Stage One. The obstacle had a similar function to that of its original appearance in American Ninja Warrior 11. The obstacle turned out to be difficult, as out of 12 competitors who attempted the obstacle, five failed on it.
Then, on Ninja Warrior Poland 7, Walk the Plank appeared again in the Stage One, this time as the third obstacle, with a similar configuration to the one used in the fifth season. The obstacle proved brutal again, eliminating 10 of the 22 contestants who attempted it.
Trivia[]
- Walk the Plank was one of the obstacles that won the third edition of American Ninja Warrior: Obstacle Design Challenge, designed by Jeff Thompson.
- The name of the obstacle comes from a form of maritime death penalty, in which a tied captive would be forced to walk blindfold over the plank, into the sea.
- Walk the Plank is the first obstacle on American Ninja Warrior to eliminate all top 5 female competitors in a qualifying city course at least once. Its appearance in Los Angeles course on American Ninja Warrior 11 wiped out Tiana Webberley and Anna Shumaker during city qualifiers, and Rebekah Bonilla, Samantha Bush, and Emmi Rose, during city finals.
- For the third, and final, consecutive time, the first obstacle of Stage Two was a supersized version of the second obstacle from the city qualifiers, as:
- the Ring Swing was modified as the Giant Ring Swing in American Ninja Warrior 8,
- the Catch & Release was modified as the Epic Catch & Release in American Ninja Warrior 10, and
- Walk the Plank was modified as the Giant Walk the Plank in American Ninja Warrior 11.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the NBC/Polsat broadcast and external information found.
American Ninja Warrior[]
Walk the Plank | |||
---|---|---|---|
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
ANW11 (qualifiers) | 39 | 70 | 55.71% |
ANW11 (finals) | 30 | 33 | 90.91% |
Total | 69 | 103 | 66.99% |
Giant Walk the Plank | |||
---|---|---|---|
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
ANW11 | 29 | 31 | 93.55% |
USA vs. The World 6 | 6 | 6 | 100% |
Total | 35 | 37 | 94.59% |
Ninja Warrior Poland[]
Walk the Plank | |||
---|---|---|---|
NWP | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
NWP5 | 7 | 12 | 58.33% |
NWP7 | 13 | 22 | 59.08% |
Total | 20 | 34 | 58.81% |