S07.E15: Vegas Finals, Part 2

[OnceSane]

In Las Vegas, the remaining finalists take on Stage 1 of the four-stage course modeled after the Mount Midoriyama course in Japan, with new obstacles Sonic Curve and Double Shock. Those that finish move on to Stage 2.

[VartanFan]

Man - Megan is breaking my heart.  I think she's great and level-headed.  Still liking Joe M.

 

Also, I'm not optimistic for the number of stage 2 finishers if next week is stages 2, 3, and maybe 4!

 

Every time they mention that "ER Doc" Noah is there supporting his wolfpack teammate, I cynically think...no, he just wants his mug on tv some more.  

[Lantern7]

Looks like we'll be getting somebody winning the whole thing. Thirty-eight competitors completing Stage One . .  . we might get a record number reaching Stage Three. Also, when I was poking around the cable listings, I saw that the finale will be three hours long. That's enough time for somebody to make the final stage.

 

How is it that Meagan doesn't get as much hype as Kacy? She's the one that's made it to the Warped Wall twice, while Kacy biffed an early obstacle. Also . . . does anybody recall seeing the guy who finished the course, then cannonballed into the water? He seems new to me, And I'm hoping that Michael Stanger turned down a wild card, because he should have gotten one.

[SophiaD]

Kacy was the first woman (and only to this date) woman to finish a finals course, although Jessie Graff came really, really close this season.

 

I think they decided to only give wildcards to women this year.  There were quite a few who didn't make it out of qualifying who showed up again and quite a few guys I expected to see (Michael Stanger, Jonathan Horton, and Jon Alexis, for example) who don't seem to have gotten one.

[Quilt Fairy]

The African-American guy with the dreadlocks who finished was a wildcard.

[SophiaD]

Oh, cool.  I'm delighted to be proven wrong.  I thought that was kind of unfair. 

[MsVixen]

The African-American guy with the dreadlocks who finished was a wildcard.

He wasn't a wildcard.  It was stated that although he didn't finish any of the trials, that he went far enough fast enough to be in the Vegas Finals.

 

All of the wildcards did go to women this year.  Here are their names:  Kacy Catanzero, Meghan Martin, Michelle Warnkey, Rose Wetzel, Cassie Craig, Marybeth Wang, Tory Garcia, Caitlin Shukwit, Annie Dudek, and Asya Grechka.  I believe that Cassie, Tory, and Annie's runs weren't shown.

Kacy was the first woman (and only to this date) woman to finish a finals course, although Jessie Graff came really, really close this season.

 

I think they decided to only give wildcards to women this year.  There were quite a few who didn't make it out of qualifying who showed up again and quite a few guys I expected to see (Michael Stanger, Jonathan Horton, and Jon Alexis, for example) who don't seem to have gotten one.

I was hoping that Michael Stanger would have gotten a wildcard, also. 

All of the wildcards were given to women this year.  I posted their names in another reply.

[MsVixen]

Looks like we'll be getting somebody winning the whole thing. Thirty-eight competitors completing Stage One . .  . we might get a record number reaching Stage Three. Also, when I was poking around the cable listings, I saw that the finale will be three hours long. That's enough time for somebody to make the final stage.

 

How is it that Meagan doesn't get as much hype as Kacy? She's the one that's made it to the Warped Wall twice, while Kacy biffed an early obstacle. Also . . . does anybody recall seeing the guy who finished the course, then cannonballed into the water? He seems new to me, And I'm hoping that Michael Stanger turned down a wild card, because he should have gotten one.

I don't think the cannonballer's entire run was ever shown in either the qualifying or finals show, not even in one of those quick "while we were away" scenes.  

 

What was funny to me, was that there were 5 finishers tonight whose runs weren't shown at all (I may have to watch again).

[SophiaD]

 

What was funny to me, was that there were 5 finishers tonight whose runs weren't shown at all (I may have to watch again).

 

That's just *annoying*, if so.  Put a few of the people who didn't do so well on "While We Were Away," or cut out a few of the stories.  Anyone who finishes Stage 1 deserves to be at least *acknowledged.*

 

Good for Meagan for making it to the Warped Wall, and good for Jessie, Kacy, and all of the competitors who didn't make it for cheering her on.  That's classy. 

 

I thought Christine had a much better touch with the interviews tonight.  She must have practiced or something.  Also, Akbar and Matt looked very nice in their cowboy hats.  I'm surprised she wasn't wearing one, too.

[Vermicious Knid]

I hate when they montage finishers, especially on the finals. They did what almost no one else managed, they deserve to have their runs shown, instead of people falling.I also think it's bs they add a time limit when all the previous stages don't have one. Some of these finishers took 10 minutes to make it, with a time limit they wouldn't.

 

Too few city finishes and too many on Stage 1. Gonna be some serious course re-designs next season.

[fivestone]

I hate when they montage finishers, especially on the finals. They did what almost no one else managed, they deserve to have their runs shown, instead of people falling.I also think it's bs they add a time limit when all the previous stages don't have one. Some of these finishers took 10 minutes to make it, with a time limit they wouldn't.

 

Too few city finishes and too many on Stage 1. Gonna be some serious course re-designs next season.

 

Well, in order to stay "legitimate" and be true to the original Japanese Ninja Warrior, there needs to be a time limit. I'm not surprised that there were so many Stage 1 finishers this year - they really ramped up the difficulty of the city courses - probably to weed out the chaff and make competitors train harder. It seems to have paid off - it looks like somebody's gonna go all the way this year.

[Skittl1321]

I really like the time limit.

 

Honestly, as much as I love this show though- by now, I'm tired of it.  It's just too much of the same thing over and over again.  The announcers style and the hyping of certain contestants doesn't help.

[ClareWalks]

I find it kind of offensive that the wild card spots all went to women. It's a way to condescend to the female competitors, pander to the female viewers, and just embarrass a bunch of ladies all at the same time. Look, we all know a woman will never in a billion years win this thing. Women have an advantage over men in several key areas of fitness: flexibility, low-weight muscular endurance, fat-burning cardio (that's why in foot races of over 100 miles, women have equal ability to men...it's just that more men participate). American Ninja Warrior primarily tests power (men are better), upper body strength (men are WAY better), and agility (it's a wash, but generally the agility is paired with power, so...). The course is unbeatable for women by design. Putting a bunch of women through as wildcards seems like they're patting the heads of the female population going "there there, we'll throw you this bone so you don't feel left out." Then hang them out to dry on the least upper-body-intensive stage, which is STILL unbeatable. 

 

Don't get me wrong: I think eventually a woman will complete stage 1. But further stages are designed so that only men can win.

[Quilt Fairy]

My bad on the guy I thought was a wildcard. I must have heard that he didn't finish either city run and made that assumption.

 

Talking about the announcers, Iseman doesn't bother me too much, but Akbar keeps repeating the same things over and over. If I hear him say "He's baaaaack!" or "What!?" one more time, I'll scream.

[Fukui San]

I wonder if people here would like what they did with the Japanese show for a while: Holding a separate all-women's tournament consisting of more speed and balance obstacles than strength obstacles.  The third stage instead of grip strength obstacles was dominated by the awesome Domino Hill, where the competitors had to walk across a football field's worth of increasingly tall and unsteady foam dominoes. 

 

They held women's versions for about 8 tournaments but discontinued it due to ratings. It had a decent run, though. The main version is now at around tournament 31. The main version has always had about 5-10 women's competitors, though. It never excluded women.

 

The time limit rules and is the essence of the tournament. If having a competitor race to beat the clock while the siren blares doesn't get you going, you're watching the wrong show. Everything you've seen to this point has been an extension of the real show designed just to get more content for what was designed as a three hour total show. This (the Vegas stages) is the real tournament, not the endless trials and re-trials. One shot, clock ticking, sink or swim, no do-overs.

 

I can't believe they montaged a guy who passed with half a second left on the clock, and also one of the fastest runs.  You'd think they'd at least show all of the outliers.

 

Edit: Here's a link to the female version of the Japanese show, called "Kunoichi" or "Women of Ninja Warrior" as it was repackaged in the US.  That video should have links to some other stages as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOCg1ephmYM

Edited September 8, 2015 by Fukui San

[ClareWalks]

I wonder if people here would like what they did with the Japanese show for a while: Holding a separate all-women's tournament consisting of more speed and balance obstacles than strength obstacles.  The third stage instead of grip strength obstacles was dominated by the awesome Domino Hill, where the competitors had to walk across a football field's worth of increasingly tall and unsteady foam dominoes. 

 

That would be fantastic. They wouldn't even have to make it women-only, just make it more about balance, leg strength/power, flexibility, and speed-based agility. I'll bet they could easily make it tough enough to knock out a BUNCH of the types of men who tend to go far on regular ANW.

[Taeolas]

Yeah I'm shocked they montaged a fast run and a nail biter. Those are normally shooins for the full runs.

 

They Wildcarded the women this year, but I suspect that's as much because they had fewer WildCards (due to the extra Military course) slots as because they wanted some women to run Stage 1. Anyone got the previous years on hand for the number of Stage 1 competitors? (As in are they always 100 and do the wildcards reflect the padding to get up to 100?)

 

30ish Stage 1 finishers feels about right. Like I said in the Part 1 thread, it feels like you want to have 1/3 get through each stage. So ~33 from Stage 1, ~11 through Stage 2, and ~3 finishing Stage 3 and attempting Stage 4. Since I believe Stages 2, 3 and 4 are run the same night, you want to give the ninjas a bit of rest time, as well as have enough people running to give them time to figure out Stage 2 and 3.

 

Thinking on that, and on Season 6 (last year), I believe the lack of people getting through to Stage 2 is partly to blame for the Stage 3 fails. Season 6: Stage 1 only had 18 (out of 100, just checked Wiki) get through. Of those 18 only 2 went on to Stage 3. Both of those finishers (apparently) ran late in the Stage 2 crowd (so they had more time to analyse the course) but subsequently had less time to rest up for Stage 3. If there were ~10 people in that Stage 3 crowd, that's more rest time and more opportunities to figure out the course and get through.

 

If those numbers hold, we should have someone attempting Stage 4. I'm not sure if they will finish, but even just reaching Stage 4 will  be enough to show its doable and give them lots to talk about next season. 

Edited September 8, 2015 by Taeolas

[Skittl1321]

I wonder if people here would like what they did with the Japanese show for a while: Holding a separate all-women's tournament consisting of more speed and balance obstacles than strength obstacles.  The third stage instead of grip strength obstacles was dominated by the awesome Domino Hill, where the competitors had to walk across a football field's worth of increasingly tall and unsteady foam dominoes. 

 

They held women's versions for about 8 tournaments but discontinued it due to ratings. It had a decent run, though. The main version is now at around tournament 31. The main version has always had about 5-10 women's competitors, though. It never excluded women.

 

The time limit rules and is the essence of the tournament. If having a competitor race to beat the clock while the siren blares doesn't get you going, you're watching the wrong show. Everything you've seen to this point has been an extension of the real show designed just to get more content for what was designed as a three hour total show. This (the Vegas stages) is the real tournament, not the endless trials and re-trials. One shot, clock ticking, sink or swim, no do-overs.

 

I can't believe they montaged a guy who passed with half a second left on the clock, and also one of the fastest runs.  You'd think they'd at least show all of the outliers.

 

I'd love to see that- but I'd put men in it too.  Rather than have people think 'aww, poor women can't do the real course" it would be interesting to see if any of the men could do this "watered down women's course".

 

[backgroundnoise]

I thought Christine had a much better touch with the interviews tonight.

I find her a complete waste of airtime.  Asking Kacy, "You seem so emotional.  How are you feeling?" and shoving her mike in her crying face was tasteless.  How the F do you THINK she feels? Ugh.

 

Akbar needs to rethink some of his comments.  He sounds silly at times, saying things like, "He's a luger, he won't have any trouble with the warped wall."  He keeps trying to relate things that don't relate.

[CrazyDog]

I haven't been the biggest Kacy fan, but that was painful to watch. Does she always look so nervous before starting? Seems like the pressure may have been a factor. I hope she comes back next year with her own "redemption" story. She, Megan and Jessie are definitely badass.

 

I continue to love Isaac, the Ninja Cowboy and the Weatherman is just great. He's my vote to be the first one to complete Stage 4.

 

Yay to the Human Panther for breaking his streak of hitting the water on the fifth obstacle. I may have cheered when he got past it.

 

The interviewer was better last night, but that's not saying much. "You blew it, Kacy, how are you feeling right now?" Jeez.

 

I'm still sad the dumpster-diving hottie didn't make it further.

[Sam215]

I, too, think that this is the year someone will make it to stage 4.  On the off chance that more than one person completes it (just dreaming), will they both get 1 million dollars or just the fastest finisher?  Are they running against other ninjas or the course?

[ClareWalks]

I'm still sad the dumpster-diving hottie didn't make it further.

 

Oh man, that guy is so sexy, in an 80s-movie sort of way (which is the best way to be sexy, IMO)

[SharonH58]

I'm surprised Kacy screws up the trampoline each time.  But I was secretly glad she fell and I was hoping her boyfriend would.   So sorry Rose Wetzel didn't make it further but she is new to the course.    Glad Joe M made it but he is a consistent winner.  There is something about Bryan Arnold I don't trust, family wise.  He is letting his  wife support him and 3 kids!

[healthnut]

I didn't like the women's Ninja Warrior when Japan did it. Megan Martin was interviewed on Ninja Podcast and she said she wouldn't do a women's version. She didn't like the over emphasis on balance and little to no strength.

As far this weeks show. I felt bad for Kacy, NBC really hyped her up this year and I think it definitely took a toll. I actually think they dumbed down Stage 1 course in hopes a female would finish and instead they had way too many people finish the course. It will be interesting to see how they fare in Stage 2, as I expect it to be brutal to make up for stage 1. They definitely need to consider a redesign.

[Quilt Fairy]

I can't figure out what is easier in this stage 1 than in previous years. Certainly the Sonic Curve is harder than the Half Pipe Attack that it replaced. Maybe the Coin Flip was easier because I don't remember too many people going out on it.

 

I like the theory that they made the city courses tougher so that they'd have more people complete stage 1.

[Kromm]

I cheered when Elet Hall went down. I mean the disease of the Go Fast Chuckleheads was mostly stamped out last year, but he's one of the survivors of that who needed a humbling.

I'd love to see that- but I'd put men in it too.  Rather than have people think 'aww, poor women can't do the real course" it would be interesting to see if any of the men could do this "watered down women's course".
 

That defeats the point of it though. I mean unless you regulate the course by height and not gender.  That might be a valid way.

 

I mean the women's course in a way IS watered down, although if properly developed it could still favor agility, which DOES average out between genders a lot more.

[Skittl1321]

 

I mean the women's course in a way IS watered down

 

Watered down on arm strength.  But if balance (or if there was a way to test flexibility) and agility it isn't necessarily watered down- but just a different emphasis.  Then for many (but not all) men- it becomes much more difficult. So in that respect, then standard course is watered down of these elements. There are very few elements on the standard that require sustained balance. Most of the balance elements can just be powered through, often with a dive off to the landing platform. A longer balance element would be a better test, and would probably take a good number of men out.

 

There are also a lot more elements that favor tall people over short ones.  Having a few elements that are easy for short people, but difficult for tall also favors women. Is that watering down for women? Or is that challenging non-Jonathan Horton-sized men?

Edited September 9, 2015 by Skittl1321

[Kromm]

Whoa whoa whoa. I mentioned agility myself, and used that as a counterpoint to it simply being easier (aka "watered down").  I mean I thought "which DOES average out between genders a lot more" made that pretty clear.

 

Flexibility is a tough one to integrate.  Survivor, for example, has been trying to have those challenges for it's individual immunity stage for years. Not sure they've even totally succeeded. 

[ClareWalks]

If they make the course more about balance than anything else, it would actually favor women, who have a lower center of gravity. Having balance-based agility challenges (I'm thinking something where you have to crouch low and walk a narrow, twisting beam for an extended period) would take out a LOT of people and be fun to watch. Having men do it too wouldn't defeat the purpose, any more than having women compete in regular ANW defeats its purpose. 

[Kromm]

If they make the course more about balance than anything else, it would actually favor women, who have a lower center of gravity. Having balance-based agility challenges (I'm thinking something where you have to crouch low and walk a narrow, twisting beam for an extended period) would take out a LOT of people and be fun to watch. Having men do it too wouldn't defeat the purpose, any more than having women compete in regular ANW defeats its purpose. 

I don't think the relative disadvantages are of equal weight though. I think that would only favor women SOMEWHAT, whereas the upper body and long wingspan stuff favors men strongly.

[Rapunzel]

I'm also tired of all the hype Kacy gets, particularly when now there are better women than her competing. Jessie Graf actually earned her place at Mt. Midoriyama and didn't have to get a Wild Card (a couple of the other women may have to - I think Megan and Michelle may have but I can't recall for sure). Megan, Michelle Warnke (Sp?), and several of the other women are also far stronger competitors than Kacy is. Kacy got hyped initially because she started dating Brett - this was long before she ever completed a finals course. The whole hype about her being the first woman to make it up the warped wall has always bothered me as well since I think at least 3 women made it up that year and just because of the cities they ran in and the order they were in, Kacy got all the hype.

 

I also think it's a bit absurd that Kacy got a WC when she went out on the about the 3rd obstacle of the very first (qualifying) course. When Brett went out last year on the qualifying course, he made it pretty close to the end and didn't get a WC. There were also lots of men that went further and faster than Kacy did that were far more deserving of a WC than she was - I'm pretty surprised that all of the WC slots went to women this year.

 

I just hope that more of the hype next year around female contestants goes to Jessie, Megan or Michelle as I think they are far better athletes/competitors than Kacy. Jessie and Megan have also been the only two women to at least make it to the warped wall at Mt. Midoriyama, so they are more deserving of the hype and I'd rather listed to those two give sideline commentary over Kacy any day.

 

I also am not fond of the fact that a lot of the finishers this season were part of the "while we were away" package. I was particularly shocked that Drew Dreschel was in that bunch this episode as he had one of the faster times of the night and has been in nearly every season of this competition. I'd rather see all the finishers than get the background packages that we've seen 80 times before. The background segment on the flight attendant from Hawaii was particularly long this episode and 95% was all pretty identical to what we had seen at every previous stage.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Rapunzel

[backgroundnoise]

I didn't mind Kacy getting a wild card this season because she did make history last year, brought a lot of attention to the sport from the media, and was a gracious advocate throughout.  She's been very supportive of the other women and I never got the impression she wasn't happy for the other 3 (4?) that made it up the wall last year, too.

 

In order to help level the field, can they add adjustable elements, like they do in gymnastics to lower/raise the bars based on individuals?  Have the distance from the trampoline to the propeller, say, be a calculation based on height.  Same with jumping spider width.  Have movable sides that lock in place once set.

Edited September 9, 2015 by backgroundnoise

[SophiaD]

 

I didn't mind Kacy getting a wild card this season because she did make history last year, brought a lot of attention to the sport from the media, and was a gracious advocate throughout.  She's been very supportive of the other women and I never got the impression she wasn't happy with the other 3 (4?) that made it up the wall last year, too.

 

I really like Kacy's supportive attitude.  She may just be doing that to get her name in lights or whatever, but, if it had been me, I'd have been hiding backstage, crying.  Jessie also seems to be really supportive of other women (and other athletes in general), which I like.  It just seemed as though Kacy was trying too hard and psyched herself out. 

 

I like your idea of an adjustable course very much, backgroundnoise.  Because, honestly, barring a miracle, other than Jessie Graff or maybe Meagan or women of similar builds and backgrounds, I don't see very many women making it through the course as is - or men such as Sam Sann who are just too light to get a good punch off of the trampoline.  Both Kacy and Sam would have to have the absolutely perfect jump to make that happen, and how likely is that?  Whereas a guy who is a less good athlete than Sam who has a substandard jump can save it, just because he's taller. 

 

I also agree with ClareWalks that I doubt a woman will win, even Jessie, who is my new standard for female competitors (only because she is taller than Meagan, who is also very good).  I'd be interested to see if they even ever field-tested it with a female athlete to see if it's even possible.  My favorite moment from this season, though, will be Jessie getting farther, faster than anyone else on that diabolical city finals course, and having her name on top of the leaderboard for several minutes, before those guys eventually passed her.

 

Even though I am hardly a Drew Dreschel fan, I was shocked that he ended up in a montage.  They should show all of the competitors who finish. Anyone who makes it through the course deserves their time to shine.

Edited September 9, 2015 by SophiaD

[ClareWalks]

 

I also agree with ClareWalks that I doubt a woman will win, even Jessie, who is my new standard for female competitors (only because she is taller than Meagan, who is also very good).  I'd be interested to see if they even ever field-tested it with a female athlete to see if it's even possible.  My favorite moment from this season, though, will be Jessie getting farther, faster than anyone else on that diabolical city finals course, and having her name on top of the leaderboard for several minutes, before those guys eventually passed her.

 

 

Yes! Jessie's height (and thus, weight) was as close to an equalizer as you can get on this course. Kacy is just too short and light. She weighs what, 90 lb? Whereas a woman at 5'8" and muscular easily weighs 50% more than that. She also has reach, which is critical with both arms and legs. Being super light is great for hanging and climbing, but for running and jumping it is a killer.

 

I think the "perfect" female competitor would be a lean 145-150 lb, and about 5'10"-11".

[Rapunzel]

I like your idea of an adjustable course very much, backgroundnoise.  Because, honestly, barring a miracle, other than Jessie Graff or maybe Meagan or women of similar builds and backgrounds, I don't see very many women making it through the course as is - or men such as Sam Sann who are just too light to get a good punch off of the trampoline.  Both Kacy and Sam would have to have the absolutely perfect jump to make that happen, and how likely is that?  Whereas a guy who is a less good athlete than Sam who has a substandard jump can save it, just because he's taller.

 

There is a male competing this year, who passed all the stages including stage 1 at Mt. Midoriyama, that is 5'2". He didn't have any trouble with any of the obstacles, including the propeller jump or the warped wall. Also, in Japan, where this whole competition began, many of the men are around 5'4" or so and very light and lean, and they have actually had finishers and far harder obstacles than we've yet to see in the American version. 

 

Making the course adjustable defeats the purpose, in my opinion. Most of the athletes wouldn't agree with it either as they all want to be the best, not be the best on a course customized/dumbed down just for them. It also wouldn't be nearly as fun to watch - the whole point is that it is difficult, and one of the reasons I keep watching year after year and have been to see the original version in Japan in person is because it is so hard and so unpredictable and so few have actually finished - none so far in the US and only a handful in Japan. If a significant percentage are able to complete the entire thing every year because of an altered, easier course for some, how interesting would that be to watch?

Edited September 9, 2015 by Rapunzel

[meep.meep]

I think it's great to have one competition that is gender-blind.  Even though it seems to mean that the women won't be as successful.

 

I'm thinking that some of the montaging in Stage 1 means that we will see full runs in the later stages.  

[lorikauai]

I hope this teaches them not to hype Kacy so much next year. She obviously crumbled under the pressure. She was so much more nervous this year on both the qualifying course and Stage 1. I hated the interview after too. She's obviously heartbroken and upset at herself for making a dumb mistake. Let her go lick her wounds in private. Last year's interviewer did that to one of the men and it was equally painful. If they are so upset they can barely speak just let them go.

I felt bad for Megan. She is awesome! Like Jessie she was so close to passing the warped wall although she was moving slowly through the course so I'm not sure she would have had enough time even if she made it up.

I was happy for the Human Panther and Grant McCartney. I felt bad for Elet Hall, although he should be more cautious instead of focusing so much on speed. I liked watching Isaac. He is so enthusiastic during his runs. I love watching the ninjas who look like they are having fun.

[backgroundnoise]

I don't think making the course adjustable would be dumbing it down.   Take the spider jump--much easier if you are 6'5" so that obstacle is already "dumbed down" for you.  Make that expanse wider and it's harder for the tall guys.  Just make it equally hard for everyone as much as possible.

 

I doubt they will ever do something like that--too much math!

[ClareWalks]

I don't think making the course adjustable would be dumbing it down.   Take the spider jump--much easier if you are 6'5" so that obstacle is already "dumbed down" for you.  Make that expanse wider and it's harder for the tall guys.  Just make it equally hard for everyone as much as possible.

 

I doubt they will ever do something like that--too much math!

 

Actually, the spider climb would be really hard if you were very tall. You wouldn't be able to easily "fit" and your knees would have to be so bent they'd create a weaker lock at a certain point. There is probably some sort of algorithm to see what leg length is ideal for the spider climb. That being said, I totally agree that they shouldn't adjust the course. It'd be a logistical nightmare and it's based on too many factors. Two people who are the same height can have very different proportions. 

[Rapunzel]

I don't think making the course adjustable would be dumbing it down.   Take the spider jump--much easier if you are 6'5" so that obstacle is already "dumbed down" for you.  Make that expanse wider and it's harder for the tall guys.  Just make it equally hard for everyone as much as possible.

 

I doubt they will ever do something like that--too much math!

The course as whole is designed to make portions of it harder for some than for others. Height may give some a slight advantage on certain things, but how many taller people did we see fall on the jumping spider last night or even the propeller jump ? Quite a few, including some very experienced contestants (by the way, there are very few competitors that are 6 feet or over and I think only one or two that was 6'5 as mentioned above). Ellet Hall didn't pass the spider jump, for example, who was a favorite this year. Also, the smaller, lighter people tend to do better on the upper body obstacles as they have less mass to carry through. As most of the course, Stage 2 and Stage 3, are very much upper body, one could argue that actually the smaller people have a better shot at completing the whole thing. It's been said many times that the courses tend to favor smaller people.

 

Travis (can't remember his last name) made it all the way to Stage 4, the final climb, in one of the US vs. Japan/Europe comps and nearly finished it - he was just a few fractions of a second late and he is only 5'6" or so. Also, as I mentioned earlier, look at all the Japanese competitors that are 5'0" to 5'4" who have no problem at all with the jumping spider and other obstacles like that - it doesn't have nearly as much to do with height as it does with technique - the jump off of the trampoline is key as you have to get into the hallway on the jumping spider far enough to where it narrows. Japan has also actually had winners who completed the entire course, all of whom were short, light and lean who used the proper technique. We've even seen Kacy be able to do this in practice, and since she's a former gymnast and has had no problem with trampolines in other parts of the course before (including the exact same type of obstacle where she fell last night), her height isn't the sole issue as to why she, or anyone else, failed at obstacles that require far more than just height to be able to complete successfully. Sometimes you're just going to get a bad jump on the trampoline - height isn't going to help you not practically step off the other edge of the trampoline and almost miss it completely, which is what happened to a few (including Kacy), this round.  In addition, as mentioned, since most of the contestants aren't even 6 feet tall, no one is getting a huge height advantage on this course, even if it did help.

 

Also, adjusting the course for each individual could lead to all kinds of issues, including legal ones, especially as these guys are playing for a million dollars. Can you imagine if they adjusted each obstacle in the Olympics to better suit each athlete? What if they made the balance beam wider for some or put the uneven bars closer together for others because it favored some of the competitors more? The playing field has to be level, and I think that by having the course designed with different obstacles that play to different strengths they are trying to balance it out as best they can amongst different types of athletes - but everyone still does the same obstacles.

 

I honestly think the 5'2" Navy guy has a good shot at winning this, or maybe one of the new rookies who have shown a lot of natural ability despite some of them not being able to train in conventional ways. I also think the Weatherman has a very good shot and he had a great run on Stage 1 and throughout this whole tournament, especially as he managed to finish all the courses up to this point.

 

I really hope the guy with the Kenny G hair goes out in Stage 2 though. He strikes me as being arrogant - especially for a Rookie - and I really can't stand his hair. He doesn't tie it back for his runs so I hope it gets in his way and sends him into the water.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Rapunzel

[lorikauai]

I don't think the course should be adjusted for size. It just makes it that much more spectacular when someone without the ideal body type performs well. In a lot of ways all of the ninjas are competing against themselves, seeing how far they can push their bodies and how much farther they can go each year. Obviously it helps to be strong but weigh little and have long enough limbs to reach across some of the distances more easily. Sports are like that though. Smaller gymnasts have an advantage. Taller basketball players have an advantage.

[lorikauai]

I really hope the guy with the Kenny G hair goes out in Stage 2 though. He strikes me as being arrogant - especially for a Rookie - and I really can't stand his hair. He doesn't tie it back for his runs so I hope it gets in his way and sends him into the water.

I had to laugh at Rapunzel not liking the hair. But I agree, he is obnoxious.

[Phantomizer]

Can anyone tell me what happened to Lorin Ball? I know he made it to Vegas, but then disappeared...

[Vermicious Knid]

Is it too much to hope the two women who passed the Army Ranger school will compete next year?

[MsVixen]

Can anyone tell me what happened to Lorin Ball? I know he made it to Vegas, but then disappeared...

 

He's not one of the 38 moving on to Stage 2.  I don't remember seeing his run though.

[Phantomizer]

He's not one of the 38 moving on to Stage 2.  I don't remember seeing his run though.

He wasn't mentioned at all after the city finals. He just totally fell off the map. I would think a veteran like him would have gotten more exposure.

[SophiaD]

According to his Twitter account, Lorin had knee surgery. 

 

Okay, this stupid show is officially consuming too much of my time and energy.  :)

[MyFavShows]

I don't think they should adjust the course. I agree that some obstacles favor fhe small, some favor the tall - and I actually think the ideal size is to be average (like 5'9, 5'10, 150/160 pounds), but being an amazing athelte can outweigh size advantages/disadvantages in ANW more than a lot of other sports IMO.

I was really bummed when Ellet Hall fell - I like him and find his runs so interesring to watch.

I think all the overhype/pressure got to Kasy. How she made a dumb mistake w/ a WC when last year she earned her spot had to make it a lot worse. I don't like that the wild cards were all women - there were a lot of male competitors that I felt deserved them.

Please oh please let Isaac C make it to Stage 3 next week!!!

The scenes w/ the announcers and the cowboy hats were really funny.

[AuntieDiane6]

 

Can you imagine if they adjusted each obstacle in the Olympics to better suit each athlete? What if they made the balance beam wider for some or put the uneven bars closer together for others because it favored some of the competitors more? T

 

Actually, they DO adjust the uneven bars and they also adjust the VAULT TABLE.  Taller gymnasts need the bars farther apart to swing between them safely and they need the vault to be the correct height to hit it at the correct point to vault off safely.  In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the vault was adjusted incorrectly and most of the Olympic predicted winners -- Svetlana Khorkina among them -- ended up falling because of the incorrect height.  

[TiredMe]

Finally got a chance to,watch. So disappointed for Megan and Kaci.

I know this show is repetitive but I love watching it and will miss it after next week.