S11.E07: Los Angeles City Finals

[Lantern7]

I'll be copying the summary in two parts.

Quote

Competitors including Flip Rodriguez and Adam Rayl face up to 10 obstacles

Now here's the part I'm putting in spoiler space because it might make your bile rise.

Spoiler

In a new twist to the City Finals, the two fastest finishers take on the Power Tower for a chance as a safety pass, which provides a second chance at the National Finals..

Edited July 15, 2019 by Lantern7

[ams1001]

Okay, I was kinda rooting for the speed pass guy to fall...but not like that! Ouch!

[Lantern7]

I think ANW is out-thinking itself.

Person who wins on the Power Tower in a qualifying course gets advanced to the National Finals. Fastest two on a city finals course compete to get a chance to re-do a failed run in Vegas should they fail in either Stage One or Stage Two. The person who won the Speed Pass can run for a chance to compete for the Safety Pass, with the berth to Vegas still guaranteed. Of course, if someone wins the Speed Pass and gets injured running for the Safety Pass . . . doesn't that defeat the idea of a Speed Pass? Maybe the fastest two run the Power Tower, with the winner facing the Speed Pass winner with the Safety Pass on the line?

Also: if someone wins a Safety Pass, winds up using it, and completes all four stages . . . would that warrant an asterisk? I mean, Isaac won the first $1 million prize, but Geoff Britten managed to hit all the buzzers that could be hit. I mean, winning is winning, but getting a second chance feels like tainting things.

Anyway, fun night as always, with Flip Rodriguez getting the Safety Pass . . . and I think that might be his ticket to finally getting to Stage Three.

[enoughcats]

Sounds a lot like elementary school kids making up rules as they go along, especially for the popular kids in class. 

So....let me add a couple of Passes.

Speed Pass: whoever finished the identical course fastest

Safety Pass: who ever gets the farthest with broken bones vs. whoever has the most stitches in his or her head and spills measurable blood.  

Flatulence Pass: whoever blows one and takes out the first two rows of the viewing stands

Costume Pass: whoever goes the farthest with the heaviest costume

Pet Pass: whoever's pet gets so excited that it pees and poos and is caught on camera.

Sound Barrier Pass: whoever lands and the crack of their landing is measured in highest decibels.

Mathmatical Pass:  would include the variables:  age, height, weight, leg length, leg split angle, grip strength, hair: ranked none to DanielGill width. 

I would discourage any passes based on family reactions and family hair styles. 

[mlp]

Quote

I think ANW is out-thinking itself.

I agree and not only for the reasons you mentioned.  They seem to be focusing more and more every year on creating entertainment instead of letting the ninjas and their various performances provide it.  I have no interest in seeing someone's toddler dancing on the approach to the first obstacle for example.  There's just too much fooling around and they're moving away from presenting a sport that wants to be taken seriously - which the ninjas who really work on their game deserve.

[Quilt Fairy]

They need to re-think that 2nd obstacle (whatever the heck it's called).  Watching people flying off of it hitting their backs, their necks, their legs, was horrifying.

[Fukui San]

I agree that The Safety Pass is confusing and counter to the spirit of the competition. My suggestion if they wanted to keep the Tower Power for this round: Tower Power winner in each City Finals becomes eligible to win a prize in Vegas, such as a new car. The Tower Power winner who goes the farthest in Vegas gets that prize. 

[ams1001]

9 hours ago, enoughcats said:

hair: ranked none to DanielGill

Don't you mean "ranked KevinBull to DanielGill"?

[Chaos Theory]

The safety pass is going to make things interesting especially for someone like Flip who tends to make silly errors at Vegas.  A do over would be nice.

Other then that not to much to say about LA.   

People were trying to call this a sport in the last few years my guess is that the big wigs at ANW have edged it back to “game show”.  

Edited July 16, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[eel21788]

7 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I agree that The Safety Pass is confusing and counter to the spirit of the competition.

With six people being eligible for do-overs, it is going to make watching stage I long and tedious.

[saber5055]

All these new Pass Rules make me want to mute the remote and numb my brain. Although I'd be all about that Hair Pass, Kevin to Daniel. Good one!

[Chaos Theory]

I am honestly holding my judgment until I see the Safety Pass in action.  

Plus I am still at least hoping we get to see one of the ladies get to run the tower.   Probs not going to happen but I always have high hopes for Jessie Graff.  

Edited July 16, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

I am honestly holding my judgment until I see the Safety Pass in action.  

Plus I am still at least hoping we get to see one of the ladies get to run the tower.   Probs not going to happen but I always have high hopes for Jessie Graff.  

It would be cool to see a woman on the tower but Jessie is not fast. She is smart and methodical, which is definitely more useful, at least until the timed phases in Vegas 🙂

[Aliconehead]

But it could happen, if she is one of only two finishers like tonight.  Not that I think it will

[Richness]

The Safety Pass doesn't bother me that much. Should someone complete Stage 4 due to a Safety Pass second chance, I don't think it deserves an asterisk any more than those who got to Vegas due to being selected via the Wild Card. After all, they still had to do something amazing just to get to the Tower Power. The only thing I would change though would be to limit its use to Stage 1.

And while I concede Ben Udy is ripped to hell and back again, and seems like a pretty nice guy and dad, Chad Flexington annoys the ever living hell out of me. The 80s look American flag apparel, wig, headband, shades, fanny pack, and attitude leave me exhausted and angry.

[Rosenrot]

On ‎7‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 1:53 AM, Lantern7 said:

Now here's the part I'm putting in spoiler space because it might make your bile rise.

I wouldn't go that far, but I do think it is stupid. I was actually all for the Speed Pass, I thought it was a nice idea (at least until Drechsel hogged it), but this… I don't know. We'll see, I guess. I like Flip though, and I'm glad he got the pass if someone had to. 

I lived for Kretsch's run. No gimmicks, no dumb T-shirts, no nothing. Just a great, solid performance. I salute you, sir. (Well okay, he did have a sob story of sorts. But I FF'd it so I didn't mind. 😄)

Shumaker what? How did you get past the Spin Hopper but failed on the Warped Wall? I get that it's not an easy obstacle, none of the obstacles are, but imho Spin Hopper at least looks WAY harder.

Hunter's already got the Speed Pass but he wants the Safety pass as well? Well what was the point of getting the Speed Pass then if he was gonna run in the City Finals anyway, wasn't the whole point of the pass not having to do that?? Greeedyyy. I did feel for him for that bump on the head, though. Ouch! 

Is it just me or was this a lot harder than the previous years? I mean, we had two (2!) finishers! Last year in LA we had nine. Not that I mind, mainly  just wondering how hard the Vegas course will be. 

[Aliconehead]

There was have been other times when less than 2 people finished.  I seem to remember one time no one finished.  I thought last year it had gotten too easy.  

Season 9 KC 0 finishers, San Antonio had 1, Denver had 1

Season 8 LA 1, Philly had 0

Edited July 17, 2019 by Aliconehead

[Rosenrot]

1 hour ago, Aliconehead said:

There was have been other times when less than 2 people finished.  I seem to remember one time no one finished.  I thought last year it had gotten too easy.  

Season 9 KC 0 finishers, San Antonio had 1, Denver had 1

Season 8 LA 1, Philly had 0

Hmm. You're right. Well, I guess the City Finals were exceptionally easy last year then, since there were at least 3 finishers in every city. 🤔 Doesn't seem to be the trend this year. 

[Ilovepie]

On 7/16/2019 at 12:20 PM, eel21788 said:

With six people being eligible for do-overs, it is going to make watching stage I long and tedious.

Not necessarily - they advanced fewer people per city and there is always the WWWA treatment if the producers deem it not worth showing.

I personally like the Safety Pass. There have been a couple times where someone really great had a slight mistake and got taken out. I think it could really help someone like Flip who is able to learn quickly how to navigate the obstacles get to the next stage, or someone who timed out by milliseconds.  I would rather see that than almost everyone flaming out on stage one or two. I would love to see a few more people advance to stage three, and it's been years now since Isaac and Geoff conquered stage 4. The course has gotten so hard over the last couple years it's almost impossible. I still expect to be that way, so I'm not mad at these little helps.

Stupid Island Ninja. I was almost happy for him last week after making it up the Mega Wall with minimum hamming, and here he is again IN A CITY HE ISN'T COMPETING IN being a show off on camera! Get off my screen Grant!!!!

There were a few cringe worthy spills tonight. That gash on Speed Pass guy looked nasty. I had to look away. A close up of bloody teeth on a HDTV is gross.....

[DEL901]

2 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

Not necessarily - they advanced fewer people per city and there is always the WWWA treatment if the producers deem it not worth showing.

I personally like the Safety Pass. There have been a couple

Stupid Island Ninja. I was almost happy for him last week after making it up the Mega Wall with minimum hamming, and here he is again IN A CITY HE ISN'T COMPETING IN being a show off on camera! Get off my screen Grant

Actually, this was filmed before his run.   They do the city qualifier and finals the same weekend.   Wikipedia has all the scheduling details.  

[Conotocarious]

The Lizard just doesn’t know when to quit. He had a nice pass straight to Vegas and instead he ended up with possibly a concussion. 

[Ilovepie]

48 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Actually, this was filmed before his run.   They do the city qualifier and finals the same weekend.   Wikipedia has all the scheduling details.  

I know that, but my point was that I am tired of seeing him mugging. I was almost ready to root for him again, but no........

[Hellga]

18 hours ago, Richness said:

And while I concede Ben Udy is ripped to hell and back again, and seems like a pretty nice guy and dad, Chad Flexington annoys the ever living hell out of me. The 80s look American flag apparel, wig, headband, shades, fanny pack, and attitude leave me exhausted and angry.

Yep.  I find myself rooting against all the "big personality" people.  That's not why I watch the show, but I guess there are enough people who feel otherwise because they keep pushing the antics. 

4 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I personally like the Safety Pass. There have been a couple times where someone really great had a slight mistake and got taken out. I think it could really help someone like Flip who is able to learn quickly how to navigate the obstacles get to the next stage, or someone who timed out by milliseconds. 

Yes, I am going to reserve my judgement until I see how it actually works out.  After all, the winner of the LA automatic pass to Vegas, even though he didn't finish, ran fast enough to have qualified anyway...  

I wonder how they would actually implement it - if someone had to repeat the run immediately, when they are already tired, I am afraid they would do worse on the second attempt.  Unless they had a really silly fall like Geoff once fell on the first steps of the first obstacle.  I would hope they would do their re-run(s) after everyone else has completed theirs...

[ClareWalks]

2 hours ago, Conotocarious said:

The Lizard just doesn’t know when to quit. He had a nice pass straight to Vegas and instead he ended up with possibly a concussion. 

Don't worry, he had a couple months of recovery time before they filmed in Vegas!

[Chaos Theory]

22 hours ago, Aliconehead said:

There was have been other times when less than 2 people finished.  I seem to remember one time no one finished.  I thought last year it had gotten too easy.  

Season 9 KC 0 finishers, San Antonio had 1, Denver had 1

Season 8 LA 1, Philly had 0

There was that one year where Jessie Graff was one of only two people to get pasted the Wedge.    

There was also the year she came thisclose to finishing the finals and I am not sure how many finished that year.   

She might not go fast but she is consistent so if final round is tough she could make it through by sheet force. 

 But I do agree that the pass should be only for round one.  I think round two is pushing it a bit.  

[Nonja]

Yaaaaay, Flip! Yay Tiana! They were the highlights of a slightly lame episode. 

I felt bad for Rebecca Bonilla and bummed Adam Rayl didnt finish, he's having a rough year.  

Other than that, I dont give a whoop about gondola's and Chad Flexington makes me cringe. 

[DEL901]

28 minutes ago, Nonja said:

Yaaaaay, Flip! Yay Tiana! They were the highlights of a slightly lame episode. 

I felt bad for Rebecca Bonilla and bummed Adam Rayl didnt finish, he's having a rough year.  

Other than that, I dont give a whoop about gondola's and Chad Flexington makes me cringe. 

Adam made it to Vegas, though.  According to Wikipedia he finished 7th in the finals.

[Chaos Theory]

Oh yeah the guy who got the automatic trip to Vegas really had nothing to lose she he kinda went gang busters.  I thought that was kind of fun and thought the qualifying pass was a great idea.    Not sure if the Vegas one though is a bridge too far though.  

[Nonja]

30 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Adam made it to Vegas, though.  According to Wikipedia he finished 7th in the finals.

Yeah, I had just hoped to see him get a big finish after falling in qualifying. I dont want him to lose confidence. 

[eel21788]

On ‎7‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 12:43 AM, Richness said:

And while I concede Ben Udy is ripped to hell and back again,

Is he really, or are Chad's abs painted on?

[Taeolas]

We'll see how it plays out but I don't mind the idea of the Safety pass. It will hopefully mean that Stage 3 will see more use in the future, which ultimately means more variety in the runs we see in the finals. They have 4ish hours (less commercials) to fill for the finals ultimately. If only 2 Ninjas make it to Stage 3, then Stage 3 only fills 15-20ish minutes of those 4 hours. But if more make it due to Safety passes, then we'll see 4-5 runs on Stage 3 and probably an hour worth focused on it. 

During the episode, I was thinking it was a bit unfair to the Ninja with the Speed Pass, since while he gets the pass to Vegas, the Safety Pass seems like a bigger prize. 

Then they let him run anyway, and all was good. Sure he didn't get the Safety pass, but he had the chance to. (And he showed he would have qualified anyway). 

Not that it happened this year, but I suspect the Speed pass running for the Safety pass is Ninja's choice. So if the Speed pass ninja sprained something while waiting for the next run, they could decline to run again and just be secure in knowing they are going to Vegas. Most Ninjas seem to be competitive enough that they would run regardless. 

[EllenB]

Competitor at home: "Hey, Pops, I'm gonna try out for American Ninja Warrior."

Pops: "Uh-huh."  <continues reading newspaper>

Competitor on TV: "I'm doing this for my DADDY!!!  It means everything to him!!!"  <sobs uncontrollably>

[SophiaD]

I REALLY REALLY do not like the game show gimmicky direction that the show is taking.  If I never have to see "Chad Flexington" again, it will be soon enough for me.  

I'm probably boring, but I miss just the plain, old celebration of the competitors who made it to the next round.  It's a big deal!  Having Akbar's "moments" (or whatever they are) is just annoying.  I like him and his over-the-top enthusiasm (and he was very impressive when he did a charity run a few years ago), but I'm just not thrilled about it being about the host more than the competitors.

Yay for Tianna Webberley and to Flip.  The rest of the episode was fine, but nothing special.  I'm still hoping either Jessie or Jesse finishes the final course this year.

[Quilt Fairy]

11 hours ago, Taeolas said:

They have 4ish hours (less commercials) to fill for the finals ultimately.

Isn't it more like 6ish hours?  They usually split the stage 1 runs into 2 episodes, and then the stage 2-3-4 runs make up the last ep. 

[Fukui San]

19 hours ago, Taeolas said:

We'll see how it plays out but I don't mind the idea of the Safety pass. It will hopefully mean that Stage 3 will see more use in the future, which ultimately means more variety in the runs we see in the finals. They have 4ish hours (less commercials) to fill for the finals ultimately. If only 2 Ninjas make it to Stage 3, then Stage 3 only fills 15-20ish minutes of those 4 hours. But if more make it due to Safety passes, then we'll see 4-5 runs on Stage 3 and probably an hour worth focused on it. 

During the episode, I was thinking it was a bit unfair to the Ninja with the Speed Pass, since while he gets the pass to Vegas, the Safety Pass seems like a bigger prize. 

Then they let him run anyway, and all was good. Sure he didn't get the Safety pass, but he had the chance to. (And he showed he would have qualified anyway). 

Not that it happened this year, but I suspect the Speed pass running for the Safety pass is Ninja's choice. So if the Speed pass ninja sprained something while waiting for the next run, they could decline to run again and just be secure in knowing they are going to Vegas. Most Ninjas seem to be competitive enough that they would run regardless. 

They could have Stage 3 have more use by not making Stage 2 so ludicrously difficult. I want to have 6-12 people attempt Stage 3 out of 100.  American Ninja Warrior has made Stage 2 an ordeal. I'd aim to have 50% of Ninjas pass Stage 2, no Safety Pass necesary.

[Hellga]

That would cheapen it.  Only a handful finish even a city finals course, it would make Vegas seem like nothing special if everyone and their dog could finish Stage 2.  

To me a decent ratio would be out of 100 or so who make it to Vegas, have 25-35 complete Stage 1 and have 5-6 complete Stage 2.   And Stage 3 stays as is, with low odds of success - I mean, once someone gets past Stage 3, it's pretty much a given they will complete Stage 4 too, so it's the last weed-out stage.   And currently the show has a sweet deal (for the studio) where the top prize is theoretically within reach enough that people strive for it, but they pretty much never have to pay out the million. 

[Nonja]

On 7/20/2019 at 10:19 AM, Hellga said:

And currently the show has a sweet deal (for the studio) where the top prize is theoretically within reach enough that people strive for it, but they pretty much never have to pay out the million. 

I never realized that before, how it benefits the studio and not the competitors. Even so, though, I am highly in favor of a Last Man Standing prize. The years where no one finishes are so anti-climactic and sad. At least with the hundred grand we still get someone to celebrate for. 

[Nonja]

On 7/19/2019 at 9:52 PM, SophiaD said:

I REALLY REALLY do not like the game show gimmicky direction that the show is taking.  If I never have to see "Chad Flexington" again, it will be soon enough for me.  

I'm probably boring, but I miss just the plain, old celebration of the competitors who made it to the next round.  It's a big deal! 

Amen, Sister.

[Hellga]

2 hours ago, Nonja said:

I never realized that before, how it benefits the studio and not the competitors. Even so, though, I am highly in favor of a Last Man Standing prize. The years where no one finishes are so anti-climactic and sad. At least with the hundred grand we still get someone to celebrate for. 

I like the prize too.  And $100K is nothing to sneeze at.  I would even be OK if competitors got small prizes, like $1000, for completing the city finals, or for qualifying for Vegas, or completing each of the finals stages.  Although I wonder if those who qualify for Vegas already get a prize in the form of their travel and lodging/meals?  Do they have to pay for themselves or does the show pay?   It's quite an investment to train for ninja in terms of time and effort and money for gym/travel to local competitions/national competitions/finals... 

Edited July 21, 2019 by Hellga

[ClareWalks]

34 minutes ago, Hellga said:

I like the prize too.  And $100K is nothing to sneeze at.  I would even be OK if competitors got small prizes, like $1000, for completing the city finals, or for qualifying for Vegas, or completing each of the finals stages.  Although I wonder if those who qualify for Vegas already get a prize in the form of their travel and lodging/meals?  Do they have to pay for themselves or does the show pay?   It's quite an investment to train for ninja in terms of time and effort and money for gym/travel to local competitions/national competitions/finals... 

Next time I see my local Vegas qualifier, I will ask. Good question! 

[AZChristian]

I am not sure if this is how they do it for ANW, but sometimes those large payouts are the result of a "Lloyds of London" type insurance policy.

Our company (a utility) was a sponsor of the Phoenix Open several years ago.  They put up a prize wherein non-golfers (at the site of the tournament) would put their names in for a drawing, and each professional golfer would pull out a name and be playing for that person.  IF a golfer got a hole-in-one on the 16th hole, the person for whom that golfer was playing would win a new house.  A very NICE house.

The value of the house was probably $350,000.  My company paid an insurance company for a policy that would pay out in the event of the hole-in-one.  Odds against a hole-in-one on a specific hole are pretty significant, so our company probably paid a lot less than that for the policy.  The insurance company accepted the risk - and lost.  Someone did get a hole-in-one on the 16th.  What's funny is that golfer thought HE had won the house, not the person whose name he had pulled.

Maybe they have something like that for these competitions where the likelihood of someone getting to the top of the mountain are low.  Now that two people have, I'm sure the premiums are a LOT higher if there is such a policy.

[eel21788]

4 hours ago, Hellga said:

 Although I wonder if those who qualify for Vegas already get a prize in the form of their travel and lodging/meals?  Do they have to pay for themselves or does the show pay?   

American Ninja Warrior 11

Contestant Application

Application Deadline is Wednesday, January 2nd 2019 by 11:59pm (PST)

Dates and Locations for Qualifying Rounds and Finals

Regional Qualifying Rounds for American Ninja Warrior (the “Program”) will be held at one or more United States locations. Applicants will be assigned a region which may be based on their state of residence, provided that Producer reserves the right to assign applicants to compete at a location different or in a different Regional Qualifying Round from his/her region of residence, in Producer’s discretion.

The National Finals will be conducted at a location in Las Vegas to be determined.

Applicants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to the Regional Qualifying Rounds at their own expense, provided that Producer may provide travel expenses if an applicant is assigned to a location not situated in his/her region or for other exigent circumstances, in Producer’s sole discretion.

Eligibility Requirements

You must be a legal resident of the United States.

You must be at least 19 years of age at the time of your Regional Qualifying Round.

You must be in good health and capable of participating in strenuous athletic activities.

You must be available to participate in your regional qualifying round, which will take place in March, April and/or May, 2019 (specific locations, dates and times TBD). If qualified or selected to be a finalist, you must be available to participate in the national finals in Las Vegas, NV, with specific dates and times TBD. Please go to www.ANWCasting.com to check for updated schedule and location information (all dates are subject to change).

You must submit a clear digital photo of yourself and a VIDEO with your application. Your video must be 2 to 3 minutes in length. Please see the video specification at the end of this application for more details.

Canam Productions, Inc. (“Producer”) has the right to modify the above eligibility requirements at any time without notice.

Please visit ANWCasting.com for complete submission information.

[Fukui San]

On 7/20/2019 at 1:19 PM, Hellga said:

That would cheapen it.  Only a handful finish even a city finals course, it would make Vegas seem like nothing special if everyone and their dog could finish Stage 2.  

To me a decent ratio would be out of 100 or so who make it to Vegas, have 25-35 complete Stage 1 and have 5-6 complete Stage 2.   And Stage 3 stays as is, with low odds of success - I mean, once someone gets past Stage 3, it's pretty much a given they will complete Stage 4 too, so it's the last weed-out stage.   And currently the show has a sweet deal (for the studio) where the top prize is theoretically within reach enough that people strive for it, but they pretty much never have to pay out the million. 

What I mean is that around 50% of the people who passed Stage 1 should be able to pass Stage 2. Your numbers have around 20-30% of people who try Stage 2 pass, so we're not that far off from each other.

The US version of Stage 2 is more difficult than the equivalent Japanese version by quite a lot. It also feels bloated and excessive. The half dozen Wingnut Alley stations come to mind. Lots of time consuming arm-hanging/swinging obstacles. As a result, the Japanese 2nd Stage time limit is usually below 100 seconds while the ANW 2nd stage time limit has been around four minutes.

My ideal tourney design would have 15-20 pass Stage 1, 6-10 pass stage 2, and have Stage 3 eliminate everyone most years. Once every 3 years or so someone passes to attempt Stage 4, which would be 50/50 proposition. You can adjust the difficulty on Stage 4 by altering the time limit. People should fail it at least as often as people conquer it, even though ANW competitors are 2 for 2 so far. Do we even know what the final stage is right now?

[enoughcats]

21 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Applicants are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to the Regional Qualifying Rounds at their own expense, provided that Producer may provide travel expenses if an applicant is assigned to a location not situated in his/her region or for other exigent circumstances, in Producer’s sole discretion.

And whosit no longer says he's from Knoxville Tennessee (where his Father inconveniently lives) but from Hawaii which might not be in any region.

Thanks for that  because the phrase "at their own expense" could really hurt with the costs of some of the cities.