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Events on "American Gladiators"  
IN THE PAST 

Tags: American, Gladiators, events, games, contests

These are some of the events the contestants competed in before the final Eliminator (a massive obstacle course):

	Assault - Played from 1989 to 1996 - Object: To fire a series of weapons to hit a target at the end of the playing field within 60 seconds while dodging tennis balls fired from a cannon by a Gladiator. Weapons were hidden behind five (originally four) safe zones and consisted of a crossbow (not present in first half of season one), pneumatic rocket launcher, cannon, pistol, and makeshift hand grenades/softballs/pump gun. Original safe zones were made up of a makeshift pillbox bunker, a burnt-out building, a bush made of twigs, and two oil drums. A draw was earned if all weapons were fired and (starting in second half of season one) the contender crossed finish line at the end of the course.
	Breakthrough & Conquer - Played from 1989 to 1996 - Object: To win either or both parts of the event that combined American football and freestyle wrestling. Contender had to try and score a touchdown from 15 yards out without being stopped by the Gladiator, then wrestle any part of the gladiator out of a 12-14 foot circle within 10 seconds (15 seconds in season four).
	Human Cannonball - Played from 1989 to 1991, went on hiatus for season three, returned for 1992-1993 season, retired afterwards - Object: To swing on a rope and knock the Gladiator off a pedestal set several feet from the jumping platform, while staying in a tuck position (added after first two rounds of competition in first season, prior to that contenders could do whatever it took to knock off the Gladiator). Contender originally had three swings and faced three Gladiators (season one), later reduced to two swings against two different gladiators.
	Joust - Played from 1989 to 1996 - Object: To defeat the Gladiator in a pugil stick battle. In first half of season one, event was conducted on a narrow bridge-type apparatus, with the objective to either knock the opponent off or push them back toward a trap door behind them. Later, players stood on opposite pedestals, object became strictly to knock opponent off. Players could not take their hands off the stick, step over to the opponent's platform, or fail to put up a fight- all would result in disqualification.
	Powerball - Played from 1989 to 1996 - Object: To score as many goals in 45 seconds by putting specifically colored balls into one of five scoring cylinders while avoiding being tackled by the Gladiators. The field was originally a half-circle shape, but by the second half of season one was changed into an oval shape and lengthened considerably. The cylinders were spaced out more, and the center cylinder goals were worth more points. Contenders had to alternate between ball bins each turn (prior to that, both bins were placed at one end of the circle). The only major Powerball rule was that the Gladiators would be disqualified if they hit the contestants high (read head) or (after one or two episodes in the second half of season one) tackled them.
	The Wall - Played from 1990 to 1996 - Object: To scale a rock-climbing wall in 60 seconds (originally 2:00). Originally, the contenders were given a head start of 10 seconds (originally 15 for the men and 10 for the women), but during a part of season four the head start was 15 seconds. In season five, the head start was eliminated, with the wall being divided into five sections and the Gladiator having to cross a partition to pull the player off.
	Atlasphere - Played from 1990 to 1995, sparingly after 1992-93 season - Object: To roll metal sphere-shaped cages around the playing field to scoring pods positioned in four places on the floor. 60 seconds were given. Originally, goals were scored if the contestant came to a complete stop in the scoring pod. After season two, a button was placed in each pod, and all the contestant had to do to score was roll over it, which would compress it and emit smoke and lights to indicate the score.
	Hang Tough - Debuted in 1990, became regular event in 1991, played until 1996 - Object: To swing on a 55-foot grid of gymnastic rings from the contender's podium to the opposite end within 60 seconds, while trying to avoid the Gladiator. After the first few playings, the contender had to pass a set of blue rings in front of their podium to score points, and could not stay in one position for more than five seconds (unless tied up with Gladiator), otherwise they would be disqualified. The Gladiator could not hit above the shoulders or pull on the contender's jersey to bring the contender off the rings, or otherwise they would be disqualifed. Additional points could be earned in season two if the contender made it to a set of red rings in front of Gladiator's podium and earned a draw.
	Swingshot - Played from 1991 to 1996 - Object: To grab balls from a cylinder hanging from the ceiling of the arena while avoiding Gladiators. Each player was attached to a harness, to which a bungee cord was attached, and jumped from a platform down to the floor, then sprang up using the bungee to either grab at the yellow, blue, or red balls hanging from the cylinder (contenders) or defend against scoring (Gladiators). 60 seconds was the time limit (45 in early runs).
	The Maze - Played from 1991 to 1993 - Object: To negotiate a way through a maze that changed every time the event was played. Both contenders had 45 seconds to escape, and four Gladiators (assigned to specific maze zones, where they could not move from) were placed inside to obstruct the contenders' path.
	Sky Track - Played regularly in 1992-93 season, played sparingly afterwards until retired in 1995
	Object: A race conducted on an inverted Velcro covered track. Both contenders and a Gladiator moved along the track using their hands and feet to the end of the track, hit an actuator button, then headed back in the opposite direction. First to make it back, won.
	Super Powerball - Played only in 1992-93 season - Object: Same as Powerball, except for three scoring cylinders (placed in a straight line in the center of the playing field) and two Gladiators to play against. The event was only played as a "Crunch Time" event.
	Gauntlet - Played from 1993 to 1996 - Object: To make it out of a chute in 20 seconds while dodging four (originally five) Gladiators armed with blocking pads. The contender lost by either failing to complete the course or being pushed out by the Gladiator.
	Pyramid - Played from 1993 to 1996 - Object: To scale a 42-foot high stepped "crash mat" pyramid while trying to avoid the Gladiators (similar objective to the Wall) in 45 seconds, then push a button at the top to register a score.
	Tug-O-War - Played from 1993 to 1996 - Object: Contender and gladiator faced off in a 30 second tug of war conducted on tilted platforms (contender always started tilted back, Gladiator tilted forward). The objective was to either pull the opponent off or pull the ribbon in the center of the rope over to your side.
	Whiplash - Played from 1994 to 1996 - Object: Both contender and Gladiator grasped one end of a triangular shaped object called "the (dog) bone". Contender had to either pull bone away from Gladiator (called "owning the bone") or pull them off the platform the event occurred on.
	Snapback - Played from 1994 to 1996 - Object: Contenders, attached to bungee cords, had to retrieve red and blue scoring markers hanging from the ceiling and return them to a bin for points, while avoiding the Gladiators. The bungee cords provided resistance and the Gladiators were assigned the task of keeping the contenders from scoring points, similar to their duties in "Swingshot."

Lister: Editor

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