Sumo ball
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Sumo Ball is an event played in several incarnations of the televsion series Gladiators. In this event, contender and Gladiator are stood on a podium with a giant sumo ball between them. Participants must use the sumo ball to push their opponent off.
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[edit] Rules
On the whistle, participants must push against the sumo ball in an attempt to remove their opponent from the platform. The sumo ball itself is 2.2 metres in diameter and weighs approximatly 75 kilograms whilst the platform is 5.2 metres in diameter.
The event lasts 30 seconds and contenders receive 10 points for pushing the Gladiator off and 5 points for staying on for thirty seconds.
On both sides of the sumo ball are rope handles. Both participants must keep ahold of these handles. Letting go results in disqualification. Participants are not allowed to sit down during any part of the event. Once a participant is removed from the platform, the game ends, even if they do not fall to the crash mats.
[edit] International differences
Currently there are no differences between the UK and Australian versions of the event.
[edit] Event History
[edit] UK
Years active: 1996-1998
Sumo Ball was the only new event for the fifth (1996) series. During the 1997 celebrity special, two contenders were allowed to face one Gladiator.
A contender loss in this event was marked by the song 'Another one bits the dust' by Queen.
Sumo Ball will not be returning for the first series of the 2008 revival.
[edit] Australia
Years active: 2008-
Sumo Ball was one of three new events for the first Australian revival series.
When Sumo Ball was first played, Gladiator Amazon thought she won the round and let go off the rope. Eventually, she removed the challenger off the platform but was disqualified for letting go off the rope. Bill Harrigan gave her a yellow card and Amazon commented on stage that "Bill had something against me since day one". This gave Amazon a red card (the first in Australia) and didn't appear for the rest of the episode.
