Tightrope (Gladiators)
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Tightrope was an event played during the initial UK series of Gladiators. In this event, contender and Gladiator have to pull themselves along a rope to a half way platform and then zip line back down it to the finish post.
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[edit] Rules
Contender and Gladiator are both harnessed on to separate parallel tightropes, hanging beneath them with a safety net below them. On the whistle, they pull themselves along the rope which inclines upwards to a halfway station. At this station, participants must unhook themselves from the safety harness, press a button and grab a zip line which sends them back down the rope to the finishing point.
On the finishing point is a large pad which participants must hit with their feet. The first to reach the end wins, causing the loser to plummet from their zip line, with a shower of sparks emanating from a small box on top of the zipline. 10 points are awarded to the contender should they finish first. There is no time limit to the event.
Participants must touch the button on the halfway station or risk disqualification and must press the end pad to claim victory. Participants must also unhook themselves from their harness without any help from the production crew. Should a Gladiators safety gloves get caught in the rope pulley system then they must stop and forfeit the event. Falling from the zip line part of the event results in disqualification.
Should the losing participant still be on the halfway station when their opponent wins, they still have to traverse along the zip line, with the release mechanism activating instantly.
[edit] Event history
[edit] UK
Years active: 1997-1998
Tightrope was one of two new events planned for the sixth (1997) series along with Cyclotron, although the latter was axed during training. It picked up an injury in its very first showing when a contender twisted her back.
Tightrope was prone to technical malfunctions, with the zip line not droping losing contenders to the safety net or the shower of sparks not being emitted. The unhooking of the harness at the halfway station also proved problematic with many participants being unable to unhook themselves and thus losing the event.
A contender loss in this event was marked by the song 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen.
Tightrope will not be returning for the first series of the 2008 revival.
