Eliminator (Gladiators)

Eliminator
eliminator3.jpg A view of the UK Eliminator as a contender races down the zip line.
Year Introduced	1989
Country of Origin	United States
Used In	United States United Kingdom Australia Nigeria Denmark Finland Sweden South Africa Japan Arab World
Last Used	present
Number of Contenders	2
Number of Gladiators	varies from 0 to 6
Time Limit	Original American Seasons 1&2: 60-75 seconds All other versions: none

The Eliminator is an event played in the television series Gladiators. This is the final event of the show in which the shows contenders race against each other over an assault course, ending with the Travelator, with the first to finish becoming the winner of the show moving on to the next round (or in the case of the final, winning the series). It is the only event to appear in every episode of Gladiators across all territories and incarnations. It is also the only event in which the Gladiators do not compete.

1 Head Start
2 Injury
3 Rules
4 The Travelator
5 International differences
6 Event History
7 References

Head Start

Prior to the Eliminator, contenders face Gladiators over a number of events, picking up points should they be successful. The point difference between the two contenders by the end of the last event is halved and converts to a time advantage resulting in a 0.5 second head start for each point lead. Should there be no points difference, then the contenders both start at the same time.

Injury

Should a contender endure an injury and pull out after the final event against the Gladiators, then they are not replaced by a substitute and their opponent wins by default. The winner does not have to race the Eliminator course unless a qualifying time is needed to determine pairings in the next round or in cases where a prize is awarded for the quickest Eliminator time.

Rules

Contenders must only use the side of the course that is assigned to them and must not skip any part of the course or deliberately impede their opponent's progress. Contenders must start on their allocated whistles. Should they not complete part of the course then they may have to either restart the particular piece of apparatus or face a time penalty. The winner is the first participant to cross the finish line. In the event of a tie, a video replay will be shown. Should this prove inconclusive, then the Eliminator is re-run with both participants starting simultaneously. Should both participants fail to reach the top of the Travelator after numerous attempts, then the event is halted and after a short rest period, both contenders start again simultaneously from the same point.

The Travelator

The Travelator is a steeply sloped moving walkway which usually forms the last part of the Eliminator course before the final rope swing, and is present in nearly all formats of the Eliminator. The Travelator has possibly become the most notorious piece of apparatus in Gladiators, with many contenders finding themselves unable to run up it on their first attempt, sometimes losing the race. After repeated unsuccessful attempts (often due to contender fatigue) the Travelator is sometimes slowed down, and in the case of a losing contender unable to make it up, the Travelator may be stopped to allow the contender to run up and finish the course. In some American versions of the Eliminator, contenders were given two or three bona fide attempts to complete the section before being allowed to run up the side, and in other seasons, contenders were given one minute of time on the section before being allowed to run up the side. Some contenders have been known to give up the event completely following repeated unsuccessful attempts up the Travelator.

International differences

The layout for the Eliminator courses varied greatly over the years across the different territories. The American version was the only show to have Gladiators form part of the event for a short period. In the UK, from series 5 (1996) to series 7 (1998), the male and female contenders who clocked up the quickest Eliminator time for their gender during the series were given a cash prize. Although often referred to as 'The Eliminator' most promotional material and event cards for the shows visually label the event simply as 'Eliminator'

Event History

Main article: List of Eliminator Obstacles

America

In the first two seasons of the American version, the Eliminator was a scored event. Both contenders started simultaneously, and the winner was determined by who had the most points after the Eliminator, so the contender in the lead could (and often did) lose the Eliminator, but win the overall competition. The Eliminator had a time limit ranging from 60 to 75 seconds, depending on season, round of competition, and gender, and contenders earned either 5 (first half of Season 1) or 2 (Second half of Season 1 until the head-start format was adopted) points for each second left on the clock when they finished. Under this format, contenders were assessed penalty points for any obstacles that they didn't complete. Under these rules, if a contender was injured during the final event before the Eliminator, they were not replaced, but the winning contender still had to run the course, as their total score was used to determine pairings in the next round. In Season 3, the head start format was introduced. As Eliminator results were not used for any purpose from this season on during the original run of the show, contenders who won by default due to an injury to their competitor after the final event did not have to run the course. The exact replacement rules for the US revival have not yet been determined, as no contender as of the end of Season 2 has been forced to withdraw after the final event.

Season	Eliminator Course
Original Run
1	Weighted Ball Push		Balance Beam¹			Commando Lines¹		Swing for Life		Cone Slalom¹	Wall of Gladiators Finish
2	Treadmill		Hand Bike¹		Balance Beam¹			Cargo Net	Zipline	Two Hurdles	Wall of Gladiators Finish
3	Treadmill	Hand Bike²		Spinning Cylinder		Cargo Net	Zipline	8 foot wall	Medicine Ball Gauntlet/Second 8 foot Wall^A		Corridor Sprint		Final Hurdle to Finish Line
4	Treadmill		Hand Bike²		Spinning Cylinder		Cargo Net	Zipline	Plexiglass Wall	Blocking Dummy Gauntlet		Final Hurdle and Race through Finish
5-6	Versaclimber	Slide	Hand Bike²		Spinning Cylinder		Cargo Net	Zipline	Plexiglass Wall	Treadmill		Rope Swing Finish
7	Versaclimber	Slide	Hand Bike²		Ball Pit		Cargo Net	Zipline	Plexiglass Wall	Treadmill		Rope Swing Finish
2008 Revival
1	8 foot wall	Swim under Fiery Surface (20 Feet)	Cargo Net	Barrel Roll	Hand Bike ³		Balance Beam	Pyramid	Zipline		Travelator	Steps	Finish Blocks
2	Swim under Fiery Surface (40 feet)	Cargo Net	Rope Swing	Tightropes	Hand Bike	Ball Pit ^⁴	Inclined Spinning Cylinder	Pyramid	Zipline	Teeter Totter	Travelator	Steps	Rope Swing Finish

^A The Medicine Ball Gauntlet was replaced by a second 8 foot wall three episodes into the season.
^1 Failure to complete the obstacle resulted in points being deducted from the Contender's score. 25 points were deducted during the first half of season 1, 5 points during second half of Season 1, or 10 during Season 2.
^2 Failure to complete the obstacle resulted in the Contender being detained for 10 seconds (females) or 7 seconds (males).
^3 Although no penalty was specifically mentioned, several contenders appeared to be detained underneath the Hand Bike for several seconds, and an official was seen underneath the hand bike with a stopwatch in one episode.
^4 Contenders must only complete the Ball Pit obstacle if they fail to complete the Hand Bike.

UK

The first UK series of Gladiators saw winning contenders being placed onto a leaderboard with the four fastest contenders from the six heats progressing to the semi finals. During the 2008 revival, contenders who are forced to pull out of the competition after the final event before the Eliminator are replaced by an alternate for the Eliminator.

Series	Eliminator Course
Original Run
1	Cargo Net		Slide		Scramble Sheet	Hand Ladder/Hand Bike^A	Rolling Beam	Cargo Net	Zipline		Travelator	Rope Swing Finish
2-4	High-Low Hurdles	Rope Climb	Hand Ladder/Hand Bike		Rolling Beam	Cargo Net	Zipline		Balance Beam		Travelator	Rope Swing Finish
5	High-Low Hurdles	Spaghetti Junction	Rope Climb	Hand Ladder/Hand Bike		Rolling Beam	Cargo Net	Zipline	Balance Beam		Travelator	Rope Swing Finish
6 - End Of Run	High-Low Hurdles	Trampette onto 2-sided Cargo Net	Rope Climb	Hand Ladder/Hand Bike		2 Trapezes	Cargo Net	Zipline	2 See-Saws		Travelator	Rope Swing Finish
2008 Revival
1	Jump off Platform into water	Swim Under Fire	Cargo Net	Cotton Reel	Rope Slide	Hand Ladder/Hand Bike^B	Balance Beam	Run Under Travelator Platform	Pyramid	Zipline¹	Travelator	Finish Blocks²
2	Jump off Platform into water	Swim Under Fire	Cargo Net	Floor Travalator		Hand Ladder/Hand Bike^B	Balance Beam		Pyramid	Zipline	Travelator	Finish Blocks

^ A Male Contenders used the Hand Bike, Female Contenders used the Hand Ladder. Falling off this obstacle resulted in a time penalty of 10 seconds
^ B Male Contenders used the Hand Bike, Female Contenders used the Hand Ladder. Falling off this obstacle resulted in a time penalty of 10 seconds (females) or 15 seconds (males).
^ 1 The Female competition of the Celebrity Special omitted the Zipline due to an injury to one of the Contenders. Instead, the Contenders had to climb the Pyramid, push a button at the summit, then climb back down.
^ 2 The landing pad for the finish blocks is the same as the landing pad for the Zipline, so some Contenders have been forced to wait at the top of the Travelator until the landing area was clear.

Australia

Series	Eliminator Course
Original Run
1	High-Low Hurdles	Rope Climb	Hand Ladder¹	Rolling Beam	Cargo Net	Zipline	Balance Beam	Travelator	Rope Swing Finish
2-3	High-Low Hurdles	Rope Climb	Hand Ladder/Hand Bike²	Rolling Beam	Cargo Net	Zipline	Balance Beam	Travelator	Rope Swing Finish
2008 Revival
1	High-Low Hurdles	Rope Climb	Hand Ladder¹	Quarter-Pipe	Wire Ladder³	Zipline	Balance Beam	Travelator	Rope Swing Finish