Walk-on line

[Ben Baker]

So I have been apart of the line for the last 2 seasons. I love the fact that anyone that thinks they have the chance can join it. Only problem is the lines are getting ridiculous. 3 weeks or even a month out to get a top ten spot.

Ninjas have always wished that the line could hold a precomp. Start it about 2 or three days before the walkon line is officially started. Then anyone could take off work and go fight it out against other ninjas. And if you didn't train for ninja warrior you probably wouldn't even waste your time going out there. Personally, if a Ninja did better than me in a pre comp, then he deserves to have a lower number in the line. Ninjas have tried to do it but every person in the line would have to be cool with it.

The point is there are so many great Ninjas that never get a shot because,A) they don't get picked because they don't hAve a interesting story or just not crazy enough , or B) they are normal people with every day jobs and responsibilities and cannot take that much time off for the walkon. So what I'm asking for ideas from you guys. How to go about doing this or organizing it. Or if you have a totally different idea than the pre comp. It might not can ever be done but if it could help people out then it's worth it

[ekkerb11]

I totally agree. I think the main roadblock is making the comp fair. It would most-likely be at a nearby Ninja gym, and likely at least one of the walk-ons goes to that gym regularly and knows the obstacles intimately. Thus, the course would have to be created by someone with ANW, and kept secret from the walkons. I believe a person checks in with the walk on line a few days before competition, so there is already someone there. Just set up a comp and make it based on time/obstacles completed, and take the top 20 ninjas as the "Walk-On" Competitors, letting them know that they may only run 15.

Pros:
+No 3 week waits
+Competitors with jobs they can't get away from can compete
+Top new ninjas (or at least ones who didn't make a mistake) get to compete
+Ninja gyms get national exposure

Cons
-NBC/A Smith has to do a little more work to set up gym course
-Some may say it takes away from the "epicness" of "he/she waited for 3 WEEKS for this!" I personally believe that competing at a high level in the pre-comp shows just as much dedication as waiting in a line, so this is a moot point.

Overall, mostly pros, not many cons

[DonalM]

Main problem would be dealing with the hundreds of people that would inevitably sign up. Event would likely sell out in minutes.

[RiderLeangle]

Main issue? Injuries... They either have to waste money making a 2nd course and deal with so much more paperwork... Not to mention this is a TV show first and foremost, they WANT stories

[Ben Baker]

Jun 23, 2017 20:40:47 GMT -5 DonalM said:

Main problem would be dealing with the hundreds of people that would inevitably sign up. Event would likely sell out in minutes.

Yeah you would have to like cap it at 100. But I don't think there's as many people as you think. both walkon lines I got in never got over 50 to 60 people. KC this year was only 25 lol

[RiderLeangle]

Jun 23, 2017 22:06:24 GMT -5 Ben Baker said:

Jun 23, 2017 20:40:47 GMT -5 DonalM said:

Main problem would be dealing with the hundreds of people that would inevitably sign up. Event would likely sell out in minutes.

Yeah you would have to like cap it at 100. But I don't think there's as many people as you think. both walkon lines I got in never got over 50 to 60 people. KC this year was only 25 lol

To be fair a lot of people decide not to show up because of the wait, in St Louis there were people who liked ANW and wanted to be on but weren't able to commit to such a long wait (and St Louis's walk on was a week, nothing like the ridiculousness we have these days...) and decided not to line up and we recommended the testing to them if they at least wanted to try it out

[Ben Baker]

Jun 23, 2017 22:10:22 GMT -5 RiderLeangle said:

Jun 23, 2017 22:06:24 GMT -5 Ben Baker said:

Yeah you would have to like cap it at 100. But I don't think there's as many people as you think. both walkon lines I got in never got over 50 to 60 people. KC this year was only 25 lol

To be fair a lot of people decide not to show up because of the wait, in St Louis there were people who liked ANW and wanted to be on but weren't able to commit to such a long wait (and St Louis's walk on was a week, nothing like the ridiculousness we have these days...) and decided not to line up and we recommended the testing to them if they at least wanted to try it out

Very true. There's really no way of knowing how many people probably.

[DonalM]

Jun 23, 2017 22:06:24 GMT -5 Ben Baker said:

Jun 23, 2017 20:40:47 GMT -5 DonalM said:

Main problem would be dealing with the hundreds of people that would inevitably sign up. Event would likely sell out in minutes.

Yeah you would have to like cap it at 100. But I don't think there's as many people as you think. both walkon lines I got in never got over 50 to 60 people. KC this year was only 25 lol

That's factoring the long wait though, and people realizing that if they're not in the first 25 they have no shot.

[RiderLeangle]

You still have the people who wait it out anyways in the event someone further ahead leaves, So really lines pretty much cap out at 28 until day of competition when people swarm in without a clue lol

[TCM]

Have to keep in mind, granted ANW doesn't present it this way because it's the bulk of their programming, but Qualifying is just a glorified trials.  Walk-on lines, while awesome, are just an act of generosity.  They may go so far as to point out where their official walk-on line will start well before they begin recording, but anyone setting up shop weeks before is doing so of their own volition taking their own legal risk into account. A pre-comp of a qualifier is just too much of a logistical nightmare.

[Ben Baker]

Also they have all their stories with call backs. This will have true talent. And I wouldn't ask ANW to really run it. It would be pretty much a local NNL comp. the gym owners will be the judges. I don't think ANW would want anything to do with it but I could me wrong

[arsenette]

Actually walk ons are not a measure of generosity.. it's California state law.. if it were left up to NBC they would have abolished it a long time ago.. but they are bound by law to have it and it has turned out that a lot of famous ninjas came from that infamous line. I honestly think there is no good solution. Given that Regionals already has 2 layers of qualifying for Vegas.. people are now asking for a trials of a trials of a trials.. In the end.. this show is just that. A show. If it were a sport it would be organized with a governing body and with proper qualifying in every state of the union. You have to remember that the allure of the show is "anyone can do this" even if the reality is that not anyone can. Last year they had 75,000 applications with the only mechanism in place being a casting office. I don't see how even making ninja comps would narrow the field down at all. It's not in their best interest to do so (or a financial one) and not the focus of the show.

[thebra]

I've heard a rumor and of course nothing is confirmed yet, but it might be possible that the ANW Experience tour could end up turning into a pre-qualifier for qualifying of sorts. That is something I could totally get on board with. Even if they took just the top 3 from each stop and gave them spots on them show, then that would be a huge win for ninjas. If I had the option, I'd rather travel to three different tour stops in an attempt to qualify versus spending three weeks sitting in line outside of a qualifying regional location. I'm sure most would prefer that as well. I'm still holding my breath that this actually happens, but it seems like it'd be pretty good compromise in my opinion. They could still keep the walk-on line for those who have the ability to wait for weeks for a spot but giving the option to finally earn a spot through performance sounds great to me.

[Ben Baker]

Yes! I never thought about the ninja experience being a trial. I could see them not starting to do it but once it gets so competitive, they will be thinking we need some of these guys on the show.

[Cir9Pro]

Jun 24, 2017 1:04:01 GMT -5 arsenette said:

if it were left up to NBC they would have abolished it a long time ago.. but they are bound by law to have it

This...The amount of drama and bad publicity that the walk-on line...These are the stories we don't want to be created.
Which is funny because I was the first walk-on ever in Denver. Oh how things change once you see the P-san side.

To remain on topic. Just support the Ninja Warrior experience if you want a fair event open to anyone. Remember that NW is TV show .

[blah123]

As a fellow first-in-line walkon, I agree there would be problems with a purely ninja-run pre-competition: Who determines what physical skills are involved? Who enforces rules, winners, etc.? Who builds it / pays for it? What happens when some kid breaks his ankle and sues? What happens if walkons either don't agree there should be a pre-comp, or don't know about it / feel unprepared for it? Do you separate men vs. women, old people vs. young people, etc.? What happens to the dozens of casual fan walkons that show up oblivious the day of? While the concept of the pre-comp is great, I think it breaks down when you have just 1 person not on-board.

I forget, is the Ninja Warrior Experience affiliated with NBC? If it was and and they just did that and dropped the entire walkon line altogether, that would be sweet. Provided the California laws allowed for it. And on the show they could just say anyone coming from the NWE came from the walkon line -- thus keeping the walkon allure. Would be a win-win-win. But if this is not affiliated / enforced by NBC, then I sadly would see the same exact issues mentioned above -- regardless of how legitimate/organized the competition is.

Another solution I see a lot of truth to is just making it random. Everyone that's there the morning-of puts names in a hat and viola (of course with NBC's discretion being the final say).

I also feel it's only a matter of time until something seriously goes wrong with the walkon line. Like there is bad blood with people that show up, people disagree with how things are "ran", fights break out, etc. etc.. I wonder how NBC would handle such a situation. It could very well be their best interest -- even as a TV show -- to mitigate such a risk. I.e. by coming up with a better walkon policy.

[arsenette]

Jun 27, 2017 12:12:17 GMT -5 blah123 said:

I forget, is the Ninja Warrior Experience affiliated with NBC? If it was and and they just did that and dropped the entire walkon line altogether, that would be sweet. Provided the California laws allowed for it. And on the show they could just say anyone coming from the NWE came from the walkon line -- thus keeping the walkon allure. Would be a win-win-win. But if this is not affiliated / enforced by NBC, then I sadly would see the same exact issues mentioned above -- regardless of how legitimate/organized the competition is.

Just clarifying that yes this is a legit NBC production with ATS building the obstacles to specs (at least the Adult ones). To my knowledge just perusing the information it will be run similar to how we saw Wolfpack run with obstacle races separated by ability I think? You pay a fee to even be a part of it? (I'm not sure on that but it seems at least you have to apply ahead of time even if it's free tickets to avoid overcrowding).

As for the walk on line thing.. no your solution wouldn't comply with the law. The law pertains to casting opportunities for television shows. It's very specific so this particular thing wouldn't qualify as the "purpose" is different from a television production. At most I would see winner of the tour (per city) getting a guarantee spot to the region the event was held in as a perk (with the option to not be bound by it) but that would invite a lot more problems IMO. By keeping it a fan event for the benefit of "fun" instead of another casting mechanism you avoid the discourse we are having now.

I think people need to remember something and this isn't directed to "you" specifically but "you" in general... I know the walk on situation is less than ideal but attaching this to casting for the show would not be good. I'm trying to be PC when I say this so I am trying to not offend anyone when I say this.. but this isn't about how "you (in general) can get on the show". This is supposed to be for fans and not a casting replacement. This is supposed to be a fun thing the production team devised for the fans of the show (something fans have been asking for a long time - a festival if you will) with properly created obstacles so people know it was legit. You can't get more legit than this and in the eyes of fans who just want to have fun in a safe environment from the show they love watching on television. I know I've been advocating for a fan festival to spread country-wide ever since we had Ninja Fest 1 before ANW was even a thing. If possible, please don't conflate the 2 issues. Walk on lines are a problem in so many ways. That needs to be addressed separately without involving the Ninja Warrior Experience or Wolfpack Tour or even the National Ninja League. I personally have no solution to it other than abolishing the line entirely.. but that's not a legal option.