PROVE YOUR MOVES
PROVE YOUR MOVES
A month ago, Australia’s top ninja athletes descended on Geelong Ninjas for the 2024 Ninja Challenge League Finals and Australian Ninja Open, sponsored by Goodman Grips.
Now that the dust has settled and the Commissioner has had time to recharge, it’s time to look back one last time before switching focus to 2025.
In this post:
Across two days of intense ninja competition in October, we saw epic individual and team performances, broken hearts, improbable saves and an overwhelmingly supportive community spirit that underpins ninja sport.
At the end of it all, our Finals course remained undefeated after nine seasons, but Victorian teenager Luke Davis of Fighting Lyons emerged as the 2024 Last Ninja Standing, taking home top spot in his debut season in the Adults Division after missing the previous year with an unfortunate snowboarding accident.
Joining Luke on the overall podium was his rival from the youth division days and last season’s winner, Tye Beadel from The Compound Training in second place, and Queensland young gun Sonny Axnick of Urban Xtreme.
Rounding out the top five overall competitors were Victoria’s Zoe Harkness in fourth place – the highest ever overall ranking by a female competitor – and South Australian champion Jobie Wright from Base Camp – South Australia.
For the Adult Female division, Last Female Standing Zoe Harkness was joined by training partner Millie Baker and NSW’s Judith Carroll, head coach at Ninja Kids and the 2022 Last Female Standing.
In our inaugural Masters division, Darren Baker took out top spot, followed by The Compound Training owner Clem Vertigan and VIC local Paul Reid (absent for podium presentation).
For the Young Adults division, NSW’s Mitchell Townend of Australian Warrior Fitness put on a stunning performance on Stage Three to win his division, while Queensland’s Aaron Kickbush also reached the third stage to take silver, and Victoria’s George Pacor claiming bronze.
At the conclusion of the individual event, focus shifted to the increasingly popular Australian Ninja Open team-relay event.
This year, the Masters divisions athletes were responsible for selecting the teams in the Ninja Draft, using their years of experience to assemble the strongest team they could.
After five rounds of high-octane action, it was Team Beadel that emerged victorious over Team Dixon in the Championship Round, with father-son duo Tucky and Tye Beadel joined by Ash Campbell, Matilda Taylor Johnson and Thomas Winterburn on the winning team.
A massive thanks to everyone who contributed or putting on the event – there are too many to name here, but just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to put on the NCL Finals.
For the first time in NCL history, we named an All-Star team of the top performers at the Australian Ninja Open, voted on by an independent panel to reward athletes whose teams might not have enjoyed ultimate success, but had a breakthrough moment or demonstrated consistent excellence that caught the judges’ eyes.
Your 2024 Australian Ninja Open All-Star Team:
Also receiving votes: Ash Campbell, Chris Keswick, Jai Whitby, Lochie Lydom, Luke Schmitzer, Michael Mischefski and Mitchell Townend.
For most of our competitors, the NCL Finals marked the end of the current season, but some of Australia’s elite competitors will have a chance to extend their season by representing Australia at the World Ninja League Championships hosted in the United States of America in 2025.
The qualifying athletes were drawn from each State Youth Finals Series event and the NCL Finals 2024.
Eligibility and the number of qualifying spots for youth athletes was based on the performance and participation at an individual State Youth Finals event.
For adults, eligibility and qualifying spots were determined by performance and participation against competitors from the same state at the NCL Finals, to ensure a representative pool of athletes from across Australia.
If your name is on the below list, you will receive an official email invitation from the World Ninja League before the end of 2024.
| Qualifying Event | Name | Division | Sex | State |
| QLD Youth Finals | DOMINIC DOWS | Kids | M | QLD |
| QLD Youth Finals | CALLUM NAGEL | Kids | M | QLD |
| SA Youth Finals | Kyle Holt | Kids | M | SA |
| SA Youth Finals | Layla Stone | Kids | F | SA |
| WA Youth Finals | Lara Bovari | Kids | F | WA |
| WA Youth Finals | James Artis | Kids | M | WA |
| WA Youth Finals | Cooper Spry | Kids | M | WA |
| NSW Youth Finals | Ivy Hobbs | Kids | F | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Ryan Lee | Kids | M | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Oscar Cresswell | Kids | M | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Leia Zabarte | Kids | F | NSW |
| VIC Youth Finals | Hudson Dempsey | Kids | M | QLD |
| VIC Youth Finals | Mason Vabec | Kids | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Lincoln Van der Meer | Kids | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Sammy Thorn | Kids | F | VIC |
| QLD Youth Finals | DONOVAN BENNIE | Mature Kids | M | QLD |
| QLD Youth Finals | JOHN STANTON | Mature Kids | M | QLD |
| SA Youth Finals | Zaki Andary | Mature Kids | M | SA |
| SA Youth Finals | Noah Roper | Mature Kids | M | SA |
| SA Youth Finals | Savannah McSwain | Mature Kids | F | SA |
| SA Youth Finals | Cooper Granich | Mature Kids | M | SA |
| SA Youth Finals | Madelyn Brown | Mature Kids | F | SA |
| WA Youth Finals | Ronan Pietzsch | Mature Kids | M | WA |
| WA Youth Finals | Dion Joyce | Mature Kids | M | WA |
| WA Youth Finals | Lilla Bovari | Mature Kids | F | WA |
| NSW Youth Finals | Josephine Sheean | Mature Kids | F | VIC |
| NSW Youth Finals | Jack Stewart | Mature Kids | M | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Ryan Thomson | Mature Kids | M | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Bohdi Davies | Mature Kids | M | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Zara Waldon | Mature Kids | F | NSW |
| VIC Youth Finals | Mason Goldsmith-Carter | Mature Kids | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Elvis Wicke | Mature Kids | M | QLD |
| VIC Youth Finals | Blake Artis | Mature Kids | M | WA |
| VIC Youth Finals | Matilda Van der Meer | Mature Kids | F | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Maisy Mock | Mature Kids | F | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Hugo Tebbutt | Mature Kids | M | QLD |
| VIC Youth Finals | Jordyn Stevens | Mature Kids | F | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Lenny Jansz | Mature Kids | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Polly Wilson | Mature Kids | F | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Isabel Burgoyne | Mature Kids | F | SA |
| QLD Youth Finals | BENJAMIN DOWS | Pre-Teens | M | QLD |
| QLD Youth Finals | KOBI ROBERTS | Pre-Teens | M | QLD |
| QLD Youth Finals | DOMINIC HALSALL | Pre-Teens | M | QLD |
| QLD Youth Finals | ISABELLA ALLEN | Pre-Teens | F | QLD |
| QLD Youth Finals | CHRISTIAN PITOT | Pre-Teens | M | QLD |
| QLD Youth Finals | QUINN HEALY | Pre-Teens | M | QLD |
| SA Youth Finals | Noah Wardrop | Pre-Teens | M | SA |
| SA Youth Finals | Sofia Harrigan | Pre-Teens | F | SA |
| SA Youth Finals | Charlie Klose | Pre-Teens | M | SA |
| WA Youth Finals | Logan Chambers | Pre-Teens | M | WA |
| WA Youth Finals | Tara Pietzsch | Pre-Teens | F | WA |
| WA Youth Finals | Isabella Grosser | Pre-Teens | F | WA |
| NSW Youth Finals | Hunter Hollingsworth | Pre-Teens | F | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Hayden Wightman | Pre-Teens | M | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Mitchell Elwin | Pre-Teens | M | NSW |
| VIC Youth Finals 2 | Nico Zandona | Pre-Teens | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals 2 | Zac Whitehill-Field | Pre-Teens | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals 2 | Hunter Cutajar | Pre-Teens | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals 2 | Jack Goodman | Pre-Teens | M | NSW |
| VIC Youth Finals | Darcey Jenkins | Pre-Teens | F | QLD |
| VIC Youth Finals | Zoe Ackerley | Pre-Teens | F | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Daniel Jolley | Pre-Teens | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Eden Goldsmith-Carter | Pre-Teens | F | VIC |
| QLD Youth Finals | JAI WHITBY | Teens | M | WA |
| QLD Youth Finals | BAILEE MYERS | Teens | F | QLD |
| QLD Youth Finals | STEPHEN ROGERS | Teens | M | QLD |
| SA Youth Finals | Zara Dobie | Teens | F | SA |
| SA Youth Finals | Nicholas Edwards | Teens | M | SA |
| WA Youth Finals | Noah Brown | Teens | M | WA |
| WA Youth Finals | Heidi McPhee | Teens | F | WA |
| NSW Youth Finals | Oliver Maughan | Teens | M | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Oliver Hojrup | Teens | M | NSW |
| NSW Youth Finals | Max Bull | Teens | M | NSW |
| VIC Youth Finals | Zachary Gurkin | Teens | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Ethan Stone | Teens | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Liam Smit | Teens | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Charli Stevens | Teens | F | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Jasper Loch | Teens | M | VIC |
| VIC Youth Finals | Joshua Thomson | Teens | M | NSW |
| Name | Division | Sex | State |
| MITCHELL TOWNEND | Young Adults | M | New South Wales |
| AARON KICKBUSH | Young Adults | M | Queensland |
| GEORGE PACOR | Young Adults | M | Victoria |
| ORSON LLOYD | Young Adults | M | Victoria |
| ELIAS COLLINS | Young Adults | M | Victoria |
| ASHTON HAHESY | Young Adults | M | Victoria |
| MATILDA TAYLOR JOHNSON | Young Adults | F | South Australia |
| KADE JAMIESON | Young Adults | M | South Australia |
| ISAAC MUDIE | Young Adults | M | Victoria |
| ALYSSA MISCHEFSKI | Young Adults | F | Victoria |
| SIENNA KURAS | Young Adults | F | Queensland |
| ABBIE MORTIMER | Young Adults | F | New South Wales |
| DARREN BAKER | Masters | M | Victoria |
| CLEM VERTIGAN | Masters | M | Victoria |
| STEPHEN MORTIMER | Masters | M | New South Wales |
| MICHELLE CALLANAN | Masters | F | Victoria |
| ZOE HARKNESS | Adult Female | F | Victoria |
| MILLIE BAKER | Adult Female | F | Victoria |
| JUDITH CARROLL | Adult Female | F | New South Wales |
| ABBEY CUTTS | Adult Female | F | Queensland |
| CHARLI SEWELL | Adult Female | F | Victoria |
| KAHRI WHITBY | Adult Female | F | Western Australia |
| CELESTE DIXON | Adult Female | F | South Australia |
| LUKE DAVIS | Adult Male | M | Victoria |
| TYE BEADEL | Adult Male | M | Victoria |
| SONNY AXNICK | Adult Male | M | Queensland |
| JOBIE WRIGHT | Adult Male | M | South Australia |
| MICHAEL MISCHEFSKI | Adult Male | M | Victoria |
| FRASER SMITH | Adult Male | M | Victoria |
| LOCHIE LYDOM | Adult Male | M | Victoria |
| YIJIE SHEN | Adult Male | M | New South Wales |
| AARON PIETZSCH | Adult Male | M | Western Australia |
After impressing everyone with its amenities, versatility and capacity this season, we are proud to announce that we will be returning to Geelong Ninjas for the NCL Finals & Australian Ninja Open 2025 on October 4 & 5.
In addition, we will be putting the State Youth Finals Series on hold in 2024 and returning to a national NCL Youth Finals in 2025, which will be hosted at Geelong Ninjas on Wednesday, October 1 and Thursday, October 2 – immediately prior to the NCL Finals & Australian Ninja Open that weekend.
This is set to be a huge week of Finals activity, with every single Australian state on school holidays at the same time, making it easier than ever for all competitors from across the nation to participate.
To manage what we expect to be an massive field of competitors across Youth and Adults, we are making some changes to ensure a more even spread of participation across both events so we don’t have to get through more than 200 youth competitors in a day like we did in 2023!
Firstly, we will be making it harder for youth competitors to qualify for the NCL Finals, by adjusting the threshold to open up qualifying spots and reducing the maximum number of qualifying spots from a single division in a single event back down to five (5).
This is to ensure the competitors who qualify for Finals have truly earned their place and are more fully prepared for the challenges they will face if they travel nationally. We will be balancing this by increasing the number of qualifying events in each state, where possible, to provide more opportunities for the state’s top ninjas to qualify.
Secondly, we will be grouping the Teens Division in with the Adults competitors on the Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5.
As Jai Whitby and many of our other young guns have proved, they are the equal or better of many Adults Divisions athletes and are more than capable of taking on the obstacles in the NCL Finals.
This change provides a greater challenge for our Teens competitors and gives them an opportunity to acclimatise to the adult NCL Finals environment before they step up into the Adults divisions.
Logistically, it also results in a more even distribution of athletes/divisions across the Youth Finals and the Adult Finals, and makes it easier to set courses that are appropriate for the Kids to Pre-Teens divisions at the Youth Finals.
The Finals dates for each division in 2025 will be as below:
The 2025 NCL Finals will be our 10th adult Finals event – and we hope this will be the year that someone finally claims Total Victory and the grand prize in the Adult Divisions.
The other major change to will be to the Australian Ninja Open. In 2025, we’ll be shrinking the number of teams, and restricting it to Finals athletes only – so no walk-on/Australian Ninja Open only competitors will be permitted next season – so if you want to do the Australian Ninja Open, you’ll need to qualify for the Finals too!
As many of you know, the Ninja Challenge League family is going to be growing by one very shortly, with NCL Commissioner Mark Ravi and his wife Summer welcoming their first child in November.
This means we have had to re-examine how we run the league and streamline it as much as possible to make sure it is sustainable going forwards, which will mean a few changes for 2025.
The more observant among you might have guessed one of the changes already based on their absence from the previous section: we are doing away with the Young Adults division.
The rationale for this is simple – many Young Adults are simply too good!
The intended purpose of the Young Adults Division was to provide a pathway for younger adult competitors who might be new to the sport or not as physically mature as their peers to transition out of youth competition more slowly before stepping up into the Adults Divisions.
However, with two years of Young Adults division data at our disposal, it has become apparent that for whatever reason, the standard of competitor in the Young Adults division was often higher than in the Adults divisions.
Not only does this make the Young Adults division less appropriate for newer competitors in that age range, it also dilutes the pool of competitors in the Adults Divisions and reduces the total number of qualifying spots.
As you would have seen in the most recent NCL Finals, there is no limit to what a Young Adult competitor can achieve, with NSW’s Mitchell Townend actually going further on Stage Three than any athlete, despite being in a “lower” division.
Rather than try to manually sort the top-tier Young Adult competitors into the appropriate division mid-season, we are taking the simplest approach and returning to our roots of having (almost) all competitors in the same divisions on the same course, while still splitting the adults into Male and Female divisions.
As an added bonus, this also reduces the administrative burden on the Commissioner as he tries to juggle running the league and being a new parent!
However, we recognise that the level of Young Adults vs Adults/Elites competition in Australia is not necessarily replicated around the world, so for the purposes of the World Ninja League eligibility, Young Adults competitors at Finals will still be able to nominate whether they want to attempt to qualify for Young Adults or Elite/Adults for international purposes.
We will also be changing how we calculate the number of qualifying spots available for a given division at a given Adults event.
Going forwards, for the Masters, Adult Male and Adult Female divisions the following formula will be used:
Another change we will be making is to relax our restrictions on Qualifier hosting for our event venues, so that they are no longer required to hold events for all divisions on a single day.
Instead, host facilities will be able to spread out their qualifier across a single weekend if they choose using the “split Qualifier” format, or, in some rare cases, host the Youth Divisions only.
As a result, a Qualifier can include any of the following combinations of divisions:
Single day: All divisions (Kids through to Masters) on a single day.
Split qualifier: All divisions across two days – Kids, Mature Kids & Pre-Teens divisions on Day 1 & Teens, Adults (male and female) and Masters divisions on Day 2 (or vice versa).
Youth-only qualifier: Kids, Mature Kids, Pre-Teens & Teens divisions on a single day.
We hope this added flexibility will make it easier for more host facilities to come on board to hold events in 2025.
If you’re a gym owner/manager interested in hosting one or more NCL Qualifiers of any variety, please reach out at commissioner@ninjachallengeleague.com.
To accommodate more Qualifiers in each state, we will be extending the qualifying season from February through to mid-August.
This means that some of our top athletes who travel internationally across June/July might miss some events, but it provides more opportunities for those who remain in Australia to stay engaged with the NCL and earn qualifying spots – so if you’re going to America in 2025, be sure to qualify early for the NCL Finals early in the season!
We will aim to have a minimum of three (3) qualifying events in each state, with a maximum of one event per state per month, bringing the maximum number of events in a given state to eight (8).
However, please note that competitors’ rankings on the national leaderboard will continue to be determined by their top three results – not the sum of all events they attend!
We hope you train hard in the off-season and come back fitter and stronger than ever in 2025!
All the best,
Mark Ravi
NCL Commissioner