PROVE YOUR MOVES
PROVE YOUR MOVES
(2023 changes in red)
Introduction:
Welcome to the Ninja Challenge League (NCL) – Australia’s first ninja league, bringing together the top adult and youth competitors from NCL Qualifiers across the country to a national Finals event. The league will allow athletes across Australia to develop their composure under pressure, obstacle skills and overall fitness in a fair, supportive environment.
General Rules:
Ninja Challenge League Adult Qualifiers – Rules & Format:
Adult and young adult competitors will compete in a series of official NCL Qualifiers held around Australia.
Competitors born 2006-2008 are eligible for either the Adult Male/Female Division or the Young Adult Division.
Competitors in this age range who feel ready to compete and qualify with Australia’s best adult athletes should select either Adult Male Division or Adult Female Division.
Competitors in this age range who would prefer to compete against and qualify with competitors their own age only should select Young Adult Division.
Competitors can change their mind between Young Adult/Adult before their first event, but after they have competed in either division they will be locked into that division for the remainder of the current season.
Please note, both Adult/Young Adult divisions will participate on the same courses in Adult Qualifier events, but qualify separately.
Competitors will compete on a course consisting of eight obstacles, with an obstacle defined as the obstacle or obstacles between each designated landing platform or area.
Competitors will be randomly assigned a spot in the run order at each qualifier on the day of competition to guarantee fairness.
Competitors will only have one attempt to complete the course at each qualifier and are ranked based on who gets the furthest in the fastest time.
When an adult/young adult competitor fails an obstacle or is disqualified, the clock will stop and this will represent their official result, but all ninjas will be allowed 2 minutes (following the same rules for resting between obstacles as below) from that point to unofficially attempt as many of the remaining obstacles as possible within that time.
Competitors are allowed up to 20 seconds of rest on the platform after the completion of each obstacle in the course.
The only exception to this is the Warped Wall, which allows 30 seconds rest between attempts.
Competitors must remain on the platform the entire time they are resting.
If a competitor does not begin the next obstacle when directed to do so by the judge for their event, they will be disqualified.
Where possible, the NCL will endeavour to make the course and rules for each qualifier will be made available on the Schedule page at least two weeks before that qualifier is due to be held.
Chalk and other performance aids will be provided where they are deemed necessary and will be indicated in the rules for that event – due to COVID-19 concerns, some venues may require competitors to supply their own chalk, which will be outlined in the rules.
Following the announcement of the course, the facility hosting the course will ensure at least one opportunity to train all or some of the course in the two weeks before the event.
Competitors are encouraged to visit the facility in the lead-up to the event to better prepare themselves for the qualifier, but this is not a requirement.
Results will be determined on a furthest the fastest basis as indicated in the rules for each qualifier.
If a competitor is disqualified for violating a rule, they must request a video review in person, immediately following the conclusion of their run.
The top male, female and young adult competitors from each qualifier will be eligible to compete in the Ninja Challenge League Finals to be held on Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8, 2023 at The Compound Training Bayswater in Melbourne, Victoria.
The number of adult men, adult women, and young adults who qualify for the Finals at each event will be determined by the number of competitors of in each division in that qualifier.
However, a competitor who finishes last overall at an event is unable to qualify at that event, unless they are the only competitor in their division or they finish last despite clearing the course. For example, at an event with 15 women and one man, a man who finishes last overall will still qualify for Finals, because there were no other competitors in the male division.
For example, if there are 16 men and 22 women at a qualifier, then the top five men and top 10 women will qualify for the NCL Finals.
Results from each qualifier will be made available on the adult Standings page as soon as possible following the conclusion of each event.
Competitor tickets for the NCL Finals will be available following the first qualifier of the season. Competitors who qualify for the NCL Finals will have 14 days the day they receive their invitation to accept their invitation and purchase a ticket to the NCL Finals 2023.
Competitors who decline the invitation, fail to respond or do not purchase their ticket within this period will forfeit their invitation to the next eligible competitor from that qualifier.
If a competitor forfeits their invitation from a previous qualifier, they are eligible to qualify again at subsequent qualifiers, if any remain on the schedule.
Once a competitor qualifies, they are not required to compete at further qualifiers and results in subsequent qualifiers will not have any impact on a competitor’s invitation from previous events.
Put simply, if a competitor wins an event then falls on the first obstacle in another event, they will still be qualified for the Finals.
If a competitor who has already qualified performs well enough to earn a qualifying position in a subsequent event, the qualifying spot is given to the next eligible competitor at that event.
The only exception to this is when a competitor forfeits an earlier qualifying result as detailed above.
Qualifiers will be held in different states and territories, but ninjas are not restricted to qualifying only in their home state.
Following each qualifying event’s conclusion, points will be allocated based on the results.
Points will be awarded after each qualifier based on the competitor’s position in the standings for that event with the following bonuses:
Each competitor’s three highest-scoring qualifier results across all states and will be used to determine their overall ranking on the national leaderboard.
In addition to being a fun way to see where they rank among their fellow competitors, the adult competitor with the most points across their three best events at the end of the qualifier season will win a $500 cash prize, run last in all Finals stages, and appear as the logo on the exclusive NCL Finals t-shirt for 2023.
However, these points have no bearing on eligibility for the Finals, competitors will still need to have finished high enough at an individual qualifier event to earn an invitation.
For example, if Competitor A finishes first in a single qualifier and earns 50 points but does not compete again and Competitor B finishes with 70 points accumulated over three qualifiers but does not finish in the top five of any of them, Competitor B will still not be eligible for the NCL Finals, despite having more points and being ranked higher in the standings.
A 2023 debut ticket to an NCL Qualifier costs $25.00, with standard tickets costing $50.00.
A ticket entitles the competitor to a single official attempt at the course.
See the up-to-date schedule of upcoming NCL Qualifiers in 2023 and book a ticket here.
Ninja Challenge League Finals 2023 (Adults) – Rules & Format:
Competitors who have accepted their invitations and purchased a ticket to the NCL Finals will compete at on Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8, 2022 at The Compound Training Bayswater in Melbourne, Victoria.
Tickets to the NCL Finals 2023 cost $130.00 and include the Finals competitor exclusive 2023 Finals tee in the size indicated in the competitors’ membership profile.
The Finals will consist of up to three stages of competition over the course of the weekend.
The young adult division will have a longer time limit that the adult divisions on Stages One and Two, and will run before the adult divisions on all stages. However, competitors in the young adult division will not be eligible to win Total Victory, Last Ninja Standing, Last Woman Standing or Last Man Standing.
The run order for ALL STAGES in both divisions will be determined by how many points competitors scored at events throughout the year, with the highest-scoring competitors running later in the day.
The course for the Finals stages will be revealed on the morning of the first day of competition.
Competitors will not be allowed to practice any part of the course unless otherwise specified on the day.
Competitors must complete each stage within the designated time limit (where applicable), beginning with Stage One to progress to the next stage.
If a competitor fails an obstacle on Stage One or Stage Two, they can use the remainder of their time limit to unofficially attempt the remaining obstacles on that stage.
If a competitor falls on Stage Three, they will have three minutes to unofficially attempt the remaining obstacles of Stage Three in that time, if they choose.
If less than 30 competitors in the adult division clear Stage One, then as many non-finishers as needed to reach 30 competitors will advance to Stage Two for unofficial runs, based on furthest-fastest on Stage One.
If less than 15 competitors in the young adult division clear Stage One, then as many non-finishers as needed to reach 15 competitors or 50 per cent of the field (whichever is lesser) will advance to Stage Two for unofficial runs, based on furthest-fastest on Stage One.
If less than 10 competitors in the adult division clear Stage Two, then as many non-finishers as needed to reach 10 competitors will advance to Stage Three for unofficial runs, based on furthest-fastest on Stage Two.
If less than 5 competitors in the young adult division clear Stage Two, then as many non-finishers as needed to reach 5 competitors will advance to Stage Three for unofficial runs, based on furthest-fastest on Stage Two.
The following cash prizes are on offer at the event for the top male and female competitor:
The top men, women and young adults at the NCL Finals 2023 will also qualify to compete in the World Ninja League World Championships in the United States in mid-2024.
For more information about the World Ninja League, visit www.nationalninja.com.
To start your journey to the Ninja Challenge League Finals in 2023, book into an official NCL Qualifier event on the Schedule page.
If you have any questions about the Ninja Challenge League’s rules or format, contact the Commissioner directly at commissioner@ninjachallengeleague.com.
Ninja Challenge League Youth Qualifiers – Rules & Format:
All youth competitors will compete in a series of official NCL Qualifiers held around Australia.
Youth athletes will be sorted into the following categories based on year of birth:
KIDS: Born 2015-16
MATURE KIDS: Born 2013-14
PRE-TEENS: Born 2011-12
TEENS: Born 2009-10
Youth events are capped at 80 competitors across all divisions, and 20 competitors per division until the weekend before the competition.
If there are less than 20 competitors in any age group by the weekend before the competition, divisions with 20 competitors may then exceed this cap, up to the total capacity limit of 80.
Youth competitors will compete on a course consisting of eight obstacles, with an obstacle defined as the obstacle or obstacles between each designated landing platform.
Youth competitors are allowed up to 20 seconds of rest on the platform after the completion of each obstacle in the course.
Competitors must remain on the platform the entire time they are resting.
If a competitor does not begin the next obstacle when directed to do so by the judge for their event, they will be disqualified.
Youth competitors will only have one attempt to complete the course at each qualifier, with the first fall making their official result, but each youth competitor will be able to attempt each obstacle once after they have fallen.
Where possible, the course and rules for each qualifier will be made available on the Youth Schedule page before that qualifier is due to be held.
Where possible, a video demonstrating the obstacles will also be provided prior to the event.
Chalk and other performance aids will be provided where they are deemed necessary and will be indicated in the rules for that event.
Where possible, the facility hosting the course will make the course available to be trained during the appropriate opening hours leading up to the event.
Competitors are encouraged to visit the facility in the lead-up to the event to better prepare themselves for the qualifier, but this is not a requirement.
The top competitors from each age division in each qualifier will be eligible to compete in the NCL Youth Finals to be held at The Compound Training Bayswater on Wednesday, October 7 and Thursday, October 8, 2023.
The number of qualifying spots for the Finals at each event will range from 1 to 10 based on the number of combined competitors in each division at that qualifier, with all genders competing for the same qualifying spots.
However, a youth competitor who finishes last overall at an event is unable to qualify at that event, unless they are the only competitor in their division or finish last despite clearing the course. For example, if a competitor finishes fifth out of five competitors but the other four have already qualified, the last-place finisher will not be eligible for a qualifying spot unless they clear the course.
Competitors will be randomly assigned a spot in the run order for each session on the day of competition to guarantee fairness.
Results will be determined based on who got furthest the fastest before their first fail, as indicated in the rules for each qualifier.
If a competitor is disqualified for violating a rule, they must request ask the NCL official to send their run to the NCL Commissioner for a review, immediately following the conclusion of their run, but must abide by the decision of the Commissioner.
Results from each qualifier will be made available on the Standings page as soon as possible following the conclusion of each event.
Tickets for the NCL Youth Finals will be available from the conclusion of the first event of the season. Competitors who qualify for the NCL Youth Finals will have 14 days from the date they receive their invitation to accept their invitation and purchase a ticket to the NCL Youth Finals 2023.
Competitors who decline the invitation, fail to respond or do not purchase their ticket within this period will forfeit their invitation to the next eligible competitor from that qualifier.
If a competitor forfeits their invitation from a previous qualifier, they are eligible to qualify again at subsequent qualifiers, if any remain on the schedule.
Once a competitor qualifies, they are not required to compete at further qualifiers and results in subsequent qualifiers will not have any impact on a competitor’s invitation from previous events.
Put simply, if a competitor wins an event then falls on the first obstacle in another event, they will still be qualified for the Finals.
If a competitor who has already qualified performs well enough to earn a qualifying position in a subsequent event, the qualifying spot is given to the next eligible competitor from the most recent event.
The only exception to this is when a competitor forfeits an earlier qualifying result as detailed above.
Qualifiers will be held in different states and territories, but ninjas are not restricted to qualifying only in their home state.
Following each qualifying event’s conclusion, points will be allocated based on the results.
Points will be awarded after each qualifier based on the competitor’s position in the standings for that event with the following bonuses:
Each division is typically capped at 20 competitors in each division, but in certain situations a particular event may allow more than 20 competitors of a certain age division. In those cases, only the top 20 athletes at an event will earn points for that event.
Each competitor’s three highest-scoring qualifier results across all states and territories will be used to determine their overall ranking in the NCL Youth Standings.
In addition to being a fun way to see where they rank among their fellow competitors, the points they earn in qualifiers will be used to determine seeding in the NCL Youth Finals 2023, with the highest ranked competitors running later for ALL STAGES.
However, these points have no bearing on eligibility for the Finals, competitors will still need to have finished high enough at an individual qualifier to earn an invitation.
For example, if Competitor A finishes first in a single qualifier and earns 50 points but does not compete again and Competitor B finishes with 70 points accumulated over three qualifiers but does not finish in the top five of any of them, Competitor B will still not be eligible for the NCL Finals, despite having more points and being ranked higher in the standings.
Entry to an NCL Qualifier is $25.00 for youth competitors competing for their first event of the 2023 season and $40 for subsequent events.
A ticket entitles the competitor to a single attempt at the path.
See the full schedule of upcoming NCL Qualifiers in 2023 and book a ticket here.
More events will be added to the schedule over time.
NCL Youth Finals 2023 – Rules & Format:
The Ninja Challenge League Youth Finals is the culmination of a season of qualifiers across Australia, bringing together the top youth athletes from across the country to test their skills, develop their abilities, and socialise with fellow ninja enthusiasts.
Competitors who have qualified at an event this season will compete on Wednesday, October 4 and Thursday, October 5 at The Compound Training Bayswater in Melbourne, Victoria.
The Finals will consist of up to three stages of competition over the course of two days.
A rough schedule, spectator tickets and more details will be released closer to the date of competition.
As with the regular season, youth competitors will be split into four different divisions based on year of birth:
KIDS: Born 2015-16
MATURE KIDS: Born 2013-14
PRE-TEENS: Born 2011-12
TEENS: Born 2009-10
Competitors must complete each stage within the designated time limit (where applicable), beginning with Stage One to progress to the next stage.
If less than 20 competitors in an age division clear Stage One, then as many non-finishers as needed to reach 20 competitors will advance to Stage Two for unofficial runs, based on furthest-fastest on Stage One.
If less than 5 competitors in an age division clear Stage Two, then as many non-finishers as needed to reach 5 competitors will advance to Stage Three for unofficial runs, based on furthest-fastest on Stage Two.
The course for the Finals stages will be revealed on the morning of the first day of the competition.
Competitors will not be allowed to practice any part of the course unless otherwise specified on the day.
The run order for ALL STAGES will be determined by how many points competitors scored at events throughout the year, with the highest scoring competitors running later in the day.
The top competitors in each age division will win fantastic prizes from our sponsor OZIGRIP.
The top boys and girls in each age division of the NCL Youth Finals 2023 will also qualify to compete in the World Ninja League World Championships in the United States in mid-2024.
For more information about the World Ninja League, visit www.nationalninja.com.
If you have any questions about the Ninja Challenge League’s rules or format, contact the Commissioner directly at commissioner@ninjachallengeleague.com.
*: If a competitor is unable to attend due to a positive COVID-19 result, a full refund will be issued, less the cost of a tee if they have already been printed.