The Ninja Challenge League is proud to announce a collaboration with APAC Ninjas, who will be sponsoring our Last Young Adult Standing award for the 2024 Adult Finals!

APAC Ninjas is a brand new ninjasport initiative established by Yijie Shen that seeks to promote the sport through league sponsorships, news and athlete awareness. To see more, feel free to check out their website at apacninjas.com!

APAC Ninjas will commence the sale of their apparel later this year, some of the proceeds of which will go back into initiatives aimed at promoting the sport and community of ninja in 2025 and beyond.

Event update: NCL Finals & Australian Ninja Open 2024

Hi all,

The big event is almost here, so we’ve got one last big update ready for you, including the schedule, how to watch, live results pages and run orders.

But before getting into that, we wanted to make sure you know that all the information below (and more) is also now live on our two dedicated pages for the NCL Finals and the Australian Ninja Open.

• NCL Finals home page
• Australian Ninja Open home page

SCHEDULE

Please note that these times are a rough guide and the competition may run early or late, depending on the final time limits determined for each stage and the number of competitors who finish each stage. This is particularly the case for Sunday, 6 October 2024, and we recommend allowing until at least 6pm for any travel plans in case of delays.

Not all athletes need to check-in between 9:30am and 10:00am on Day One, but they may have a limited ability to collect t-shirts at other times.

Saturday, 5 October 2024 (all times in EST)

9:30am to 10:00am: T-shirt collection, spectator check-in and warm-up
10:00am to 10:40am: Australian Ninja Open qualifiers
10:40am to 12:00pm: Young Adults Division – Stage One
12:00pm to 12:30pm: Lunch break
12:30pm to 1:00pm: Masters Division – Stage One
1:00pm to 3:30pm: Adults Division – Stage One
3:30pm to 5:00pm: 2024 Ninja Draft

Sunday, 6 October 2024 (all times in EDT)

Note: Daylight savings time comes into effect at 3:00am on Sunday, so prepare your alarms etc. accordingly.

8:45am to 9:00am: Competitor check-in, spectator check-in 0and warm-up
9:00am to 9:30:am: Young Adults Division – Stage Two
9:30am to 9:45am: Masters Division – Stage Two
9:45am to 11:00am: Adults Division – Stage Two
11:00am to 11:15am: Young Adults – Stage Three
11:15am to 11:25am: Masters Division – Stage Three
11:25am to 12:00pm: Adults Division – Stage Three
12:00pm to 12:30pm: Lunch break
12:30pm to 1:30pm: Australian Ninja Open – Seeding Round
1:30pm to 2:30pm: Australian Ninja Open – Pool Round
2:30pm to 3:15pm: Australian Ninja Open – Sweet Sixteen
3:15pm to 3:45pm: Australian Ninja Open – Elite Eight
3:45pm to 4:10pm: Australian Ninja Open – Final Four
4:10pm to 4:30pm: Australian Ninja Open – Championship
4:30pm to 4:45pm: All Division podiums
4:45pm to 5:30pm: Free play for competitors

HOW TO WATCH

There are two ways to watch the Ninja Challenge League Finals & Australian Ninja Open 2024 – watching in person by purchasing spectator tickets and attending Geelong Ninjas, or watching online by tuning in to our professionally filmed livestream on our YouTube Channel.

Watch online

Can’t make it to watch in person? Tune in to all the action live with our professionally filmed livestream, with the broadcast hosted by former NCL Last Ninja Standing and Australian Ninja Warrior legend Zak Stolz, along with a rotating cast of co-hosts.

• WATCH DAY ONE
• WATCH DAY TWO

Watch in person

Spectator tickets to the Ninja Challenge League Finals and Australian Ninja Open are now available. A single ticket covers the entire weekend, saving you time and money.

Spectator ticket types:

• Adult Weekend Pass (15+): $20 (plus Eventbrite fees)
• Youth Weekend pass (under 15s): $15 (plus Eventbrite fees)

PURCHASE SPECTATOR TICKETS

LIVE RESULTS

In addition to watching live, you can also follow the official results of the NCL Finals, the Ninja Draft and the Australian Ninja Open in our convenient Results Hub pages, which have been separated out to make it easier to find the information you want. If you want to stay up-to-date with the action, we bookmarking these pages – but they can also be reached through the home pages for each event.

• NCL Finals Results Hub
• Ninja Draft Hub
• Australian Ninja Open Results Hub

RUN ORDERS

Run orders for Stage One of the NCL Finals have been added to the main NCL Finals page. The run orders for the remaining stages will be updated live as each stage finishes, so competitors can know for certain whether they have progressed to the next stage and when they are running.

Run orders for the Australian Ninja Open have been added to the ANO Results Hub with placeholders indicating which team would run where based on their seedings. These will be updated live as teams are confirmed and each round concludes.

AUSTRALIAN NINJA OPEN PARTICIPATION

The Australian Ninja Open is an important part of the weekend’s festivities, so even if you run early in the morning on Saturday, we ask that you come back for the Ninja Draft so you can be there when your team captain selects you.

Additionally, if you crash out of the NCL Finals on Stage Two or Three, make sure to come back for the Australian Ninja Open as all competitors will be drafted to teams, and the loss of a team-member without notice will hinder your team’s ability to participate.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Steve Taylor-Madin is our exclusive photographer for this event and has sole rights to photograph with professional equipment. His images will be shared on our social media pages, with high resolution versions available for purchase directly from him after the event.

RECORDING RUNS

As this event will be professionally livestreamed, spectators will not be allowed into the course area to film on their phones as this can cause issues with mats and obscure the view of the official livestream and officials.

COACHING

As this is an event for adults, coaches will not be permitted onto the competition mats and will have limited access to the sidelines (depending on the course and stage) – problem-solving is an important part of what ninja a great sport, and having someone give instructions for every part of the course detracts from this aspect.

CHALK

Competitors are welcome to bring their own chalk bag and for Stage Three only, may place the chalk bag where they deem it most essential before their run.

Athletes will not be permitted to have someone walk alongside them and offer them chalk during the run, as this could compromise the competition area and obstruct key views.

NCL-supplied chalk buckets will be provided at all obstacles where it is deemed necessary and beneficial for all other stages – and liquid chalk will be available at the starting line for all athletes.

NEW SPONSOR

In addition to our major sponsor Goodman Grips, we are proud to announce a new naming rights sponsor for the Last Young Adult Standing Award – APAC Ninjas. Founded by one of our NCL Finals competitors, we are stoked to have APAC Ninjas on board and supporting the future of the league through the Young Adults division.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask – otherwise, we’ll see you there!

All the best,

Mark Ravi
NCL Commissioner

Bookings for the Australian Ninja Open have closed and the field has been set, which means we can officially announce our team captains!

Take a good look at these friendly faces, you could be drafted by one of them in a week’s time – and if you’re just learning through this post that you’re going to be a team captain, then we suggest you start thinking about your draft strategy and get across the Australian Ninja Open format in the next seven days!

In alphabetical order:

• AARON PIETZSCH
• ALEC RICHARDSON
• ANTHONY BEADEL
• CELESTE DIXON
• CHARLES MITCHELL
• CHRIS KESWICK
• CLEM VERTIGAN
• DARREN BAKER
• HAYLEY BROWN
• JOEL RICHARDSON
• LEONARD HERMAWAN
• MICHELLE CALLANAN
• PAUL REID
• STEPHEN MORTIMER
• STEVE AXIS
• STEVE TAYLOR-MADIN
• TRISTAN LAVERY

The draft order in the Ninja Draft will be determined by who among the team captains goes furthest, fastest, before reversing in snake format.

We hope you’re as excited about the Australian Ninja Open as we are – under a week to go now!

For more information on the Australian Ninja Open, head to the main page: https://www.ninjachallengeleague.com/australian-ninja-open/2024-australian-ninja-open/

Special announcement! One of Australia’s most decorated ninja athletes, Zak Stolz, will be returning as the primary commentator for the NCL Finals & Australian Ninja Open at Geelong Ninjas next weekend.

Having cleared all stages of Australian Ninja Warrior and winning Last Ninja Standing at the NCL Finals 2022, Zak’s knowledge of the sport is unparalleled.

Making his commentating debut last year, Zak’s positive attitude, ability to analyse obstacles and articulate his thoughts clearly and concisely were a revelation, and we couldn’t be happier to have him back on the mic in 2024.

Zak will be joined by a mix of other commentators, but will be the primary voice of the broadcast throughout the entire weekend.

For your opportunity to have your run commentated by Zak Stolz as part of the Australian Ninja Open, be sure to sign up before the midnight deadline tonight!

Eligibility update

In the past few weeks, we announced that we had extended the eligibility for the Australian Ninja Open to Pre-Teens competitors who are at least 161cm tall, which was based off the height of the NCL Finals competitor.

However, after going over the heights of our competitors again, we have confirmed that the shortest height of an NCL Finals competitor is actually 153cm – which means we can reduce the height requirement for the Australian Ninja Open accordingly, as it won’t require us to adjust any of the obstacles beyond what we will already have set for the adults.

Which is to say, that Pre-Teens must only be at least 153cm tall to participate in the Australian Ninja Open now – so if you’re now eligible after not being previously, be sure to sign up before the deadline on Friday, September 27.

We can’t wait to see what this expanded field of younger competitors adds to the talent pool for the Ninja Draft!

Spectator tickets launch

We are also happy to announce that spectator tickets are also now available for the NCL Finals and Australian Ninja Open. Rather than the previous system of tickets for individual days, we are combining the entire weekend into a simple, more affordable ticket that covers both days – so you don’t have to choose what events you spectate.

Ticket types

• Adult Weekend Pass (15+): $20 (plus Eventbrite fees)
• Youth Weekend pass (under 15s): $15 (plus Eventbrite fees)

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

All the best,

Mark Ravi
NCL Commissioner

The courses and rules for all stages and divisions of the VIC Youth Finals 2024 have been revealed:

Stage 1:

• Kids Division – 2 minutes, 30 seconds
• Mature Kids Division – 2 minutes, 15 seconds
• Pre-Teens Division – 2 minutes, 15 seconds
• Teens Division – 2 minutes

Stage 2:

• Kids Division: Stage 2 – 3 minutes, 30 seconds
• Mature Kids Division: Stage 2 – 3 minutes, 15 seconds
• Pre-Teens Division: Stage 2 – 3 minutes
• Teens Division: Stage 2 – 3 minutes

Make sure you have listened to these rules carefully. We will be conducting reach checks to ensure all athletes can start the obstacles, but no full rules walkthrough will be occurring.

LIVE RESULTS

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask – otherwise we’ll see you soon for some awesome ninja action!

All the best,

Mark Ravi
NCL Commissioner

That’s a wrap on the NSW Youth Finals sponsored by Goodman Grips!

We want to congratulate all the athletes who stepped up to compete on demanding courses at Ninja Kids Erina on Sunday – we hope we were able to make a familiar space feel fresh and provide a new challenge to all competitors.

A special thanks to Jai Whitby from Western Australia, Josephine Sheean from Victoria and Joshua and Ryan Thomson from the ACT, who paid their own way to New South Wales to compete alongside the state’s finest – competitions always feel a bit more special when you get a chance to make new friends from other states.

The biggest congratulations go to our podium athletes, who rose to the occasion and in many cases, exceeded what they thought possible to secure a medal.

Kids Division

1st: Ivy Hobbs (NSW)
2nd: Ryan Lee (NSW)
3rd: Oscar Cresswell (NSW)

Mature Kids Division

1st: Josephine Sheean (VIC)
2nd: Jack Stewart (NSW)
3rd: Ryan Thomson (ACT)

Pre-Teens Division

1st: Hunter Hollingsworth (NSW)
2nd: Hayden Wightman (NSW)
3rd: Ellie Joiner (NSW)

Teens Division

1st: Jai Whitby (WA)
2nd: Oliver Maughan (NSW)
3rd: Oliver Hojrup (NSW)

Full results are available here: https://www.ninjachallengeleague.com/nsw-state-youth-finals-2024/

Our thanks go out to Judith Carroll, Joshua Thomson, Hunter Maughan and the staff at Ninja Kids Erina for assisting with setting up and running the event.

Up next, our final edition of the State Youth Finals Series at Ninja Nation in Victoria on Sunday, September 1 – which has a mammoth 80 competitors signed up!

The courses and rules for all stages and divisions of the NSW Youth Finals 2024 have been revealed:

Stage 1:

• Kids Division: Stage 1 – 3 minutes
• Mature Kids Division: Stage 1 – 2 minutes, 45 seconds
• Pre-Teens Division: Stage 1 – 2 minutes, 30 seconds
• Teens Division: Stage 1 – 2 minutes, 15 seconds

Stage 2:

• Kids Division: Stage 2 – 4 minutes
• Mature Kids Division: Stage 2 – 3 minutes, 45 seconds
• Pre-Teens Division: Stage 2 – 3 minutes, 30 seconds
• Teens Division: Stage 2 – 3 minutes, 15 seconds

Competitors will not be able to attempt any of the obstacles before their official run, but we will conduct reach checks before each age group to ensure athletes can access the start of obstacles.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask – otherwise we’ll see you soon for some awesome ninja action!

All the best,

Mark Ravi
NCL Commissioner

That’s a wrap on the WA Youth Finals sponsored by Goodman Grips and MCT Equipment!

We want to congratulate all the athletes who stepped up to compete on demanding courses at Ninja Academy Perth on Sunday – we hope we were able to make a familiar space feel fresh and provide a new challenge to all competitors.

A special thanks to Kobi Roberts from New South Wales, who paid his own way to Western Australia to compete alongside the Western Australia’s finest – competitions always feel a bit more special when you get a chance to make new friends from other states.

The biggest congratulations go to our podium athletes, who rose to the occasion and in many cases, exceeded what they thought possible to secure a medal.

Kids Division

1st: Lara Bovari (WA)
2nd: James Artis (WA)
3rd: Cooper Spry (WA)

Mature Kids Division

1st: Ronan Pietzsch (WA)
2nd: Dion Joyce (WA)
3rd: Lilla Bovari (WA)

Pre-Teens Division

1st: Logan Chambers (WA)
2nd: Tara Pietzsch (WA)
3rd: Isabella Grosser (WA)

Teens Division

1st: Noah Brown (WA)
2nd: Jai Whitby (WA)
3rd: Liam Joyce (WA)

Full results are available here: https://www.ninjachallengeleague.com/wa-youth-finals-2024/

Our thanks go out to Summer Gulberti, Kym Wansbrough, Kahri Whitby, Henry Bairstow, Neil Mackenzie, Caleb Chapman and Aaron Pietzsch for assisting with setting up and running the event.

Up next, NSW Youth Finals 2024 at Ninja Kids Erina on Sunday, August 25.