'American Gladiators' - The Events

It's basketball on steriods! Rocketball is a new competition added in season two. Contestants launch themselves into the air and try to score points by getting balls into baskets that are suspended high in the air. Gladiators also launch themselves upwards to try and deflect the balls ... and the contestants. Balls in the lower basket are worth one point, while those in the upper basket score two points each.

Contenders must leap between platforms that are suspended twelve feet above the water, avoiding the approaching Gladiators who are trying to knock them off. The Gladiators have an advantage though, because they're swinging from ropes and can sweep the contenders off their feet with one well-timed swing.

Both contenders are suspended in the air on their backs, and hooked up to a large, hanging, figure-eight track. Using their arms, they must pull themselves along the track while being chased by two gladiators. Gladiators can pull a rip cord once they catch up to a contender, sending the contender falling from the track.

This one has potential to be quite funny. Contenders are hitched up to bungee cords, which are tethered to Gladiators for resistance. The contenders must then travel as far as they can down a 50-foot track, scoring more points the farther they go, in an attempt to hit the scoring buzzer at the end of the track. The Gladiators can pull on the bungee cords, making this race extremely difficult.

Pairs of contestants climb a 40-foot, state of the art rock climbing wall. After a seven-second head start, the contestants are chased up the wall by a pair of Gladiators who try to pull them back down again.

Tilt is a tug-of-war performed on platforms high above a pool of water. The platforms tilt, of course, and whoever is pulled into the water first is the loser. Contenders are given a slight advantage at the start of this event, as their tilt is at a better angle than that of the gladiator.

Vertigo is another new competition added in season two. Contestants and Gladiators compete in a race that's a little tougher than your average sprint. First, they must scale a sway pole, and then use their own body weight to hurl themselves onto the next pole. There are eight sway poles in total. If the contestant finishes the race first he or she earns 10 points. If the Gladiator wins the race, the contestant earns 5 points if they've made it past the fifth pole. Otherwise, the score is a big fat zero.