Ninja Warrior TV preliminaries taped on campus

Vanessa Paredes/Asst. Life! Editor

Photos by James Lezcano/The Beacon

One typically stays late on campus to study or complete an assignment, but last week, hopefuls from all over the east coast stayed into the late hours of the night on the Modesto Maidique Campus to compete for the chance to be the next “American Ninja Warrior.”

Among these competitors was Daniel Lopez, a senior majoring in biology. “I’ve been watching [the show] since it came out,” said Lopez.

Only three locations in the entire country were chosen to film the preliminaries—and the University was one of them.

“We were trying to find a place where it was easy to get everyone together. [Here], there is great weather, people and a good location,” said segment producer Scott Eldin.

The preliminary was filmed in front of the Ryder Business Building between March 27-29

from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“American Ninja Warrior” is the United States’ version for the original “Ninja Warrior” based in Japan. The series consists of preliminaries and finals where challengers from all over the nation compete against each other. The competition is simple: complete the obstacles with a better time than the rest.

The actual obstacles are not so simple, though. Contestants face a series of hurdles that only the well trained can conquer. Potential warriors must climb rope ladders at extreme heights, run up a very angled ramp and even make their way through an alleyway with no floor that is suspended over a pool.

The winner of “American Ninja Warrior” will take home $500,000, among other prizes.

“[This competition] promotes health and fitness; it’s not a joke,” said Edlin.

The preliminaries will air on G4, and the finals will air on NBC, according to Eldin. The finalists will then fly out to Las Vegas where they will compete for the prize money, the title of “American Ninja Warrior” and a chance to go to Japan for the ultimate title of “Ninja Warrior.”

Lopez hoped that the skills he honed as a gymnast and a martial artist gave him that extra edge he needed to stand out among the rest. The results of Lopez’s attempt will not be made available until the show airs in July.

Students were surprised to see the immense obstacle course being set up last week on campus.

“I was shocked, but it’s a great way to get the University’s name out there, and in general, is going to be awesome for the students to see all the production and TV series in their own college,” said Jorge Cardenas, a freshman engineer major.

Whether you attended the overnight competition or just noticed the obstacle course being set up on campus, “American Ninja Warrior” was a part of the University for three days—and many students were excited that this campus was the chosen one.

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