User:TheDireMaster/Sumo Ball

"Sumo Ball" is an event played in several incarnations of the television series Gladiators. In this event, contender and Gladiator are stood on a podium with a giant sumo ball between them. Participants must use the sumo ball to push their opponent off.

Rules
On the whistle, participants must push against the sumo ball in an attempt to remove their opponent from the platform. The sumo ball itself is 2.2 metres in diameter and weighs approximately 75 kilograms whilst the platform is 5.2 metres in diameter. The event lasts 30 seconds and contenders receive 10 points for pushing the Gladiator off and 5 points for staying on for thirty seconds. On both sides of the sumo ball are rope handles. Both participants must keep a hold of these handles. Letting go results in disqualification. Participants are not allowed to sit down during any part of the event or allow their hands to touch the platform. Once a participant is removed from the platform, the game ends, even if they do not fall to the crash mats. Sweden also played this event, under the name Sumoballon.

United Kingdom

 * Years active: 1996-1998

Sumo Ball was the only new event for the fifth series. During the sixth series' celebrity special, two contenders were allowed to face one Gladiator. During the sixth series, only the men played this event, with the women only playing the event once after this, during a heat in the seventh series. A contender loss in this event was marked by the song 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen. Sumo Ball did not return for the 2008 revival.

Australia

 * Years active: 2008

Sumo Ball was one of three new events for the Australian revival. The event kept the same rules and regulations as its original British counterpart. The event was played in the grand final.