US National CHAMPIONSHIPS | July 25-28 | ANAHEIM, CA
General Format and Rules
The inaugural US Nationals event is a timed, multi-stage competition to be held at the Obstacle Sports Expo in Anaheim. Competitions will be held on a 2-lane, 100m course with 10 speed obstacles provided by The ATS Team, an LA-based set shop and production company, best known as the designer and builder of obstacles and courses for the Ninja Warrior television show franchise worldwide.
The format is “furthest, fastest” comprised of heats (qualifying runs), quarter-finals, semi-finals, (for the elite category), and finals. The top-placed sixteen athletes qualify for the quarterfinals. The top eight athletes, in the elite category, qualify for the semifinals. The top four athletes in each category from the semifinals qualify for the finals.
Heats, quarterfinals, and semi-finals are run on parallel lanes for time and are not head-to-head races. Finals are the four fastest athletes from the semi-finals in a head-to-head format (first to hit the buzzer).
There is a gold medal final for 1st/Gold and 2nd /Silver and a bronze medal final for 3rd/Bronze & 4th. Winners in the finals are the first to hit the button in each race. Results are not based on time, so the athletes in the bronze medal race cannot beat those in the gold medal race.
The official ruleset for the US Nationals can be downloaded here.
Age Categories and Groups
Age Category: Age Group
Elite: 15+
Kids: 6/7, 8/9, 10/11
Youth: 12/13, 14/15
Junior: 16/17, 18/19
Senior: 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39
Masters: 40-44, 45-49
Veteran: 50-54, 55-59
Legends: 60+ in two-year increments to the oldest athlete.
Elites are athletes 15+ who elect to compete in the Elite category only. Athletes cannot compete in more than one category.
The Age Class for Kids, Youth, and Legends is the age of the athlete on race day. For this event, July 25, 2024 will be used as the race day age parameter.
The Age Class for Junior, Senior, and Masters is the age you are on December 31st, 2024 (the age you turn this year). If you need assistance determining your age class, please use this Age Division Selector.
An athlete who is 15 years old on race day, but turns 16 on or before December 31 may race in the Youth 14/15 category OR Elite 15+.
Eligibility to Compete
US athletes who meet one of the following criteria qualify to compete in the US National Championships. The athlete must have either qualified for a world finals in one of the following national/international leagues:
- Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association World Finals
- World Ninja League Tier One World Championships
- Federation of International Ninja Athletics World Championships
- Ninja Sport Championship Series Finals
OR the athlete must have qualified for a state or regional championship
in one of the following leagues:
- Colorado Ninja League
- Texas Ninja League
- Ninja Carolina League (Advanced and Pro Divisions)
- Northeast Ninja Association
- North Central Ninja Series
- Central States Ninja Association
- BANL
- WCL
AND must be a US athlete as defined in the World Obstacle Eligibility to Compete guidelines, available here. The nationality of a competitor is guided by the Olympic Charter Rule 4.
If you have any questions on eligibility, please reach out to contact@usaninjas.org.
