North Harford student competes in Ninja Warrior Competition; Other children, adults tumble through obstacle courses

On April 2, junior Jeremy Jestel participated in the Ninja Warrior competition. As an employee at Kinetic Ninja Warrior gym, he learned about the opportunity and decided to join.

     American Ninja Warrior Nation states that in the television show, American Ninja Warrior, men and women compete against each other by completing intense obstacle courses without failing. With each level, the difficulty increases and more are eliminated. The last person standing claims the title of American Ninja Warrior (ANW).

     According to NNL, the National Ninja League was created by former competitors of ANW, Chris and Brian Wilczewski. The brothers’ motive was to encourage participants and fans to stay engaged through an off-season league. The League became official in 2015.

     Kinetic Ninja Warrior (KNW) is a National Ninja League (NNL) gym in Bel Air where Jestel trains. KNW has over 100 obstacles and some of them consist of the Warped Wall, Salmon Ladder, Devil Steps, and Wing Nuts. The gym has their own competitive obstacle course racing team with “40+ competitive Ninja Warriors who range in age seven to 51.”

     The team participates in Recreational Ninja as well as the NNL. NNL explains the difference between national and recreational competitions: The NNL is an elite series of Ninja Competitions while the RNL is a series of beginner Ninja competitions. 

     According to KNW, the team is “coached by Scott Morrison, The Kinetic Ninja, as well as Paula Morrison, Matthew McPhee, Logan LeJeune, Mason Trautman, and Clark Trautman.”

     The junior became involved in the competition because he “train[s] and work[s] there.” He says he entered the course and eventually “went to World Championships in North Carolina.”

The athlete explains the course consisted of “parkour, gymnastics, and calisthenics.” Jestel details, he has “been training for five years now.” 

     The student claims to “work out” in preparation for the courses. “I had a great time! I ended up getting 12th place out of 116 guys.”   He said this is an experience that he is looking forward to competing in next year.

     The event took place at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina. The venue is an entertainment and sports complex. The bout that took place was organized in the same manner the show is. There were three stages. If competitors finished stage one, they had the opportunity to engage in stage two. These people must have finished as the top 35 percent in order to move on. This continued up until stage three, where the final winners were announced and recognized.

     Overall, KNW claims to be dedicated to “recruiting athletes with a strong work ethic, team spirit, and positive attitude, who never give up and keep trying their best.” Jestel and the other team members’ “competitive goal is to conquer all obstacles!”