Gladiators 2000 facts for kids

Gladiators 2000 was an exciting children's game show. It was a spin-off from the popular adult show, American Gladiators. The show featured young contestants teaming up with real Gladiators!

The first season was hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Maria Sansone. In the second season, Valarie Rae Miller joined Ryan Seacrest. Peggy Odita, a champion from American Gladiators, was the head referee.

Gladiators 2000 first aired on September 17, 1994. It ran for two seasons until May 11, 1996. The show was often shown right after its parent show. This happened in a system called syndication, where TV stations could buy the rights to show it.

In each episode, two teams of two child competitors worked together. They teamed up with two Gladiators as coaches. (In Season 2, they had one Gladiator coach). The teams competed in a series of fun and challenging events. They also answered questions about different subjects. While some parts of the set looked like the adult show, the rules for each game were changed for kids.

The Food Pyramid Challenge

In this event, contestants faced a large pyramid. It was made of soft crash mats. On the pyramid were oversized foods representing the food pyramid groups. Each team had 90 seconds to grab one item from each level. They took two items from the grains group, as we need more of those.

Teams earned points for putting each food into a bin. If they cleared their half of the pyramid and hit a sensor at the top, they got bonus points!

Bones: A Speedy Puzzle

This event was only used in Season 1. Contestants were attached to bungee cords. Each person had an outline of a human body. A pile of bones fell to the floor.

Each contestant had to grab a bone and place it on their body outline. They scored 5 points for each correct placement. The Gladiators could help the kids reach high spots. However, they could not tell them where the bones went!

Assault Course: Dodge and Aim!

In Assault, the Gladiators had 90 seconds to get through a long course. They fired weapons to hit a target near the child contestant. At the same time, they had to dodge fast tennis balls shot from a cannon!

The kids operated the cannon. After 45 seconds or 15 shots (out of 30), the teammates switched places. Between safe zones, the Gladiator had to climb a rope ladder to a marked spot. They also had to walk a balance beam and jump from circle to circle.

The team earned 10 points for each time they hit the Gladiator. The Gladiator got 5 points for each target they hit. If a Gladiator cheated on the obstacles, they lost their points.

Swingshot: Grab Those Points!

This event had two different ways to play. In both, the goal was for the contestant to jump from a platform. They used a bungee cord to swing across the floor. Their momentum helped them reach a cylinder with colored scoring balls.

They grabbed a ball and swung back to their platform. Then they put the ball in a bin.

• Season 1: Balls of mixed colors were on 5 levels. Blue balls (carbs) were worth 5 points. Red balls (proteins) were 3 points. Yellow balls (fat) were 1 point. All four contestants played at once for 60 seconds.
• Season 2: The game changed to a more traditional swingshot. It used the lower of two velcro strips. There were no Gladiators involved. Red balls were 5 points, Blue were 3, and Yellow were 1. Only two kids played at a time, still with a 60-second limit.

The Climbing Wall Challenge

A tall, 32-foot rock-climbing wall was the challenge here. The goal was to reach the top! This event also had two different formats.

• Season 1: Each kid had 90 seconds to climb the wall. Two kids climbed at a time. The wall had five colored zones. Each zone the kid fully entered (past the first green zone) was worth 5 points. The first contestant to reach the top earned 10 bonus points (30 total). The second player got 5 bonus points (25 total). If a contestant fell, they lost their points but could keep climbing if time remained.
• Season 2: Similar to Season 1, but only two kids climbed. The zones were numbered. A 5-point bonus could be earned for correctly answering a trivia question after reaching each new zone.

Brainy Bonus Questions

After each event, each team was asked a question. These questions were about the lesson taught that day. The events were based on these lessons. A correct answer earned 25 points!

In Season 2, there was a special bonus after the Swingshot event. It was based on a game called Powerball. Kids used the balls they grabbed in Swingshot to answer questions. They had a list of items. They had to put the ball in the correct "powerball cylinder" (labeled with things like continents). They had 30 seconds and tagged off after each item. Each correct answer was worth 5 points.

The Eliminator: Final Race!

The Eliminator was the final event of the day. It was a challenging obstacle course. Both teams took turns in a relay race. The Eliminator used many of the same obstacles as the adult show.

The race started with a ladder climb. Once at the top, the first runner slid down to a platform. Instead of a handbike, they swung across a pit using rings. After crossing the pit, the first runner faced the team's first trivia question, worth 25 points. To choose an answer, the runner picked a path. In Season 1, this was one of two spinning cylinders. Later, it changed to choosing a section of a ball pit to cross.

Next, the runner jumped off the platform and ran to a set of doors. Their partner waited there, and the second question was shown. One door was locked, meaning it was the wrong answer. If the first runner picked the locked door, the team didn't get points. But the runner could still go through the open door to tag their partner.

The third question and second-to-last obstacle awaited the partner. The question choice was shown by hanging ropes from a plexiglass wall. The partner just needed to pick the right rope for 25 points. They could pass the wall if they couldn't climb it after three tries.

After the wall, the final obstacles were a reverse treadmill and a rope swing. The partner got two tries to climb the treadmill. If they couldn't, they could climb the side. Once on the platform, the final question was asked. The partner chose the answer by swinging through one of the paper barriers on the rope.

After the first team finished, the other team got their turn. The team with the faster time won 50 bonus points! This was on top of any points from the questions. A team could earn a maximum of 150 points in the Eliminator. The team with the most points after the Eliminator won the match and a prize package! The other team also received a prize.

Gladiators in the UK

A British version of this show was also created. It was called Gladiators: Train 2 Win. It aired on the CITV block of ITV in the UK. It ran from September 2, 1995, to March 13, 1998.

The first series was hosted by Sharron Davies and Daley Thompson. For the second series, different Gladiators took turns hosting. The third series had Margherita Taylor and Kyran Bracken as hosts. The fourth and final series was hosted by Lee Sharpe.