GUTS
Premise: Three young people (junior high age typically) get to live out sports fantasies by participating in five athletic events, one of which is a mountain climb.
PLAY: Three kids compete in each episode, always clothed in blue, red and purple jerseys. Each episode has five events, the first four change among two dozen regular events, and the fifth is always the Crag mountain climb. For the first four events, whoever scores the most or finishes fastest wins the first place points, which is worth 300. Second place scores 200, third scores 100. If there is a two-way tie for first, both score 300, and third gets 100. If there is a tie for second, they both score 200.
The Events
These were but a few of the events that were played over the show's three year run:
Basic Training: An obstacle course in the gym, usually involved a wall climb with rope, tightrope walk, fireman's pole, tire crawl, cargo net climb then a jump into a freefall bag.
Bullseye: Each contestant has sixty seconds to jump off the aerial bridge, bounce up and fire a Nerf arrow at a velcro target. Most bullseye wins.
Extreme Baseball:Similar to Basic Training, the players had to race around a diamond shaped obstacle course working through four obstacles, and a zip line to crash into home plate; best time wins.
Free Kick:Each player was stationed in their own soccer goal, with two cannons firing soccer balls at them for 45 seconds. Whoever blocked the most balls would win the event.
Hang Ten:Each contestant had 30 seconds to swim around the pool, collecting ten buoys randomly scattered in the water. Whoever could gather up the most buoys would win.
High Jump:
Invisible Boat:
Jump Ball:
Jump! Jump:Each contestant competed solo, starting from one aerial bridge. On "Go!" the player jumped over two hurdles and then to another aerial bridge, with penalties for knocking over hurdles, or missing the jump. After reaching the halfway point, the player would turn around and repeat the feat, stopping the time when the player crossed the yellow/black line on the bridge.
The Longest Yard:
Moon Race:
Rebound
Splash Down:
Tornado Run:An obstacle course on the track, each player has to negotiate several obstacles, including a run through a water hazard, an 'earthquake zone' with moving platforms, and a ramp at the end. Fastest time wins. Sometimes done as a race, with a ribbon at the finish line, and the players come out of a smoke screen just before the finish.
Wild Pitch:
Zero-G
The Aggro Crag
The fifth event of the day was the climb up the Aggro Crag. Along the way, each contestant had to light up seven targets on their side. Before reaching the summit 26 feet above the arena floor, the players would encounter water sprays, confetti bombs, wind blasts, moving ledges and rocks tumbling down. The players had to light up all the targets on their side before attempting to make the final climb, which was a vertical wall climb with few handholds to help out. The first to hit their target at the top of the mountain would win first place points: 725. Second place won 550, and third 375. If any player left their side of the mountain, they automatically took third place, as well as hitting the peak target before all the rest.
Each contestant received a medal based on their final placement, and the overall winner also won a trophy in the shape of a piece of the mountain.
Guts All-Stars
Contestants who scored 1,925 points (a perfect game) were invited back for an hour-long primetime special. The three contestants competed in eight events, seven of them scored like before, and the mountain, which was still worth 725-550-375. The players won scholarship money based on their finish: $2,500-$1,500-$1,000.
Global Guts
In 1992, with the Summer Olympics in full swing, Guts invited 96 athletes from 8 countries to compete in a tournament of sorts. Each contestant compteted in their own show, but a Medal Count showed the progress of each country: US, CIS (formerly Soviet Union), Spain, Israel, and others.) The game was played just as before, with five events and the mountain climb.