Marybeth Wang competes in last year’s “American Ninja Warrior.” Photos courtesy of Marybeth Wang.
It could well be the toughest show on TV — no one has won American Ninja Warrior in the show’s seven-year history — but that holds no fear for Marybeth Wang, a Riverview resident who teaches gymnastics in Ruskin.
American Ninja Warrior airs on NBC at 8 p.m. Monday. Wang will appear on the show next Monday, June 15, on her quest to make it to the finals in Las Vegas.
“It’s the chance of a lifetime. I am excited about it,” said Wang, who taught gymnastics as a side business in high school. “My approach is slow and steady.”
The show follows competitors as they tackle a series of challenging obstacle courses. This is the second year for Wang on the show. Last year, she got to the fifth of the six obstacles in the qualifying rounds, narrowly missing out on going to the finals. Only three women made it through regional qualifying last year.
Marybeth Wang and her husband Chen.
Those who successfully complete the course in their designated region move on to the national finals round in Las Vegas, where they face a difficult four-stage course.
The winner takes home a grand prize of $1 million, and although some have come close, no competitor has yet completed all four stages of the final.
Although the show features some recurring obstacles that test an athlete’s endurance, balance, upper body and grip strength, it also adds new challenges, making each season different and almost impossible to practice for.
Despite the difficulty, this year’s show is expected to draw more than 700 competitors from across the U.S., with regional contests in Venice Beach, California; Houston; Kansas City; Universal Studios in Orlando; and Pittsburgh before moving on to the finals in Las Vegas.
The top 15 from each region advance to the finals, where contestants face an even more difficult four-stage course. They cannot practice on the course, where one fall sends you home.
American Ninja Warrior is based on Sasuke, a Japanese show now in its 31st season. To date, only three contestants have completed the Japanese course.
Marybeth Wang walks a youngster through some moves at Jubilee Gymnastics.
When not navigating what for most people would be heart-attack-inducing obstacles, Wang runs Jubilee Gymnastics, 2203 Dorothy Duke Lane in Ruskin, offering up somewhat simpler obstacles for youngsters.
Gymnastics is about “pushing yourself to the limit and seeing what you can do. It’s an adrenaline rush,” said Wang, who competed in gymnastics from age nine to 18. “You are doing tricks that are dangerous, yet fun, and I have always been a person who would try anything.”
Jubilee offers a range of classes with a program designed for children ages 18 months to 10 years old, with cheer tumbling for girls older than 10. “Our goal is to encourage whole body exercise, develop strength, flexibility, and coordination, and most of all have lots of fun,” Wang said.
The 18-month-old classes are more like “a mommy-and-me class with the parent and child bonding with a bunch of stations they can use. The kids are very self-directed. It’s a lot of fun,” Wang said.
Classes open with an activity/song followed by “circle time” for some focused gymnastics instruction where youngsters learn the gymnastics positions, follow the instructor’s specific directions, and stretch.
Children then move to circuits or obstacle courses where the young American Ninjas-in-the-making use their jumping, balancing, swinging, stretching, strength-building and tumbling skills. All classes end with a “fun and challenging closing activity or game,” Wang said.
For more information on Jubilee Gymnastics, call 813-863-1168 or email marybeth@jubileegym.com.
