The Ball Drop

The Ball Drop (also known as Balance On The Line) is a recurring endurance and balance challenge that originated in , and has since reappeared in , , and .
==Rules==
Each castaway must balance a small metal ball on a wooden cylinder, while holding the center cylinder in place with two wooden handles. The cylinder itself is divided into nine sections, with the single, center cylinder making up the first stage. At predetermined intervals, new pieces of the wooden rod will be added on either end, making it harder to balance the ball on the center cylinder, until all nine sections have been added, making a total of five stages. The castaway who balances their ball the longest wins.
==History==
=== United States ===
The challenge debuted in as the Final Immunity Challenge. Parvati Shallow dropped out first, leaving Amanda Kimmel and Cirie Fields to battle it out until the final stage. Ultimately, Amanda outlasted Cirie to win immunity.
In , the challenge was used as the Final Immunity Challenge. Prior to the challenge, Malcolm Freberg won a Challenge Advantage that allowed him to re-enter the challenge the first time his ball dropped. However, he was still the first contestant out of the challenge. The challenge lasted until the fourth stage, with Michael Skupin ultimately beating out Lisa Whelchel to win immunity.
In , Wendell Holland received the same advantage from that Malcolm Freberg had in Philippines. Notably, the challenge started on the third level, with five cylinders to balance. Despite his advantage, Wendell still failed to win the challenge, which came down to Domenick Abbate and Donathan Hurley on the final stage. Domenick outlasted Donathan to win immunity.
In , castaways could choose to sit out or participate in the challenge with the stipulation that, if they drop out first, they would face a challenge at Tribal Council. The challenge started on the second level, with three cylinders in place. Deshawn Radden almost immediately dropped out first and had to participate in the Do or Die challenge. At the final stage, Ricard Foyé and Xander Hastings dropped their balls half a second apart, giving Danny McCray immunity.
=== New Zealand ===
=== South Africa ===
The challenge appeared at the final five of . This challenge only ran for a single stage, as the members of Kululama attempted to outlast each other in holding a cannonball sandwiched between two stakes. Ashley Hayden won her third consecutive individual Immunity Challenge.
The challenge appeared as the Final Immunity Challenge of . Laetitia Le Roux was the first person to drop out after reaching the second stage of the challenge. Shortly after the third stage began, Durão Mariano became the second person to drop out. Finally, Nicole Capper dropped her ball, giving Rob Bentele his record-matching fifth individual immunity win.
==Winners==
<tabber>United States=
Episode	Challenge Type 	Winners
 	Individual Immunity(Final Immunity)	
 	Individual Immunity(Final Immunity)	
 	Individual Immunity 	
 	Individual Immunity 	
|-|New Zealand=
Episode 	Challenge Type 	Winners
Episode 3	Individual Reward(Outpost Duel)	
|-|South Africa=
Episode 	Challenge Type 	Winners
Episode 12	Individual Immunity 	
 	Individual Immunity(Final Immunity)	colspan="2"
</tabber>
==Gallery==
<tabber>United States=
The ball drop setup.jpg|Challenge setup.
MicronesiaBallDrop.jpg|The challenge in .
16 micronesia cirie balldrop.jpg|Cirie competes in Micronesia.
Philippines final challenge.png|The final four compete in .
16AA.jpg|Malcolm drops his ball in Philippines.
Lavita_the_ball_drop.jpg|The Lavita tribe competes in .
Chelsea_the_ball_drop.jpg|Chelsea competes in Ghost Island.
S41 balance on the line.jpg|Viakana competes in .
Ricard danny balance on the line.jpg|Ricard and Danny compete in Survivor 41.
|-|South Africa=
ZA7 Ball Drop.png|Manumalo competes in .
</tabber>
==Trivia==
* At the , Malcolm Freberg referred to the first time the challenge was used in by saying that Parvati Shallow won the challenge. He was wrong, as the challenge was actually won by Amanda Kimmel.
* Philippines is the only time this challenge did not reach its fifth and final stage, with a winner being decided by the fourth stage when there were only a total of seven cylinders to balance.
* Amanda Kimmel is currently the only woman to win this challenge.
*Danny McCray is the only person to win this challenge to not make it to Final Tribal Council.
==References==
Category:Challenges
Category:Recurring Challenges
Category:Micronesia Challenges
Category:Philippines Challenges
Category:Ghost Island Challenges
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor: Micronesia
Category:Survivor: Philippines
Category:Survivor: Ghost Island
Category:Survivor 41
Category:Survivor 41 Challenges
Category:Survivor NZ: Thailand
Category:Thailand Challenges (New Zealand)
Category:Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets
Category:Island of Secrets Challenges