Pendulum

**Pendulum** is an event played in several incarnations of the television series *Gladiators*. In this event, a contender and Gladiator engage in a cat and mouse game on a giant hanging ball, covered in a cargo net which swings across the arena floor. The contender must evade capture from the Gladiator.

## Rules

One Gladiator faces one contender, and on the whistle engage in a 60 second cat and mouse game. The Gladiator must locate the contender, removing the flag from their back in order to win and end the event. If the contender manages to successfully evade the Gladiator for 60 seconds then they receive 10 points. Below the Pendulum is a safety net to catch falling participants. On the whistle, both participants may move, although contenders have been allowed to pause momentarily in order to assess which direction the Gladiator is coming from. Participants are allowed to move around any part of the Pendulum with the exception of the very northern hemisphere due to safety reasons as this is where the machinery which allows the pendulum to swing are housed. Contenders are allowed to remain in one position towards the end of the event to allow successful evasion of the Gladiator. Contenders and Gladiators may not engage in physical combat. Contenders have been disqualified for fending off a Gladiator with their hands whilst a Gladiator has been disqualified for ensnaring a contender hanging from the base of the pendulum between his legs. Climbing down to the base of the Pendulum has proved to be one of the more successful strategies, but requires additional strength as it is at this point in which the gravitational force created by the pendulum's swing is greatest. If a participant falls off the Pendulum, then they forfeit the competition, but participants' legs are allowed to touch the safety net beneath the Pendulum so long as they are still holding on to the pendulum.

## International differences

Britain and Australia both had different scoring structures. In Britain, 5 points were awarded for successfully evading the Gladiator for 40 seconds. If a contender fell off the Pendulum after the 40 second mark, they still received 5 points. In Australia, only 10 points are awarded for staying on uncaught for 60 seconds. The British Pendulum is swung from a hydraulic stub and must be 'set' prior to the game. In Australia, the Pendulum is swung via ropes in the ceiling and begins swinging before the event starts. In South Africa, the event was called 'Rat Race', and instead of swinging across the arena, the ball rotated. Two Gladiators faced one contender.

## Event history

### United Kingdom

* Years active: 1995-1998

Pendulum was due to appear in the 1995 Live shows at Sheffield Arena, however, the safety net placed under the Pendulum was too big to fit in the arena so Joust was played instead. In 'Gladiators Ready: The Gladiators Story' shown on Sky One in 2008, Gladiators producer at the time, Ken Warwick, revealed that the event had cost £80,000, with Pendulum making its televised debut in Series 4. A remix of 'O Fortuna' was played as the Pendulum was set. In 1998, the scoring structure for Pendulum was changed and four buttons were placed around the Pendulum. The aim for the contender became twofold: to evade the Gladiator but to also hit as many of the buttons as they can within the 60 seconds. 2 points were awarded for each of the three buttons hit that were located around the equator. 4 points were awarded for hitting the button located on the base of the Pendulum. Points were no longer awarded for evading the Gladiator for a time period. Contenders were only allowed to claim the points from the buttons once and should they hit all four, the event would finish. The event was modified for the junior Gladiators series Train 2 Win. Pendulum did not return for the first series of the 2008 revival.

### Australia

* Years active: 2008

Pendulum had been planned to be introduced during the fourth series of the original run, however the series was axed before a fourth series was filmed. Pendulum finally made its Australian debut in the 2008 revival. Since the Pendulum is swung by ropes, challengers are allowed to go to the top of the Pendulum.