Suspension Bridge (Gladiators) - Rules

Rules

One Gladiator faces one contender, and on the whistle engage in a 30 second battle using hammerheads. The Gladiator is tasked with trying to knock the contender off whilst the contender's aim is to reach the Gladiators platform either by knocking the Gladiator off or by bypassing the Gladiator. 10 points are awarded for a successful contender crossing, and 5 for a draw. Should a participant lose their hammerhead in combat, then they are disqualified. If the contender loses their hammerhead after passing the Gladiator, the game normally continues as it is assumed they no longer need it. Neither contender or Gladiator are allowed to return to their original platform. If a participant is knocked to their knees, they must return to their feet or face disqualification. Unlike Duel, a more significant amount of defensive work is tolerated due to the heavier and more unwieldy nature of the hammerheads compared to pugil sticks. However purely defending will result in disqualification. Contender and Gladiator can battle on any part of the bridge, other than the platforms, and are allowed to remain still and wait for their opponent to come to them. A grey area within the rules of Suspension Bridge is the use of the hammerhead to push the opponent off the Suspension Bridge. It was generally accepted that only a direct hit would be allowed in order to remove an opponent from the bridge. However from 1995, it was stated that using the hammerhead to push was allowed in order to make the game more physical and exciting. In one case a contender was allowed to wrap their arms round a Gladiator to get past them. However in the following season, a contender was disqualified for pushing a Gladiator off the bridge. Further matches appeared to advocate the use of pushing. In the Swedish version of Gladiators, pushing seemed to be allowed - in several occasions Gladiators would charge at the contenders pushing them almost all the way back to their platform and off the bridge. In the 2008 Australian revival, the pushing rule came back into force with both a challenger and later a Gladiator being disqualified for pushing their opponent off. A further grey area within the rules of Suspension Bridge is the need to reach the other side. Both the British and Australian referees were haphazard in making sure this rule was followed, even though this was, rules-wise, the most distinguishing feature between Suspension Bridge and Duel. Sometimes the whistle would be blown as soon as the Gladiator was knocked off as it was assumed that the contender would make it to the other side. In 1994, when British contender Paul Field knocked Wolf off, the final whistle was not blown until the contender actually crossed onto the Gladiators platform, and Paul spent a few seconds running back and forth across the bridge in victory, at one point actually returning to his platform which technically should have resulted in a disqualification. In 2008, the event card for Suspension Bridge clearly stated that in order to collect 10 points, the challenger had to reach the other side, yet challenger Phillip Breslin was awarded 10 points after knocking Gladiator Tank off even though the challenger fell off the bridge seconds later before the game ended. Even more confusing is whether or not the contender is supposed to reach the other side with their hammerhead. Whilst the general rule appeared to be no and that once a contender passed a Gladiator they no longer needed their hammerhead and could dispose of it, one Australian challenger was penalised after throwing her hammerhead away after knocking off the Gladiator and crossing over to the Gladiators platform unarmed, only collecting 5 points.