Obstacle course variations The obstacle course was the final event of the original
Superstars to determine the overall winner. The
Superteams version featured the obstacle course as an earlier event. The original course had the contestants climb a 12' rope wall, run through a tubular tunnel, push a
blocking sled (or traverse across monkey bars in the Women's and
Superteams versions), cleanly step through two rows of tires (originally 9, later increased to 2 even rows of 6), jump over a 12' water hazard (rectangular pool of water), clear a 4'6" high bar, jump two sets of hurdles and cross the FINISH line. Penalty seconds were added for missing tires, stepping in the water hazard and knocking down the high bar. Some athletes have shown super skills on this course by climbing the wall without using the rope and clearing the high bar like a hurdle. For the 2009 "elimination event" version, contestants have to climb a rope wall, duck under four rope hurdles (2 sets side-by-side) (this was changed mid-season to a balance beam just over 3-inches wide), cleanly step through a bungee grid, ascend and descend a large ramp, push through a large door-like block, jump two sets of hurdles, run through a
cargo net and cross the FINISH line.
SuperTeams From 1975 until 1983, a second team-based competition was held as an accompaniment to the annual Superstars competition. The SuperTeams, as it was dubbed, was a three-week competition as presented on television. In the first two weeks, two matches were conducted with one featuring the teams from the previous year’s World Series and the other featuring the teams that played in the previous year’s Super Bowl. The winners then faced each other to determine an overall winner. The only exception was in the final competition, where only one match was conducted. The SuperTeams employees all the Superstars events, with some team events added such as Hawaiian rowing and the Tug-of-War. There were, however, variations due to the format being team based and not individual based. The running, swimming, and cycling events were relays, with the cycling done on tandem bicycles. The obstacle course's blocking sleds were replaced with monkey bars, due to the perceived advantage the football teams had with using them. The team that won the most events over the course of the competition was declared the winner. In the 1978 final, the
Dallas Cowboys and
Kansas City Royals split the first six events, so the tug-of-war would decide the winner. However, while there was a time limit in the preliminary rounds, there was none in the final, and after 75 minutes in which neither team came particularly close to winning, the organizers declared the event (and, as a result, the competition) a tie. In three of the SuperTeams competitions, the World Series teams were not fully represented. In those three years, the
New York Yankees were the American League representative. After the team participated in the 1977 edition, team owner
George Steinbrenner refused to allow his players to compete in any further extracurricular athletic competitions; he also was not pleased with the timing of the events as they were conducted in February each year, which interfered with the start of baseball’s spring training. The 1978, 1979, and 1982 competitions were affected; in those years the team the Yankees defeated in the American League Championship Series took their place. The Kansas City Royals participated in and won the first two of those three competitions, while the
Oakland Athletics participated in and won the other. The
Pittsburgh Steelers represented the NFL in four SuperTeams competitions, winning once. The Dallas Cowboys participated three times, also winning once. The
Minnesota Vikings,
Oakland Raiders and
Miami Dolphins each participated twice; none of those teams managed to win. The
Los Angeles Dodgers competed in the most competitions for Major League Baseball, winning the 1975 event and returning in 1978, 1979, and 1982. The Kansas City Royals, the only multiple winner, entered in three competitions, their winning 1978 and 1979 efforts and a return trip in 1981. Baseball was also represented twice each by the
Cincinnati Reds, in 1976 and 1977, and the Oakland Athletics, in 1975 and 1982. The other participants were the aforementioned Yankees (1977), the
Boston Red Sox (1976), the
Baltimore Orioles (1980), the
Pittsburgh Pirates (also 1980), the
Philadelphia Phillies (1981), and the
St. Louis Cardinals (1983).
SuperTeams winners • 1975:
Los Angeles Dodgers • 1976:
Pittsburgh Steelers • 1977:
Cincinnati Reds • 1978: (tie)
Dallas Cowboys and
Kansas City Royals • 1979:
Kansas City Royals • 1980:
Los Angeles Rams • 1981:
Philadelphia Eagles • 1982:
Oakland Athletics • 1983:
Washington Redskins ==2009 revival edition==