Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association (UNAA) held a local qualifier day at the Boggy Ninja Academy on Saturday, May 20.
The referee was Sherri Thomson who is no stranger to Boggabri having officiated and competed here on previous occasions.
On Saturday there were 60 athletes, 13 competed in the three kilometre obstacle course race and 47 contestants in the Ninja Warrior competition.
This is a pathway to the UNAA world championships.
The athletes need to place top three or top 50 per cent whichever is greater in each age and gender division to secure a place in the state championships.
At state championships athletes who qualified in the local competition, that is, at Boggabri or other local qualifiers compete against others in their state and the top three or 50 per cent from the state championship move forward to the National championships.
On Saturday, the youngest competitor was six years of age and the oldest was Shayne McLaren who was 54-years-old.
The eldest female competitor was Sonja Dominik who was 51-years-of-age.
Sonja is known as the science ninja.
She holds a PhD in animal genetics and breeding.
Sonja was a contestant a on season of Australian Ninja Warrior in 2018. As well as Ninja Warrior Germany in 2022.
On Saturday she competed in the masters battling it out with Sheri Thomson and Penny Thomson.
It was a thrilling battle with all three ladies finishing on the same points and the result had to be decided on times, with Sonja receiving the gong.
Winner of the male masters division was Michael (aka Mick) Gleeson, owner and coach at Obstacle Course Racing School in Tuggerah NSW.
Mick Gleeson was a competitor on the TV show Australian Ninja Warrior in seasons one and two in 2017 and 2018.
Mick has also qualified for many world championship events and has represented Australia in six international events.
Mick Gleeson also took out the three kilometre OCR that morning with a time of 15 minutes.
Athletes came from a variety of locations to compete at Boggabri with one family travelling all the way from Canberra ACT.
Most came from the central coast or Sydney metropolitan area.
Ninja Warrior is very much a sport where it is you against the course rather than against one another.
Whilst it does come down to points and time to judge scoring, the aim is the complete all obstacles on the course in the fastest time possible.
The ninjas are supportive of each other which was very evident on Saturday with the thunderous cheering and clapping as each ninja attempted the course.
On the Friday night before the event 40 people had dinner together at the Commercial Hotel Boggabri.
Twenty-five ninjas qualified on the day for the state championships.
One youngster who had qualified and was honing her skills was under-11 competitor, Casey McLaren from the Central Coast who is off to the USA to compete in the world championships in July.
The most exciting news announced on Saturday is that UNAA Comps Australia will be holding the national championships in Boggabri on November 18 and 19.
Sabrina Johnstone said: “we are excited to be able to host such a large-scale event in a regional NSW town.”
“The national event will feature many athletes from the popular TV show as well as Australia’s best upcoming young athletes”.
The main organisers of UNAA Comps Australia are Sheri Thomson, Sabrina Johnstone and Gil Hobbs.
Each of these ladies have internationally recognised qualifications in hosting events and refereeing.
They volunteer their time to nurture the growth of the sport, help athletes to understand rules and regulations, compete in their divisions and have children who also compete.
