Ram-Ball On (also known as Reaching New Heights and Scramble On) is a recurring challenge in Survivor.
Rules[]
Castaways must race to balance a ball on the top of a pole while maneuvering through a series of obstacles. Along the way, they would add another section of the pole, making it harder to balance the ball as they make their way through the course. After they got past the balance beam, they would have to untie knots to get to a table, where they would place the ball on it to retrieve a key, then using the key to unlock a chest of sandbags and shoot the sandbags at a series of bamboo targets. The first castaway to finish wins.
History[]
United States[]
The challenge was first used in Blood vs. Water where Gervase Peterson beat out Monica Culpepper to win immunity. Gervase then chose Monica and Tyson Apostol to share the ice-cream reward at camp.
This challenge reappeared as a Reward Challenge in Game Changers. Only two members from each tribe (Brad Culpepper and Tai Trang for Mana, J.T. Thomas and Malcolm Freberg for Nuku, and Ozzy Lusth and Troyzan Robertson for Tavua) would compete in this challenge, with one traversing through the obstacle course, and the other throwing the beanbags. Nuku finished the challenge in first place. Despite Tavua holding a strong lead over Mana, Brad managed to quickly catch up to Troyzan on the beanbag throwing segment, earning second place for Mana.
The challenge reappeared in Survivor 46 as the final seven Immunity Challenge, where the Nuinui tribe also competed for a pizza reward. In this iteration of the challenge, after completing the obstacle course, each castaway had to use a long spoon to navigate two balls through a windy snake track, with the first person to land both balls winning the challenge. Faced with a steep learning curve, the castaways had great difficulty landing their second ball. At the eleventh hour, Venus Vafa dropped her ball, allowing Maria Shrime Gonzalez to take the lead and win her second Immunity Challenge.
Australia[]
In All Stars, this challenge was used as the second stage of the final eight Immunity Challenge. The first three people to place their ball in the gutter and have it land in a bucket will move on the final round. Brooke Jowett, David Genat, and Tarzan Herlaar made it to the final round, where they had to solve a jigsaw puzzle. Ultimately, it was David that was the overall winner of the challenge.
In Blood v Water, the challenge was used as the re-entry duel for the Purgatory inhabitants. Jordie Hansen and Shay Lajoie were the first two contestants to complete the challenge, leaving Michelle Chiang and KJ Austin to fight for the final re-entry spot. In the end, KJ was the first to land her ball in the finish, thus permanently eliminating Michelle from the game.
New Zealand[]
Quebec[]
The challenge appeared at the final six of Survivor Québec (2023) as an individual Reward Challenge. Despite an early lead from Karine Lavigne-Fortin, the challenge was ultimately won by Jean-Junior Morin. He then chose Karine and Kimberly Fortin to share the reward.
South Africa[]
In Island of Secrets, the challenge was used as a tribal Immunity Challenge. Two pairs of tribe members would transfer a ball, relay-style, across a series of obstacles; once a ball had been retrieved, the next pair starts the relay. Once both balls were at the finish, the tribe would guide two blindfolded tribemates in rotating a labyrinth wheel with the objective of landing both balls in a basket under the maze. Sa'ula's decision to put Nathan Castle on the maze proved costly, as his injured hand prevented him from controlling the maze properly. In the end, Sa'ula flung their second ball out of the maze, opening the window for the new Ta'alo tribe to win their first Immunity Challenge.
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Blood vs. Water "Rustle Feathers" |
Individual Reward/Immunity |  Gervase Peterson |
| Game Changers "The Tables Have Turned" |
Tribal Reward |       Nuku |
     Mana | ||
| Survivor 46 "My Messy, Sweet Little Friend" |
Individual Reward/Immunity |  Maria Shrime Gonzalez |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions v Contenders (2018) Episode 20 |
Individual Immunity |  Brian Lake | ||
| All Stars Episode 19 |
Individual Immunity |  David Genat | ||
| Blood v Water Episode 18 |
Duel |  Jordie Hansen |
 Shay Lajoie |
 KJ Austin |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| La Guerre des Chefs Episode 1 |
Tribal Immunity |        Tabuo |
       Kama (Koh-Lanta) |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua Episode 17 |
Individual Reward/Immunity |  Barb Raos |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor Québec (2023) Episode 59 |
Individual Reward |  Jean-Junior Morin |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Island of Secrets "Putting My Foot in My Mouth" |
Tribal Immunity |        Ta'alo |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The name of the challenge references the Led Zeppelin song "Ramble On".