EPISODE 13: PILOTS
In our finale episode, our contenders learn to fly! First, hurling themselves off a cliff paragliding in La Jolla, California, then graduating to real fighter planes when they take the stick of their own L39 jets over the Mojave desert in the ultimate real-life dogfight to determine the Grand Prize Winner.
FUN FACTS:
To counteract G-Forces, fighter pilots are trained to tense their legs, arms and abdominal muscles to stop the blood flowing away from the brain.
Fighter pilots have to be in super good health to handle the strange effects that fighter jets have on the body. A really strong heart is important because g-forces suck blood away from the brain. Besides a strong heart and lots of stamina, fighter pilots have to have strong muscles in their abdomens, arms, and legs. They also have to have perfect vision.
EPISODE 12: ELITE FORCES
Deep in the heart of the Virginian woods, our remaining players become camouflaged-wearing Elite Forces to determine who the final challengers will be. A paintball target run combined with a booby-trapped stealth course make for some explosive moments. Things get really wild when the challengers drop from a helicopter into a river to save a “downed pilot” on their race to the finish line.
FUN FACTS:
The S.E.A.L. in Navy SEAL stands for: United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land Forces.
EPISODE 11: POLICE ACTION
A-tten-tion! The remaining challengers compete as honorary members of the Vancouver Police Department. A wild ATV ride through a beach obstacle course is just the beginning of a series of challenges that will end with the capture of the “Graffiti Gang”.
FUN FACTS:
The first official Police force was formed in London in 1829, by Sir Robert Peel.
EPISODE 10: ADVENTURE GUIDE
In the wilds of British Columbia, a series of outdoor adventure experiences test the limits of the remaining challengers. From racing kayaks and navigating through a forest with only a compass, to climbing a 4,500-foot glacier to the finish line, each challenger must rely on their survival skills to survive in this race.
FUN FACTS:
Did you know that there are glaciers on Planet Mars!
The largest glacier in the world is called the Lambert Glacier; it is 60 miles wide and over 250 miles long, it is in Antartica.
EPISODE 9: CIRCUS
With the help of Montreal’s world class Cirque Eloize, challengers perform a routine in front of a live audience. Here they balance on a high-wire, ride the world’s smallest bike, execute back flips off a teeter-board, climb a twenty foot high silk rope, and plunge thirty feet into a giant pool of foam cubes.
FUN FACTS:
The circus has been around since the era of Ancient Greece!
Did you know that there are circus schools across the country where you can learn to be a clown, an acrobat, and even a juggler!
EPISODE 8: DIRTY JOBS
Our contenders get up-close-and-personal with mighty machines to perform some super-stinky tasks. From a garbage toss road race to crushing a 51-meter high mountain of Montreal’s trash with a motorized garbage crusher, the remaining challengers have to clean up their acts – or else!
FUN FACTS:
Vegetable, kitchen, and garden waste are all excellent raw material for home composting
You can be green too! Here are a few easy things you can do to help the planet:
- Start a book exchange at school to encourage your friends to trade used books instead of purchasing new ones
- Turn the water off while you’re brushing your teeth - do not let it run continuously
- Use environmentally friendly glues, paints, markers, and other materials
EPISODE 7: ER
Code blue! Code blue! Challengers race to save the lives of state-of-the-art medical dummies when they turn into ER doctors at McGill’s Medical Simulation Centre in Montreal. They will perform surgery on a pig’s foot, start a blood transfusion, and race real ambulances to the finish line.
FUN FACTS:
Several major medical breakthroughs were made by great Canadian scientists:
- Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin in 1921-22
- Did you know that there are 206 bones in the adult human body and there are 300 in children (as they grow some of the bones fuse together)!
EPISODE 6: FIREFIGHTERS
Fighting a blazing fire? Using the “Jaws of Life” to save a life? Chopping holes in the roof of a burning building? It is all just a day-in-the-life for our challengers turned firefighters in Vermillion, Alberta. Each challenger must master the tasks at hand or face elimination.
FUN FACTS:
The most common way to search a building that is filled with smoke is to crawl on all fours.
Some fires can be as hot as 980 degrees Celsius! That means that the inside of a burning building is hot enough to melt some metals!
EPISODE 5: FARM FRENZY
Sweaty, smelly and hard work! The farm frenzy challenge in Vermillion, Alberta has our competitors running wild. From taking a piglet’s temperature – ouch! – and giving him a tattoo – double ouch! - to milking cows and shoveling manure, only the strong will survive this challenge.
FUN FACTS:
Milking cows can take time. In one hour, you could milk about 6 cows; if you have a cow milking machine, you could milk 100 at the same time.
A cow drinks approximately a bathtub full of water every day!
Pigs are surprisingly excellent swimmers!
EPISODE 4: HOLLYWOOD STUNT PERFORMERS
Lights! Camera! Action! The remaining challengers land in L.A. and arrive at Paramount Pictures’ historic back lot to become daredevil Hollywood stuntmen (a.k.a Stunt Stars). In a thrilling, action-packed sequence, the challengers must chase down a bad guy, build a tricky breakaway stool and then flawlessly perform a fight scene complete with fake-out punches and real dialogue.
FUN FACTS:
Stunt people have been working in the movies for more than 100 years!
Experienced Hollywood stunt performers use camera angles to make their fake punches look real.
EPISODE 3: RODEO COWBOYS AND COWGIRLS
Giddy up boys and girls! At the Sankey Rodeo School (www.sankeyrodeo.com) in Rosehill, Kansas, the challengers must take the bull by the horns or face elimination. First, the teams must tag the feisty bulls. Then, they have to hold on for dear life as the bucking Il Toro, an out-of-control mechanical cow, tries to knock them into the next town. Little do they know though, that the Il Toro is only practice for riding a real bronking bull.
FUN FACTS:
Some of the best bull riders in the world only stay on for about 8 seconds!
Upper body and leg strength are very important when riding a bull. Some bulls weigh up to a ton and have fearsome tempers!
EPISODE 2: ALLIGATOR WRANGLERS
In the heart of the steamy Florida Everglades, each team must wrangle one of the deadliest animals known to man – alligators! – at The Alligator Farm (www.everglades.com) in Florida City. Starting easy with wee baby alligators, the competition intensifies when each team must wrestle a 500-pound gator. Then things become ultra-extreme when teams must feed gross dead rats to a swamp full of the hungry reptiles or risk being eliminated. Don’t fall in!
FUN FACTS:
The Everglades is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles are found together.
Alligators swallow their food whole. The teeth of an alligator are made for grabbing and holding, not for cutting.
EPISODE 1: AUTO RACING
Eighteen challengers – aged 12-14 – begin their real-world competition at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for a thrilling NASCAR (www.nascar.com) experience. Here contenders must compete in a karting race, go garage-side to become NASCAR mechanics and turn into lightning-fast pit crew specialists before racing to the finish at 225 km/hour in a real NASCAR!
FUN FACTS:
NASCAR is an acronym which stands for "National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing."
Did you know that in NASCAR...
A GREEN FLAG signals the beginning of competition.
A YELLOW FLAG means that there is an accident on the race track and that the drivers should slow down.
A RED FLAG means that all competition must stop.
A WHITE FLAG means that there is one more lap to go in the race.
