Quit

A quit is a rare method of elimination in which a contestant chooses to leave the game without being voted out. Although not technically deemed to be quits, some contestants have also chosen to leave the game due to illness or have explicitly requested that they be voted out at tribal council.

Occurances
The first quit occurred in. Following the controversial Outcasts twist, which led to both tribes eliminating a member, Osten Taylor quit the game at tribal council. His final words were not aired, and his torch was not included in the Rites of Passage, but was instead laid down at the tribal council site. Osten remains the only male contestant to officially quit the game.

was the first season in which two contestants quit. Around Day 6, Jenna Morasca began experiencing regret over leaving her mother, who was dying of cancer, to play Survivor. She elected to leave the game at the immunity challenge. She rushed to her mother's bedside, and eight days later, her mother passed away. On Day 13, at the immunity challenge, a naked Richard Hatch rubbed himself against Susan Hawk, leaving her distraught. Over the subsequent days, she grew more angered and embarrassed by the incident. When Jeff made a comment about the incident, Sue began an impassioned speech about the situation, deriding Jeff for making light of the situation and quit the game.

In, Janu Tornell became the first contestant to quit the game and continue to participate as a member of the jury. After being ostracized and ridiculed by her tribe, Janu elected to leave the game on her own terms, claiming she had gained everything she wanted from the experience. Her exit prevented Koror's plan to vote out Stephenie LaGrossa.

In, Kathy Sleckman suffered a mental breakdown brought on by isolation and paranoia, and quit the game. She has subsequently stated that her breakdown was triggered by withdrawal from her Zoloft medication, and that she had intended to use the machete to cut off one of her fingers to instigate a medical evacuation.

was the first season in which two contestants quit at the same time when NaOnka Mixon and "Purple Kelly" Shinn quit during the jury phase of the game. After heavy rain, NaOnka expressed a desire to quit at the conclusion of a reward challenge (despite her team winning the challenge). Jeff denied her, but scheduled a Tribal Council that night. NaOnka went on reward, while Purple Kelly returned to camp and stated that she too had had enough and planned to quit along with NaOnka. Despite their tribesmates' and Jeff's arguments for remaining in the game, both women quit at Tribal Council. Due to the precedence set in, NaOnka and Purple Kelly continued as members of the jury and were instrumental to Fabio Birza's win.

In, Dana Lambert experienced severe stomach pain and nausea. Although medical cleared her health for the next twelve hours, denying her medical evacuation, Dana insisted she was too sick to continue and elected to leave the game.

Quit By Tribal Council
In some situations, a contestant has requested that their tribe vote them out of the game. Although not officially a quit, the circumstances surrounding the vote result in the public, or production, perceiving the incident as 'quitting the game'.

In, an ankle injury was sustained by Jeff Wilson when he tripped on a coconut. After Ulong lost the following challenge and Jeff asked his tribe to vote him out as he feared he was holding back his already-struggling team. Despite some skepticism, he was voted out.

After the Malakal tribe lost the first immunity challenge in, Jon Dalton stated that his heart was not in the game and that he wanted to return home to his pregnant girlfriend, asking his tribe to vote him out. His request was granted and he was unanimously voted out out.

In, G.C. Brown became increasingly disengaged from the game, culminating in him disappearing immediately before an immunity challenge. When Fang lost said challenge, he asked his tribe to vote him out, and they granted the request.

Brandon Hantz's controversial actions in have sparked debate over whether or not he quit the game, was voted out or was evacuated for mental health. His volatile nature reached a breaking point upon learning that his tribe planned to throw a challenge in order to vote him out culminated in violent behavior (including pouring out his tribe's food supply) and verbal abuse. This led Bikal to forfeit an immunity challenge in order to vote him out of the game. According to precedent in, for a tribe to choose to attend Tribal Council, the entire tribe must agree to the decision, suggesting that Brandon willingly permitted the tribe to forfeit the challenge. Corinne Kaplan stated in the following episode that Brandon was a "quitter", although Brandon has denied that he purposefully quit during post-game interviews.

Quit Before the Game
Hours before the marooning in, Mellisa McNulty suffered a panic attack and withdrew from the competition. With no alternate on-hand, the season began with an odd number of contestants - the only season to do so.

Impact
Jeff Probst holds open disgust for quitters of the game and has stated that contestants who quit will never be asked to return.

The controversial simultaneous quit in led to an amendment to the Survivor Rulebook. In subsequent seasons, if a contestant elects to quit the game during the jury phase, the producers will deliberate whether the contestant will participate on the jury. The producers also hold the right to deny the quitter's consolation prize.