Pole Dancing (also known as Money Box, Ropeable, and Unspun Heroes) is a recurring Survivor challenge.
Rules[]
Castaways must race to untangle a series of ropes while attached to the rope at the waist. When they feel that their rope has enough slack, they will race to the finish line to complete one final task. The first person to finish wins.
History[]
United States[]
The challenge debuted as the final five Immunity Challenge in Guatemala where Stephenie LaGrossa crossed the finish line first and won the first and only individual immunity of her Survivor career.
In Nicaragua, the first three castaways to get enough rope to cross the marked line would advance to a second round, where the finalists would race to solve a puzzle. Sash Lenahan solved his puzzle ahead of Benry Henry and Fabio Birza and won individual immunity.
The challenge was used as the final five Reward Challenge in San Juan del Sur. Keith Nale won the challenge, which was an advantage in the next Immunity Challenge.
The challenge reappeared as the final seven Reward Challenge in Cambodia. Keith Nale won the challenge again and won the reward.
The challenge appeared once again as the final seven Reward Challenge in David vs. Goliath. Davie Rickenbacker had an early lead which allowed him to win the challenge.
The challenge reappeared at the final seven of Survivor 45 as a combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, where the players had to complete an arc-shaped word puzzle to spell "RESOURCEFULNESS". With most of the contestants struggling to manage their rope, only Drew Basile and Austin Li Coon managed to reach the puzzle stage. Ultimately, Drew won the challenge after Austin failed to realize that he had to solve the puzzle on both sides.
Australia[]
In Brains v Brawn (2021), the final six had to gather enough rope to climb over an A-frame and under a hitching post. Thereafter, they would detach themselves from their rope and use a mallet to break four rails to drop a bag of letter tiles. They would then proceed to a shuffleboard and slide all 28 letter tiles through to a goal. Finally, they will race to spell a six-word phrase, "GUARANTEED SPOT IN THE FINAL FIVE". Despite struggling on every part of the challenge, Wai Chim's aptitude with puzzles came in clutch to help her win her first Immunity Necklace.
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Guatemala "Big Win, Big Decision, Big Mistake?" |
Individual Immunity |
 Stephenie LaGrossa |
| Nicaragua "Not Sure Where I Stand" |
Individual Immunity |
 Sash Lenahan |
| San Juan del Sur "This Is My Time" |
Individual Reward |  Keith Nale |
| Cambodia "Villains Have More Fun" |
Individual Reward |  Keith Nale |
| David vs. Goliath "Are You Feeling Lucky?" |
Individual Reward |  Davie Rickenbacker |
| Survivor 45 "This Game Rips Your Heart Out" |
Individual Reward/Immunity |  Drew Basile |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Champions v Contenders (2019) Episode 21 |
Individual Immunity |  Luke Toki |
| Brains v Brawn (2021) Episode 21 |
Individual Immunity |  Wai Chim |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Stephenie LaGrossa is the only woman to win this challenge.
- Keith Nale is the only player to compete in this challenge twice. He won both times.
- Keith is one of three contestants to win the same individual challenge twice, following Parvati Shallow and Ozzy Lusth.
- In Cambodia, host Jeff Probst claimed Keith was the only person to have won this challenge, possibly referring to the beanbag tossing portion of the challenge.
- All three times this challenge was used for reward, it was the final Reward Challenge of the season.
References[]