The 17th Sportsman competition, official name:「スポーツマンNo.1決定戦XVII」 (literally Sportsman No. 1 XVII) was the seventh Celebrity Survival Battle Tournament. In similar format to the previous Celebrity Survival Battle, various celebrities would compete in a series of Sportsman events to gain points. As the events progress, the competitors who would gain the least amount of points would be eliminated from the Survival Battle. This elimination would continue until the final event where the top six competitors would be left.
In this competition, the events Beach Flags, Monster Box, Quick Muscle, Power Force and Shot-Gun Touch once again appearing from the previous Celebrity Survival Battle. While Tail Impossible would make its return since the fifth Celebrity Survival Battle. Compared to other competitions, this is the only Sportsman competition that was split into two parts of which the first three events were aired on October 10, 2000 while the remaining events were aired on October 14, 2000 at 7pm JST.
The prizes in this competition are as follows:
Event Winners would receive a Orient Star Watch and JPY 200,000
Sixth Place Competitor would receive a GIANT Mountain Bike
Fifth Place Competitor would receive a Grandir Gold Necklace and JPY 200,000
Fourth Place Competitor would receive a MacGregor Golf Set and JPY 400,000
Third Place Competitor would receive a Kannon Onsen Family Voucher and JPY 600,000
Second Place Competitor would receive a Estelle Platinum Diamond Ring and JPY 1,000,000
First Place Competitor would receive a Toyota New Estina car and JPY 2,000,000
The event involves competitors laying down flat on their stomachs facing behind the track. Once a whistle is blown, they must stand up and run across the track to grab a limited number of flags.
There were a total of eight rounds in this competition, which would slowly eliminate competitors one by one as the rounds progress. In the finals, the competitor who managed to grab the last flag would be the No. 1 of the event.
Competitors would be given corresponding points based on their progress on the event:
The event involves competitors running down a runway onto a springboard and vault over a giant vaulting box that increases in height after all competitors have attempted the current height. In this tournament, the male competitors would start at 11 Levels which has an equivalent height of 1 meter and 86 centimeters and gradually increases by 10 centimeters with each levels.
Similar to the Kinniku Banzuke version, competitors would have to do as many push-ups as possible within three minutes with a difference being in a group of four instead of pairs. After the event, two competitors with the least amount of points is eliminated from the Survival Battle.
Fourteen remaining competitors competes an event involves competitors running around a 100 meter track for four laps, with the last three competitors finishing the laps being eliminated from the event. Competitors are allowed to rest for 90 seconds in between each race. After the event, four competitors with the least amount of points is eliminated from the Survival Battle.
Ten remaining competitors competes an event involves two competitors connected to a rope on their backs, with the length of the rope being shorter than the length of the entire track. Once a signal is played, competitors must run towards a buzzer that is in opposite directions of the track. The first competitor who presses the buzzer wins the match and advances to the next rounds of the event. These matches would occur until the final round to indicate the No. 1 of the Event. After the event, four competitors with the least amount of points is eliminated from the Survival Battle.
The remaining top six competitors competes in an event involves competitors sprinting towards the end of the runway to touch a falling volleyball ten metres above. The volleyball must be released by pressing a button at the start of the runway, failure to do so signify a miss. Competitors writes down the distance according to their own preferences and place them in a ballot box, with three attempts each and the competitor who has successfully completed the furthest and/or earned the most points wins the event. In addition, the running order on each round would change based on the current overall points where the competitor that has the least amount of points will go first.
During the competitor's third attempt, instead of competitors writing down the distance, they would verbally pick their distance once it is their turn to attempt the event.