History Main / GymClassRopeClimb

* ''Series/FamilyMatters'' gave this its usual preposterous spin: Gangly 97-pound-weakling [[ExtravertedNerd Urkel]] has to race a much more athletic rival in the rope-climb. Urkel uses a jet-pack to get up the rope. The gym coach seems okay with this. Urkel then flies away and [[CrossOver lands in]] ''Series/StepByStep''. [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext It doesn't make sense in context]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In one episode, the students at Springfield Elementary stage an uprising after being trapped in the school by a blizzard. One of the things they do to Principal Skinner is tie him in a sack and force him to do this.
-->'''Skinner:''' I told you, no one can climb a rope, it's physically impossible!
** In "Thursdays with Abie," the scheduled gym activity was rope climbing but the ropes had disappeared, so Coach Krupt made Milhouse mime climbing the ropes.
** In "The President Wore Pearls", Milhouse is close to finally reaching the top of the rope. However, the rope gets cut due to the school's budget cuts right then and there.
** In "Little Orphan Millie", Bart complains about gym class, saying he'll never actually be climbing ropes in real life. Becomes a BrickJoke when the gym teacher is validated as Bart rushes to get into Milhouse's uncle's hot air balloon, climbing a rope to do so. Bart yells that gym class still sucks.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'':
** In "Predict Ability", Lincoln tries to get out of having to climb a rope by asking to go see the nurse, apparently having done so many times before, since the Gym Teacher immediately knew what Lincoln was going to say. As the theme of the episode is Lincoln trying to break his habits as part of being seen as predictable, the next day he volunteers first for the rope climb and actually makes it to the top to the cheer of his classmates.
** In "Sister Act", Lola has her far more athletic twin Lana do a TwinSwitch to avoid doing the rope climb herself.

* Peter Parker shows up Flash Thompson in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' by beating him at rope climbing in gym. At least, he was ''going'' to, until the coach sent him to the showers because he smelt like a garbage dump after having fought Shocker in one the previous night.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' Valentine's Day special, the boys are seen climbing ropes in gym class. Eddy gets a serious case of rope burn, Edd climbs the rope using a mechanical apparatus, and Ed... puts on a paper-bag monkey mask and tries to swing around like Tarzan.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' HalloweenEpisode "A Fear to Remember", the Queen of Weevils makes people face YourWorstNightmare. Penfold's turns out to be a rope, and his old PE teacher exhorting him to climb it. Inevitably, he has to actually do this in the climax.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' episode "Back to School", Cat is forced to do this during gym class. Even worse, the gym coach, Cliff, has invited Cat's old high school crush and English teacher Sally Chenille to see him do it. [[EpicFail Cat tries but then falls down and everyone, including Sally, calls him a loser.]] It is revealed via flashback that this was the reason Cat dropped out of school due to his inability to climb to the top of the rope and had run out of the school in humiliation. Determined to make it to the top, he gets to the top of the rope, swinging around like Tarzan and rings the bell, impressing Sally as Cat finally receives the high school diploma from Rancid.

* Similar to the Smallville example, the ''{{Supergirl 2015}}'' episode "Midvale" has a scene where teenage!Kara easily bests her human sister Alex at the rope climb.

* Similar to the Smallville example, the ''Supergirl2015'' episode "Midvale" has a scene where teenage!Kara easily bests her human sister Alex at the rope climb.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' episode "BackToSchool", Cat is forced to do this during gym class. Even worse, the gym coach, Cliff, has invited Cat's old high school crush and English teacher Sally Chenille to see him do it. [[EpicFail Cat tries but then falls down and everyone, including Sally, calls him a loser.]] It is revealed via flashback that this was the reason Cat dropped out of school due to his inability to climb to the top of the rope and had run out of the school in humiliation. Determined to make it to the top, he gets to the top of the rope, swinging around like Tarzan and rings the bell, impressing Sally as Cat finally receives the high school diploma from Rancid.

** In "Thursdays with Abie," the scheduled gym activity was rope climbing but the ropes had disappeared, so Coach Krupt made Millhouse mime climbing the ropes.

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]

* Miss Peterson puts the girls through a gruelling obstacle course, and Sally Forsyth collapses during a rope climb, and falls to the floor. It turns out she has a weak heart.

* In ''Film/MassacreAtCentralHigh'', the GangOfBullies shove Oscar onto the rope, threaten him with a knife, and then kick him when he falls as part of their GymClassHell.

* Naturally, this trope is featured in ''Gym Teacher: the Movie''

Fast becoming a DeadHorseTrope, as many schools don't require a rope climb anymore (mainly due to parents taking legal action if it happens).

* A variation occurs in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' with the goal being to get to the top of a pole while carrying weights. Mulan slings them around the pole and knots them together.
* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''. Before he's chosen as a test subject for the SuperSerum, Steve Rogers is a 98 pound weakling. During training his drill sergeant entices the recruits with a ride back to base in the Jeep with Agent Carter if they can take a flag down from the top of a flagpole (which no one has ever accomplished in 17 years). All the recruits clamber up and slip down the pole. As the sarge tells them to get back to jogging, Steve [[CuttingTheKnot simply pulls the pins out of the flagpole's base mount]] and topples the flagpole, winning the free ride.

** In "Sister Act", Lola has her far more athletic twin Lana do a {{Twin Switch|ing}} to avoid doing the rope climb herself.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' episode "Predict Ability", Lincoln tries to get out of having to climb a rope by asking to go see the nurse, apparently having done so many times before, since the Gym Teacher immediately knew what Lincoln was going to say. As the theme of the episode is Lincoln trying to break his habits as part of being seen as predictable, the next day he volunteers first for the rope climb and actually makes it to the top to the cheer of his classmates.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' episode "BackToSchool", Cat has to climb the rope and ring the bell on top during gym class. Even worse, the gym coach, Cliff, has invited Cat's old high school crush and English teacher Sally Chenille to see him do it. [[EpicFail Cat tries but then falls down and everyone, including Sally, calls him a loser.]] Apparently, this is the reason why Cat did not get the diploma. Determined to make it to the top, he gets to the top of the rope, swinging around like Tarzan and rings the bell, impressing Sally as Cat finally receives the high school diploma from Rancid.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', Ulrich climbs up a rope. Everything's just fine, but then his vertigo kicks in, and his vision gets all blurry and he falls off (from almost the very top).

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' has Cat being forced to this by gym teacher Cliff after going BackToSchool. It is revealed via flashback that this was the reason Cat dropped out of school due to his inability to climb to the top of the rope and had run out of the school in humiliation.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' episode "BackToSchool", Cat has to climb the rope and ring the bell on top during gym class. Even worse, the gym coach, Cliff, has invited Cat's old high school crush and English teacher Sally Chenille to see him do it. [[EpicFail Cat tries but then falls down and everyone, including Sally, calls him a loser.]] Determined to make it to the top, he gets to the top of the rope, swinging around like Tarzan and rings the bell, impressing Sally as Cat finally receives the high school diploma from Rancid.

* A variation occurs in ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'' with the goal being to get to the top of a pole while carrying weights. Mulan slings them around the pole and knots them together.

* In one ''ComicStrip/PheobeAndHerUnicorn'' strip, Phoebe [[https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2013/10/07 says]] that sometimes P.E. is fun, like jumping rope, and other times it's awful, like climbing a rope.

* In one ''ComicStrip/PheobeAndHerUnicorn'' strip, Pheobe [[https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2013/10/07 says]] that sometimes P.E. is fun, like jumping rope, and other times it's awful, like climbing a rope.

'''Pheobe''': This is what P.E. has done to me.

[[GymClassHell Gym Classes in fiction are torturous.]] There's dodgeball, running, rude gym teachers, and favoritism, but the worst of all these horrors is the rope climb.

Rope climbing is the source of nightmares for nerds, kids with asthma, and people who are just not athletic. It's never portrayed in a positive light, and it will guarantee humiliation for nearly everyone involved. Expect rope burns, laughter, and crying. Sometimes, the rope climb will be a contest to see who can get to the top and ring a bell. Most of the time, however, there will be nothing at the top of the rope.