'American Ninja Warrior' Season 8 premieres with a historic night for the women competitors

          Stuntwoman Jessie Graff scaling an obstacle on Sept. 9, 2015, in Los Angeles. Photo by Tommaso Boddi/WireImage

          Season 8 of "American Ninja Warrior" premiered Wednesday, and it kicked off with a bang. For the first time ever, multiple women qualified for the same city finals course in the same region. Previously, women only competed in finals in separate cities. Jessie Graff and Natalie Duran, however, made history by placing among the top 30 obstacle course finishers during the premiere. If this episode is any indication, this season may be even better than Season 6 in terms of women making their mark on the obstacle course.

          So whether you're a new fan of ANW or a seasoned vet, we'll have you covered with recaps of the show that will give you a rundown of the previous night's highlights. This week, we'll acquaint you to some ANW basics and introduce you to some of the show's women.

          Show format:

          As it was in previous years, the show is divided into city regionals, each with a qualifying and finals stage. To guarantee a spot in the city finals, competitors must finish the course or place in the top 30 (in other words, if fewer than 30 people finish, those who went the furthest, fastest, also move on). In order to move on to the Las Vegas finals, also referred to as Mt. Midoriyama, competitors must either finish all 10 of the obstacles in the city finals course, place in the top 15 or be invited through a wild card. This season has six city regional courses, the first being Los Angeles, which aired in the premier.

          This season is expected to be more challenging than ever after two competitors summitted Mt. Midoriyama in Season 7.

          Los Angeles regional specs:

          Finishers: 17

          Women finishers: 1

          Women moving on: 2 (Graff finished, Duran placed in the top 30 without finishing the course)

          Notable absences: Travis Brewer, David Campbell

          New or modified obstacles: 5 out of 6

          The course:

          Most of the L.A. course was new in some way. The first obstacle is a tweaked version of the Quintuple Steps, now called the Floating Steps. Competitors must jump up five separated steps before swinging on a rope to the next platform.

          Next is a brutal second obstacle: the Tic-Toc. Ninjas stand on an elevated platform and swing via trapeze to a cylindrical pendulum. They must then use their momentum to dismount the pendulum onto a cargo net that leads to the next obstacle.

          In every city, the third obstacle historically tests competitors' balance. In L.A., the Elevator is definitely not a ninja killer (or, an obstacle that leads to mass disqualifications). Only a couple of people got tripped up in last night's premier. Ninjas run up and down steps that would move under their feet if not stepped on properly.

          The Ring Jump is also new, testing upper body and grip strength with its strong jolts. It's a complicated obstacle. Competitors must use the first ring to leap up four pegs on an inclined bar before grabbing the second ring. Now, using both rings, they scale the remainder of the incline, which leads them to a third ring that they then must use to descend over more pegs to the next platform.

          The fifth obstacle on ANW last season was rough for this region, and ANW 8 is no different. The I-Beam Crossing is back with some slight modifications. This obstacle tests grip strength. It's a suspended ledge that competitors have to cross while hanging. The width of the piece of the ledge that they're able to grip shrinks from three inches to one inch by the end.

          And last, but certainly not least, the qualifying course ends with a taller version of the infamous Warped Wall. Now standing at 14 feet, 6 inches, the Warped Wall is six inches taller than any other version we've seen, and that made a difference for the handful of ninjas who didn't make it up.

          The ladies:

          Natalie Duran, who competed on ANW Season 5 and "Team Ninja Warrior," didn't make it up the Warped Wall, but she got far enough, fast enough, to qualify for city finals. Tiana Webberley, another strong competitor, fell on I-Beam Crossing, just missing the cut-off for the top 30. Depending on how the rest of the season goes, however, she could still be in the running for a wild card bid to the Vegas finals.

          Perhaps the highlight of the night was Graff finishing the qualifying course and getting her first buzzer in ANW competition and placing 11th out of the 17 finishers. She's not just one of the top female ninjas -- she's one of the top ninjas. Period. Full stop. Her finishing time was only four seconds slower than Grant McCartney's, and her run was on pace to be one of the fastest of the night until I-Beam Crossing, when she took her time to avoid getting "pumped out," as the ninjas say.

          If the L.A. region reflects what the rest of the season will be like for women, this will be a real treat.