The Team Draft is a twist introduced on Fresh Meat. At the start of the season, fresh rookie players compete in an obstacle course or challenge and are ranked and partnered with alumni players.
On some seasons, drafts determined the teams for the season or a season twist.
The Team Draft was announced to players at the beginning of the season. The Real World and Road Rules alumni were told by TJ that they would be competing with completely new players, nicknamed Fresh Meat. The Fresh Meat players participated in an obstacle course and their stats were recorded and given to the alumni to view. The alumni each randomly drew a number between one and twelve to determine the order in which they may select a partner of the opposite gender. TJ also announced that during the Exile elimination, each team must carry the combined weight of their luggage.
Coral & Evan's luggage weight was never recorded as the pair was removed from the competition before ever competing in Exile.
Fresh Meat II[]
The Team Draft was announced again at the start of the season with another group of Fresh Meat. The Fresh Meat once again participated in an obstacle course with their stats recorded for the alumni to view. The alumni once again drew numbers to determine the order in which they selected a partner of the opposite gender.
Luke was temporarily left without a partner after original contestant Jonna Mannion was unable to enter the country due to a lost passport. Evelyn was brought in as a last-minute replacement and was automatically paired with Luke.
Cutthroat[]
In the season opener, the 30 contestants raced to the Gulag. In a twist, the three last place players (Camila, Shauvon, and Emilee) were named captains of the Red Team, Grey Team, and Blue Team. The teams were then selected on a schoolyard pick, alternating picks by gender.
Upon arrival to location TJ introduced sixteen Veteran players to a group of eighteen Prospects that had been camping in the desert. Pointing out the uneven number of players between the sides, TJ announced that the first challenge would be a Purge Challenge where the last place male and female Prospects would be eliminated. He also revealed that the Veterans and Prospects would all be competing in the challenge and given a rank based on their finish. During the Team Draft TJ shocked the players by stating that the Prospects would be selecting a Veteran partner of the opposite gender.
Amanda was temporarily left without a partner after Alan was removed from the game due to a broken hand he suffered at the "Impending Dune" challenge. Josh, who was eliminated after finishing in last place, was brought back into the game and was automatically partnered with Amanda.
Ride or Dies[]
The game changed halfway through the season from a pairs to team competition. The winners of the "Haul or Nothing" challenge became team captains. In the Zone, captains Faysal & Moriah chose the new teams for the team phase in a midseason twist. Challengers in grey cells indicate that they were placed on that team after their partner was chosen by the captain of the opposite team.
Upon arrival to location TJ introduced 14 Challenge Legends from the flagship to a group of 16 Global MVPs who had either won or stood out greatly during their seasons in the World Championship spin-off series. The Legends had sat out of the first challenge, which TJ announced would be a Qualifier, where the last place male and female MVPs would automatically be sent into elimination, while the winners of the challenge would choose between two nominees decided by the remaining MVPs to go against them. Following the eliminations, the numbers were even and TJ revealed that the MVPs would be picking their Legend partner based on where they finished in the Qualifier.
Tristan placed last in the Qualifier and was set to go into elimination for the men, but Nathan was medically removed from the game, and Tristan was allowed to bypass the elimination, after which he was automatically paired with KellyAnne who was the last woman chosen.
The Challenge: USA 2[]
In the season opener, TJ announced that the players would be split into three teams with the captains determined by random draw in the Hopper. The three captains randomly drawn were Josh, Cassidy, and Desi, and they were assigned to the Red, Blue, and Green Teams respectively. TJ also announced that all teams were required to have two, one male and one female, Challenge Legends.
