Uhhh.... Unicon?

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by Julia B

Check out the NAUCC '12 street course. Features of note include the 4 set with 1 rev of run up complete with wooden handrail on only one side and the wheelchair accessible manny pad. Also, flatland was held in a gym.

I take it you were not satisfied with these facilities? This is where I think it might be beneficial for the competitors to build the obstacles, but of course this needs to be announced in advanced. If you have the expectation of a pre-built course and get that, blah. Plus you would need materials to build with.

I think this is why these courses are often not built before the convention; they want them built to the standards of the riders and there are no instruction manuals for Street and Trials obstacles. They keep having to get harder.

Flatland in the gym:
So did all riders have to use plastic pedals? Were the organizers considering that Flat-type riding might tend to be a lot harder on a gym floor than traditional Freestyle?

[Alan Hogan]

Originally Posted by GizmoDuck

Really?

I've ridden every single Marathon event ever held at UNICON (not counting when the 10km race used to be called the Marathon), and it was by far the most technical.

Lot's of sharp corners, acceleration/deceleration, shifting, obstacles (bikes, little old ladies with walking sticks, women with prams), and only 2m wide throughout (if that).

I liked it.... there was probably actually less turns than the Dusseldorf course?? ......... granted I having oposing traffic wasnt so great........... I had visions of running over a nun ... would that be a sin?

[knoxuni]

I hate that street course!

[gohabsgo333]

I think Unicon itself was very well organized. At first I thought 200 euros was expensive, but I realized it was a two week event and the money runs quickly with 2000 participants. However, the street and flat comps were disappointing. The flatland, as well as the Street Comp needs work in the rulebook and judging criteria.

- My two cents

[Julia B]

Originally Posted by johnfoss

I take it you were not satisfied with these facilities? This is where I think it might be beneficial for the competitors to build the obstacles, but of course this needs to be announced in advanced. If you have the expectation of a pre-built course and get that, blah. Plus you would need materials to build with.

I think this is why these courses are often not built before the convention; they want them built to the standards of the riders and there are no instruction manuals for Street and Trials obstacles. They keep having to get harder.

Flatland in the gym:
So did all riders have to use plastic pedals? Were the organizers considering that Flat-type riding might tend to be a lot harder on a gym floor than traditional Freestyle?

I don't know the specifics, I only went to unicon. But if I had gone, I would've been very disappointed. I think street is much easier to build beforehand than trials. I believe the IUF rulebook even specifies what needs to be provided in each zone. Stair zone: a big stairset (6-8ish) and a small one (3-5ish). Grind zone: equal grinding opportunities on BOTH sides. Manny Pad zone: two manny pads. I don't believe it discusses the use of ramps, but needs to be forbidden ASAP.

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by gohabsgo333

The flatland, as well as the Street Comp needs work in the rulebook and judging criteria.

You are well-positioned to have an impact on those events at Unicon 17 if interested. There is a plan to re-vamp the way the rules are modified/improved/updated. This fall there will be an effort to make it something that's more streamlined and transparent. Keep your eyes on the IUF website for developments. November? Not sure, but the next time we open up IUF competition rules for edits, it will probably be on a by-event basis. In other words, you won't have to vote on stuff about events you have nothing to do with, which will make it easier to concentrate on the events that are your passion.

[Julia B]

Originally Posted by johnfoss

You are well-positioned to have an impact on those events at Unicon 17 if interested. There is a plan to re-vamp the way the rules are modified/improved/updated. This fall there will be an effort to make it something that's more streamlined and transparent. Keep your eyes on the IUF website for developments. November? Not sure, but the next time we open up IUF competition rules for edits, it will probably be on a by-event basis. In other words, you won't have to vote on stuff about events you have nothing to do with, which will make it easier to concentrate on the events that are your passion.

Yes yes yes yes thank you John Foss!

[gohabsgo333]

Originally Posted by johnfoss

You are well-positioned to have an impact on those events at Unicon 17 if interested. There is a plan to re-vamp the way the rules are modified/improved/updated. This fall there will be an effort to make it something that's more streamlined and transparent. Keep your eyes on the IUF website for developments. November? Not sure, but the next time we open up IUF competition rules for edits, it will probably be on a by-event basis. In other words, you won't have to vote on stuff about events you have nothing to do with, which will make it easier to concentrate on the events that are your passion.

This is good to know, thank you! And yes, I'd definitely like to help out with Unicon 17 since it'll be so close, I'm even thinking of getting a job in Montreal for that summer

[unigoat]

Originally Posted by Julia B

Check out the NAUCC '12 street course. Features of note include the 4 set with 1 rev of run up complete with wooden handrail on only one side and the wheelchair accessible manny pad. Also, flatland was held in a gym.

I agree that the NAUCC '12 Street Course was not optimal. Some of the other courses weren't either. I was there. Rather than getting angry or bitter about NAUCC courses, hopefully it can be used as a learning experience for the future. The organizers were unpaid volunteers who did the best they thought they could.

One of the highlights of NAUCC '12 was the Crit course. Best Crit ever. The course happened when several people put their heads together and made the best of an unfortunate situation.

As for Flatland at NAUCC '12, it was held in the gym. This was a wise decision. It was well over 90 degrees F that day outside. The parking lot seemed much hotter than that. It was tolerable in the gym. Actually, the weather in Saline was incredibly hot most of the week- a drain on competitors and spectators.

Many of the unicycling disciplines are growing rapidly- almost too quickly for the handful of people who have been shouldering the convention work. Those with passions for disciplines need to speak up AND get involved. (Julia, I realize you will get involved with the Flatland end of things which is awesome!). More constructive input is needed, but it needs to be backed up with solutions as well as criticisms. (Once again, Julia, this is not directed towards you, just general observations from what happens often on forums.)

Part of the issue that occurs with unicycling is that the budget often requires concessions in ideals. The word budget applies to not only money, but time as well. At the NAUCC level, the local hosting club gets a lot on their plate in terms of making ends meet (I'm sure UNICON does too, but I can't speak from that experience). It can be tricky for smaller clubs in new locations to get the infrastructure of venues on board.

That being said, we hope to make NAUCC 2013 the best event possible. We're considering all events important (not that others haven't), and enlisting outside help for those events in which we're not experts. Street is being specifically addressed with the help of Kelly Hickman. For trials, we're looking to Andy Cotter's plans and Kris Holm's notes to get our builders inspired. We've got a good grasp on what needs done for holding events on public roads because we have friends who are helping us with permits- and we've done a stage race before. For MUni, we've been involved with the local mountain bike racing organizations for years.

We've also got a lot of help from the past clubs who have hosted NAUCC. The core group of volunteers that have organized past events are a valuable resource.

Sorry if I've turned this into a commercial, but we're hoping to make NAUCC 2013 a spectacular event for all involved. Our local tourism board is incredibly interested in highlighting this event not only to the competitors, but the general public around here.

We are hoping to get as many in attendance as possible.

[Julia B]

I think the biggest problem with NAUCC 2012 was that so many of the top riders were at unicon. Usually there would have been many more street and flat riders there to organize/fix things. NAUCC 2013 sounds great, I'm definitely planning to be there! In fact it should be a very well-attended event, I think there will be several flat riders from Europe coming as well. Should be fun!

[unigoat]

The pool of riders does help.

With UNICON being slated for Montreal in 2014 we hope a lot of top level riders make it a priority to make it to NAUCC 2013.

We're really excited about the publicity we're already getting via the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau. There's nothing official on their site, but they've already listed NAUCC 2013 in their newsletter and started tagging it in social media outlets. What we're hoping to do is showcase unicycling to the general public as a viable challenging sport for all people.

[Nurse Ben]

Money does not help with organzing if there are not enough volunteers top do the work, esp since everyone who helps with organizing is a volunteer.

It is important to contribute more than your money and participation in the activities, you need to contribute your time as a volunteer. What should be happening is that each participant should have a volunteer requirement

Julia, you started this thread, so I will ask you: Did you volunteer and help with organizing the events, building stunts, clean up, etc...? I'm not talking about the impromptu "can you help carry something?", I mean actually volunteering and putting in some hours.

If you want a "professional" event, one that does not require any volunteers, you will pay quite a bit more for your event(s), possibly on the order of hundreds of dollars per event, per day. Then you could expect professional events since then you would have paid organizers.

I plan to attend the NAUCC 2013, not as a completitor, not as a spectator, but as a volunteer.

What you want to hear from an organizer is: "I have enough help"

[Julia B]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

It is important to contribute more than your money and participation in the activities, you need to contribute your time as a volunteer. What should be happening is that each participant should have a volunteer requirement

That will just result in far fewer people registering, as far as I can tell. Unless they would volunteer for their own events, which is what's happening anyway.

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

Julia, you started this thread, so I will ask you: Did you volunteer and help with organizing the events, building stunts, clean up, etc...? I'm not talking about the impromptu "can you help carry something?", I mean actually volunteering and putting in some hours.

Yes I did. For my main event, flatland, I spent quite a few hours working on the location. I also spent all of Friday judging the men's competition. My mom came with me and she also volunteered, spending several days working on various events (mostly muni, I think). What irks me is that, in terms of competitions, I went to unicon for flatland. And the venue was free, the judges were volunteers, as far as I can tell there was no money spent on flatland. But all of the competitors still payed 160+ Euros. Apparantly all of the money (and most of the time) was spent on muni/distance/freestyle ect ect ect. At a bare minimum, I expected a suitable location to be provided beforehand, which was provided for every other event.

[knoxuni]

Julia I feel for ya. spending money and not seeing the return!

[sarah.miller]

way back in the year 2000 , Unicon was in China. China did not have a tradition of unicycle hockey, the hockey tournamnet could not start untill the hockey players had nagged the organisers into buying some lumber, screws & debris net and then built a set of goals......


its only 12 years ago, then the trials comp took place in about 6 parking bays with 6 pallets and a few skinnyies. Flat & street did not feature at Unicon at all.