expert participation

I'm an avid juggler who took up unicycling recently, and I read both
rec.juggling and rec.unicycling frequently. I want to say that I am impressed
by the level of expert participation that I see in the unicycling world as
compared to the juggling world. People like Anthony Gatto and Jason Garfield
(two of the best jugglers in the world) sometimes make it to the really big
conventions, but they are relatively detached from the amateur juggling
community. On the other hand, I see contributions to this newsgroup from the
likes of John Foss and Kris Holm, who I'm led to believe (never seen them in
action yet) are two of the top unicyclists in the world. Maybe this is a
misperception, but it just seems as though the expert jugglers don't have time
for us lowly recreational jugglers whereas the expert unicyclists don't seem to
mind answering a question here and there.

Anyhoo, just my thoughts on the matter. It seems to me that the unicycling
community is in good shape. Since I have never actually met any of the
aforementioned "experts" none of this is meant to specifically judge anyone's
character or abilities.

Luke

[color=blue]> On the other hand, I see contributions to this newsgroup from the likes of[/color]
[color=blue]> John Foss and Kris Holm, who I'm led to believe (never seen them in action[/color]
[color=blue]> yet) are two of the top unicyclists in the world.[/color]

Wow. Does this mean I can stop now? Surely that would be a relief to some
[color=blue]:-)[/color]

[color=blue]> just seems as though the expert jugglers don't have time for us lowly[/color]
[color=blue]> recreational jugglers whereas the expert unicyclists don't seem to mind[/color]
[color=blue]> answering a question here and there.[/color]

I think this can be attributed to two main differences:

1. Juggling has been around for 4000 years, but unicycling is relatively new. We
are still trying to explain ourselves to the world, and many of us higher
level riders like being a part of that.

2. The main reason: There are more professional jugglers out there making a
living at it. They are busy with their careers and their travel may make
internet access less convenient. Some unicyclists, like Peter Rosendahl or
Teresa and Sem, fit this category (though Teresa and Sem are usually very
involved at the conventions).

Guys like Kris and me don't perform for a living. I'm not sure of Kris'
situation, but I believe that mostly he is not paid for performances. And
neither am I, any more. We're having a lot more fun as hobbyists.

Normally I would contend that there are a lot of computer nerds in unicycling,
and that's the reason. But I know it's not, as there are proportionally about
the same number of nerds in juggling. And I would venture to say that their
nerds are even smarter than ours, though that might just be due to their greater
numbers...

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone http://www.unicycling.com

Unicycling Hobbyist

Luke, I think you have spotted a great benefit of unicycling vs. many other
sports: the experts remain humble and approachable. At the recent Nationals in
Adrian I was impressed by the same thing as I saw it first hand. I just started
riding (at 50!) and enjoy it immensely.

Blessings!

Arthur Doerksen

"Luke Currano" <lcurrano@glue.umd.edu> wrote in message
news:39AEAB02.4791C10D@glue.umd.edu...
[color=blue]> I'm an avid juggler who took up unicycling recently, and I read both[/color]
[color=blue]> rec.juggling and rec.unicycling frequently. I want to say that I am impressed[/color]
[color=blue]> by the level of expert participation that I see in the unicycling world as[/color]
[color=blue]> compared to the juggling world. People like Anthony Gatto and Jason Garfield[/color]
[color=blue]> (two of the best jugglers in the world) sometimes make it to the really big[/color]
[color=blue]> conventions, but they are relatively detached from the amateur juggling[/color]
[color=blue]> community. On the other hand, I see contributions to this newsgroup from the[/color]
[color=blue]> likes of John Foss and Kris Holm, who I'm led to believe (never seen them in[/color]
[color=blue]> action yet) are two of the top unicyclists in the world. Maybe this is a[/color]
[color=blue]> misperception, but it just seems as though the expert jugglers don't have time[/color]
[color=blue]> for us lowly recreational jugglers whereas the expert unicyclists don't seem[/color]
[color=blue]> to mind answering a question here and there.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Anyhoo, just my thoughts on the matter. It seems to me that the unicycling[/color]
[color=blue]> community is in good shape. Since I have never actually met any of the[/color]
[color=blue]> aforementioned "experts" none of this is meant to specifically judge anyone's[/color]
[color=blue]> character or abilities.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Luke[/color]

. On the other hand, I see
[color=blue]> contributions to this newsgroup from the likes of John Foss and Kris Holm, who[/color]
[color=blue]> I'm led to believe (never seen them in action yet) are two of the top[/color]
[color=blue]> unicyclists in the world.[/color]

That is a strenght of the unicyclist movement. John and Kris are indeed two top
unicyclists who are available to all riders.

There are many other top riders, not fluent in English and/or without internet
availability, who also like to mingle.

That is another of the reasons why UNICONs are UNIQUE experiences. Hope to see
you at UNICON XI, in July or August 2002, in Washington State, USA (near Kris,
who, I believe, is from Vancouver, Canada).

Alberto Ruiz