Basketball at UNICON X

General
1

Last December we discussed the official IUF Rules for Basketball in unicycles as
they had never been officially approved. I submitted that we should use the
International Rules at the time of competition with 8 clarifications. I asked
for reactions. Amendments for Items 1 and 3, both in language and content, were
suggested by John Foss and Sem Abraham. Here are the Rules to be used during
UNICON X as amended. Gilby, please update the Rules in the web page.

  1. Traveling. The 2 steps are converted into 2 half revolutions, not two full
    revolutions, because pedaling with one leg only moves the wheel half a
    revolution. However, if as a continuation of the play the ball is thrown or
    passed, an extra (third) half revolution is allowed. This extra half
    revolution is the equivalent to the jump in regular basketball.
  2. Idling is equivalent to the pivot foot and therefore is allowed. Twisting,
    where the pedals stay at the same height, while you move the unicycle left
    and right is also considered as your pivot foot, and therefore allowed. Doing
    both, (idling and twisting) before letting the ball go is not allowed and
    will be considered traveling.
  3. The player can only play the ball while mounted on his unicycle and not
    touching anything else for support. That includes in offense, defense, and
    during jump balls. This is for security reasons. As an exception to this
    rule, a player is allowed to jump off his unicycle for slam dunks and
    blocked shots, as long as the player is aware that these should only be
    attempted when they can be done safely. When another player gets fouled by
    the player that jumped or gets hit by the abandoned unicycle, a flagrant
    foul will be called.
  4. The player throwing the ball inbound must be mounted.
  5. The three second zone becomes the 4 second zone.
  6. Intentional blind side pushes are considered flagrant fouls. Two flagrant
    fouls by the same player disqualifies him for the rest of that game. The
    referee must understand that often there is lots of shuffling and pushing
    because more than one player is going for the ball or because it gets crowded
    and the rider must look for balance. The referee must appreciate if there is
    no foul, a regular foul, or a flagrant foul, just like he would in a
    conventional game.
  7. If you fall and lose your unicycle, you must try to get it out of the way as
    soon as possible if you can do it without disrupting the flow of a player of
    the opposite team. If that is not possible, then you must leave it where it
    lands until you can retrieve it without being disruptive. A violation should
    result in a technical foul.
  8. A unicycle is considered part of a player when a ball bounces out of bounds
    off his unicycle if he is in control of his unicycle at that time. So the
    other team gets possession of the ball. A unicycle is considered part of the
    court when the player is not in control of the unicycle, (for example if he
    had fallen). What team gets possession will depend on what had happened
    immediately prior to the ball bouncing off the unicycle.

Please read Item 8. I thought that it would be more controversial. I have no
preference one way or the other, but we must all agree.

Alberto Ruiz Basketball Coordinator http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/unicon10/

2

RE: Basketball at UNICON X

Alberto,

> Last December we discussed the official IUF Rules for Basketball in unicycles
> as they had never been officially approved. I submitted that we should use the
> International Rules at the time of competition with 8 clarifications.

As a “basketball idiot”, I look only for problems in logic or grammar. It looks
great to me. But is all of this an addition to what we have in our current
rulebook, or a replacement?

As the “keeper of the rulebooks”, any official changes to those rules should
be passed through me, so we don’t end up with discrepancies between our web
and other versions. Let’s settle how this new content fits with the existing
stuff, including numbering, order of items, etc. and then I’ll help Kevin with
the updates.

We will need German and French updates as well.

And how about Espanol, Japanese, and the rumored Chinese version we’ve heard
about? It would be nice to have all language versions available in one place,
and versioned in a common way so we can tell how old each one is.

COMMENTS:

> 1) Traveling. The 2 steps are converted into 2 half revolutions, not two full
> revolutions, because pedaling with one leg only moves the wheel half a
> revolution.

We should put in a definition of what is meant by “step”. Then we can say “step”
from that point on.

> 2) Idling is equivalent to the pivot foot and therefore is allowed. Twisting,
> where the pedals stay at the same height, while you move the unicycle left
> and right is also considered as your pivot foot, and therefore allowed.
> Doing both, (idling and twisting) before letting the ball go is not allowed
> and will be considered traveling.

We need a definition of lateral movement while idling or twisting. Perhaps
something like allowing a 1 meter radius from where the idling/twisting started.
If the rider exceeds this area it should also be considered traveling.

> 3) The player can only play the ball while mounted on his unicycle and not
> touching anything else for support. That includes in offense, defense, and
> during jump balls. This is for security reasons. As an exception to this
> rule, a player is allowed to jump off his unicycle for slam dunks and
> blocked shots, as long as the player is aware that these should only be
> attempted when they can be done safely. When another player gets fouled by
> the player that jumped or gets hit by the abandoned unicycle, a flagrant
> foul will be called.

Suggested reword:
3) The player can only play the ball while mounted on the unicycle and not
touching anything else for support. This applies to offense, defense, and
during jump balls. As an exception to this rule, players may jump off the
unicycle for slam dunks and to block shots, as long as the player is aware of
where the unicycle will end up and that it will not cause a safety hazard. If
another player is fouled by the player that jumped or gets hit by the
abandoned unicycle, a flagrant foul will be called.

> 7) If you fall and lose your unicycle, you must try to get it out of the way
> as soon as possible if you can do it without disrupting the flow of a
> player of the opposite team. If that is not possible, then you must leave
> it where it lands until you can retrieve it without being disruptive. A
> violation should result in a technical foul.

Suggested reword:
4) If a player falls and loses the unicycle, the player must try to get it out
of the way as soon as possible if it can be done without disrupting the flow
of play. If that is not possible, then the player must leave it where it
lands until it can be retrieved without being disruptive. A violation will
result in a technical foul.

> 8) A unicycle is considered part of a player when a ball bounces out of bounds
> off his unicycle if he is in control of his unicycle at that time. So the
> other team gets possession of the ball. A unicycle is considered part of
> the court when the player is not in control of the unicycle, (for example
> if he had fallen). What team gets possession will depend on what had
> happened immediately prior to the ball bouncing off the unicycle.

> Please read Item 8. I thought that it would be more controversial. I have no
> preference one way or the other, but we must all agree.

Sounds like a possible problem to be used to the rider’s advantage. The ball is
rolling out of bounds and the rider can’t reach it, so he pops out his unicycle
in front of him to cause the ball to bounce back before going outside. I’m not a
basketball player, but maybe the unicycle should be part of the player unless
the player is completely out of contact with it. Beyond that, it should be easy
enough for a referee to tell if the rider intentionally shot the unicycle out to
deflect the ball, or was simply falling off just before the ball hit the
unicycle. If the rider is standing there after dismounting, still holding the
unicycle, it’s part of the rider.

Suggested reword based on this:
5) As long as the player is in contact with the unicycle, riding or not, it is
considered part of a player when a ball bounces out of bounds off the
unicycle. If this happens the other team gets possession of the ball. A
unicycle that is not touching it’s rider is considered part of the court (for
example if he had fallen). What team gets possession will depends on what
happened immediately prior to the ball bouncing off the unicycle.

Please let me know how to combine these new rules with the “unfinished” rules we
currently have published.

Stay on top, John Foss Chairman, IUF Rules Committee jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com

“What did I do this time??” - John Foss after getting the whistle yet again in a
game of “real” unicycle basketball

3

Re: Basketball at UNICON X

----- Original Message ----- From: John Foss <john_foss@asinet.com> To: ‘Alberto
Ruiz’ <alberto@taino.net>; ‘unicycling’ <unicycling@winternet.com> Sent:
Tuesday, April 11, 2000 7:50 PM Subject: RE: Basketball at UNICON X

> Alberto,
> >
> As a “basketball idiot”, I look only for problems in logic or grammar. It
> looks great to me. But is all of this an addition to what we have in our
> current rulebook, or a replacement?

There is something in the web page, but I have no idea where they came from. It
might have been 20 years old. They are at least incomplete. Charlie Perez and
Normand Beaumont were going to write the rules for UNICON VI, and Rolf was
supposed to write the Unihockey. Rolf did his job but I believe that they were
never done for basket, until now.
>
> As the “keeper of the rulebooks”, any official changes to those rules
should
> be passed through me, so we don’t end up with discrepancies between our
web
> and other versions. Let’s settle how this new content fits with the
existing
> stuff, including numbering, order of items, etc. and then I’ll help Kevin with
> the updates.

I believe that we will end up with better and more clear rules if we do not try
to reconcile them with the existing stuff.
>
> COMMENTS:
>
> > 1) Traveling. The 2 steps are converted into 2 half revolutions, not two
> > full revolutions, because pedaling with one leg only moves the wheel half
> > a revolution.
>
> We should put in a definition of what is meant by “step”. Then we can say
> “step” from that point on.
>
A step is a half revolution or one pedal stroke.

> > 2) Idling is equivalent to the pivot foot and therefore is allowed.
> > Twisting, where the pedals stay at the same height, while you move the
> > unicycle left and right is also considered as your pivot foot, and
> > therefore allowed. Doing both, (idling and twisting) before letting the
> > ball go is not allowed and will be considered traveling.
>
> We need a definition of lateral movement while idling or twisting. Perhaps
> something like allowing a 1 meter radius from where the idling/twisting
> started. If the rider exceeds this area it should also be considered
> traveling.
>
I like the 1 meter definition, makes it easier for the referee.

> > 3) The player can only play the ball while mounted on his unicycle and not
> > touching anything else for support. That includes in offense, defense,
> > and during jump balls. This is for security reasons. As an exception to
> > this rule, a player is allowed to jump off his unicycle for slam dunks
> > and blocked shots, as long as the player is aware that these should only
> > be attempted when they can be done safely. When another player gets
> > fouled by the player that jumped or gets hit by the abandoned unicycle, a
> > flagrant foul will be called.
>
> Suggested reword:
> 3) The player can only play the ball while mounted on the unicycle and not
> touching anything else for support. This applies to offense, defense, and
> during jump balls. As an exception to this rule, players may jump off the
> unicycle for slam dunks and to block shots, as long as the player is aware
> of where the unicycle will end up and that it will not cause a safety
> hazard. If another player is fouled by the player that jumped or gets hit
by
> the abandoned unicycle, a flagrant foul will be called.

I accept the rewording, It picks up the essence, and, as you know, English is
not my vernacular.

>
> > 7) If you fall and lose your unicycle, you must try to get it out of the way
> > as soon as possible if you can do it without disrupting the flow of a
> > player of the opposite team. If that is not possible, then you must leave
> > it where it lands until you can retrieve it without being disruptive. A
> > violation should result in a technical foul.
>
> Suggested reword:
> 7) If a player falls and loses the unicycle, the player must try to get it out
> of the way as soon as possible if it can be done without disrupting
the
> flow of play. If that is not possible, then the player must leave it where it
> lands until it can be retrieved without being disruptive. A violation will
> result in a technical foul.

I also like it.

>
> > 8) A unicycle is considered part of a player when a ball bounces out of
> > bounds off his unicycle if he is in control of his unicycle at that time.
> > So the other team gets possession of the ball. A unicycle is considered
> > part of the court when the player is not in control of the unicycle, (for
> > example if he had fallen). What team gets possession will depend on what
> > had happened immediately prior to the ball bouncing off the unicycle.
>
> > Please read Item 8. I thought that it would be more controversial. I have no
> > preference one way or the other, but we must all agree.
>
> Sounds like a possible problem to be used to the rider’s advantage. The
ball
> is rolling out of bounds and the rider can’t reach it, so he pops out his
> unicycle in front of him to cause the ball to bounce back before going
> outside. I’m not a basketball player, but maybe the unicycle should be
part
> of the player unless the player is completely out of contact with it.
Beyond
> that, it should be easy enough for a referee to tell if the rider
> intentionally shot the unicycle out to deflect the ball, or was simply falling
> off just before the ball hit the unicycle. If the rider is
standing
> there after dismounting, still holding the unicycle, it’s part of the
rider.
>
> Suggested reword based on this:
> 8) As long as the player is in contact with the unicycle, riding or not,
it
> is considered part of a player when a ball bounces out of bounds off the
> unicycle. If this happens the other team gets possession of the ball. A
> unicycle that is not touching its rider is considered part of the court (for
> example if he had fallen). What team gets possession will depends on what
> happened immediately prior to the ball bouncing off the unicycle.

I also agree. I would like to hear Sem’s and all other interested person’s
reactions. Also, as for item 8, I thought that some people would disagree with
the content. Some persons may believe that the uni should always be considered
part of the rider. I have no personal preference, but it must be clarified.
>
> Please let me know how to combine these new rules with the “unfinished” rules
> we currently have published.

I think that we should just dump the old rules. I believed that they were
just written in by somebody (in good faith) to solve an immediate problem,
because the persons that should have worked on them (including myself) had
not done our job.

Alberto Ruiz
>
> Stay on top, John Foss Chairman, IUF Rules Committee jfoss@unicycling.com
> www.unicycling.com
>
> “What did I do this time??” - John Foss after getting the whistle yet
again
> in a game of “real” unicycle basketball
>
>
>