concerns about NUC 2000

To anyone who can answer several questions,

I have just finished looking at the NUC 2000 web site and I have some additional
questions/concerns/comments. Maybe some of these concerns will disappear once
more information is made available.

  1. I do not understand why “Michigan weather” is getting so much attention (Also
    brought up at NUC 1999). How is it any different from Minnesota, Ohio or Iowa
    weather where past conventions have been held? (I’m familiar with Midwest
    Summer weather.) Were the track events held first at these other conventions?
    I would think that heat, humidity and chance of an afternoon
    thunder/lightning storm is the same in each of these states on any given day
    (We had lightning and rain at NUC 1999). What makes Michigan weather so
    different that the schedule must vary from the previous two years and the
    past in general? It seems to make sense to hold the track events during the
    second half of the convention.

  2. With heat and humidity a given, why do we want to schedule the tough race
    (2a) during the hottest part of the day?

  3. Based on attending the previous two conventions it seems like we are pushing
    it to get in a full day of track racing and then all the Standard Competition
    in one day. I would think most riders would be physically beat after 6+ hours
    of racing and standing in 80-90 degree weather with 80%-90% humidity. I know
    I was tired at NUC 1998 after standing around in the 90+ degree weather and I
    didn’t even race. As hard as some rider’s train for the Standard Competition
    is it fair to them to compete when they might be physically drained and not
    able to give a 100% effort to the event? Maybe it doesn’t matter.

  4. Without more information about the dorms I have the following questions: Most
    dorm rooms that I have seen at colleges are 2 people to a room. In California
    we placed one adult with 3 or 4 kids in a motel/hotel room. How can we
    properly supervise lots of kids in many small dorm rooms? What has been done
    in the past when there was no motel/hotel and only dorms were used? How does
    a family of 4-7 stay together? Do several rooms share one bathroom with
    shower or is there a main bathroom or two for each floor with many showers,
    etc.? Do we each get a key for our rooms? Are the dorm rooms air-conditioned?
    More information about lodging would be appreciated. I am a little
    disappointed that a site was picked where no motel/hotel would be available
    for convention attendees to stay.

  5. I believe I heard that a previous convention was held in Adrian. Maybe some
    comments from those who attended would be helpful. Are there more than fast
    food restaurants to eat at? How many people attended? How many do you expect
    to attend this year? (How many people typically attend a convention when it
    is held in the Midwest?)

  6. If we are so jammed in the schedule that the muni has to be a post-convention
    event and track and standard competition must occur on the same day why don’t
    we just hold NUC 2000 from July 19th - 23rd and schedule events like in years
    past. The extra day would give us plenty of time in the event we lose an
    afternoon due to weather. We could use any extra time on the 5 available days
    to include more family related activities (fun rides, picnics, swimming,
    etc.) or workshops.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am still fairly new to these
Conventions and only have NUC 1998 and NUC 1999 to use for comparisons. I am
looking forward to coming to the Midwest for a Convention. I do not have an
e-mail address for either Jan Layne or Dottie Sogoian. Could someone please
forward this to them. Thanks again to anyone who takes the time to answer any of
these questions or respond to any of the comments. Have a fantastic New Year
full of good health and wonderful surprises.

Curtis Tipton-curtis@nwlink.com Panther Pride

Re: concerns about NUC 2000

I’ll answer some of the questions that I can:

> 1. I do not understand why “Michigan weather” is getting so much attention
> (Also brought up at NUC 1999). How is it any different from Minnesota, Ohio
> or Iowa weather where past conventions have been held?

It’s about the same in the summer in the way of the possibility of there being a
rainy day or two during the convention.

> (I’m familiar with Midwest Summer weather.) Were the track events held first
> at these other conventions?

Yup. AFAIK, the races have always been before the artistic events from 1997
and earlier because of the possibility of having to reschedule the races
due to rain.

Having the artistic events first was a new thing in 1998 because of the very
rare chance of the weather causing problems for us in California.

> I would think that heat, humidity and chance of an afternoon thunder/lightning
> storm is the same in each of these states on any given day (We had lightning
> and rain at NUC 1999). What makes Michigan weather so different that the
> schedule must vary from the previous two years and the past in general? It
> seems to make sense to hold the track events during the second half of the
> convention.

In Washington, it did rain, but it didn’t last long. In the Midwest, it could be
raining all day long, and therefore we wouldn’t be able to do the races for that
period, especially if there is thunder and lightning.

> 2. With heat and humidity a given, why do we want to schedule the tough race
> (1600m) during the hottest part of the day?

That will probably change (just my assumption) as it has usually been scheduled
in the morning since it’s such a long race and you don’t want to do it during
the hot part of the day.

> 3. Based on attending the previous two conventions it seems like we are
> pushing it to get in a full day of track racing and then all the Standard
> Competition in one day. I would think most riders would be physically beat
> after 6+ hours of racing and standing in 80-90 degree weather with 80%-90%
> humidity. I know I was tired at NUC 1998 after standing around in the 90+
> degree weather and I didn’t even race. As hard as some rider’s train for
> the Standard Competition is it fair to them to compete when they might be
> physically drained and not able to give a 100% effort to the event? Maybe
> it doesn’t matter.

If they plan on getting most of the races done on Thursday, then it shouldn’t be
a problem. They’d probably start the StdSkill in the afternoon and have the
experts at night (which is what was done in '97).

The convention is only a few days long and there are a lot of people that are
participating in all the events. I remember when I had 3 routines (or was it 4)
that I did in one day, it’s just a part of the national convention where the
events are packed close together. As for the Racing and StdSkill, if they change
the 1600/800 to friday morning, there’ll be quite a bit of time between you
1600/800 m race and your turn in Std.

> 5. I believe I heard that a previous convention was held in Adrian. Maybe some
> comments from those who attended would be helpful.

Out of my 12 years of unicycling, the 1993 convention in Adrian is the only NUM,
that I have missed.

> (How many people typically attend a convention when it is held in the
> Midwest?)

I think it’s about the same as last years, probably a little less as it keeps
growing in the number of attendees each year.

Check out a typical schedule of events for a convention in the Midwest which is
from the 1997 NUC in Minnesota at:
http://www.unicycling.org/usa/nuc97/schedule.html

I hope that helps.

    ___________ =========================================== ___ /_/ / / / /
    Kevin Gilbertson - <a href="mailto:mail@gilby.com">mailto:mail@gilby.com</a> / _ '/ / / _'\_ / Unicycling
    T-shirts at <a href="http://www.gilby.com/">http://www.gilby.com/</a> \_ /_/_/,___/ / AIM/AOL:
    UnicyclingGilby /\/ /__________/ Unicycled Across Minnesota to help
    others! \__/ ================================================

Re: concerns about NUC 2000

HI!

Because both parts of Michigan are peninsulas (the upper & lower peninsulas)
that means they are surrounded by water on 3 sides. The lakes can drastically
change the weather in a matter of hours. Like for example about 4 years ago, we
were supposd to get about 1.5 feet of snow over 3 days, we ended up getting over
6 feet in the same amount of time!!! Everything was canceled, and it was just
one huge mess!

>1. I do not understand why “Michigan weather” is getting so much attention
> (Also brought up at NUC 1999). How is it any different from Minnesota, Ohio
> or Iowa weather where past conventions have been held? (I’m familiar with
> Midwest Summer weather.) Were the track events held first at these other
> conventions? I would think that heat, humidity and chance of an afternoon
> thunder/lightning storm is the same in each of these states on any given day
> (We had lightning and rain at NUC 1999). What makes Michigan weather so
> different that the schedule must vary from the previous two years and the
> past in general? It seems to make sense to hold the track events during the
> second half of the convention.

Chris Cline MUni-Cow

I case you were wondering how I know this stuff, I live in Michigan.