I still have that downloaded, it was one crazy hop man.
Hehe, cheers man 
What about using two platforms for static hops, I know we are pretty much discussing rolling hops but if we were to make two platforms that people had to jump from one to the other it could make a perfect way of measuring, or perhaps putting something on the ground that would make it evident that the person had landed there. A friend of mine and I were talking about just putting chalk or something on the tire so that you wouldn’t be forced to jump at what might be an inoportune (sp?) moment, This way you could just jump then measure the distance between where the wheel left the ground and where it landed.
I think that this just wouldn’t work for unicyclists because when they do that they fall onto the ground. For us if we were to land on such an angle we would either fall back or we would easily be able to right ourselves and continue riding. If we fall back then the distance would be measured from whatever part of our body landed closest to the starting point just like in normal long jump which would mean that there would be no advantage gained at all anyways.
I think that when people are holding long jump competitions they should really be holding a static competition and a rolling competition as the two are very different and require much different skills. Particularly the fact that with a static jump you are much more easily able to land in a particular spot and stay there whereas the rolling hop is more of a tool for flat out gaps.
I see what you’re getting at but disagree coz I think long jump should be kept simple. It’d almost be like the Olympics starting a new “static long jump” event, yes its a different skill but whatever.
I’ve seen rolling hops also used for landing with precision, best example has to be the clip you can download from the SYKO site that has Dan Heaton rolling hopping about 2m or so to an angled post 
(and that would’ve been even harder to do static…)
I see what you’re getting at but disagree coz I think long jump should be kept simple. It’d almost be like the Olympics starting a new “static long jump” event, yes its a different skill but whatever.
A bit of trivia for you, in the 40s, 50s and early 60s high jumpers in the Olympics were using the “straddle” jump and they got higher and higher by using more and more speed but then some guy called Fosbury came along and won a gold medal and from then on everyone used his method. So yeah, they didn’t change the event but the method of jumping did change.
I can’t imagine the rolling hop technique being beaten for long jump anytime soon so thats not gonna change but I’m sure the fast evolving equipment we use is gonna mix it up a bit. Long jump on a GUni? It surprises me that at the moment the records are being broken on 20" unis when 24s are so much faster.
I’ve seen rolling hops also used for landing with precision, best example has to be the clip you can download from the SYKO site that has Dan Heaton rolling hopping about 2m or so to an angled post (and that would’ve been even harder to do static…)
If i want to measure my rolling hop without using the “two sticks” method, i would get my tire wet. Then you could see the exact point of take-off and landing.
Rock on!
Edd
Having a low-lipped tray of water for the contestant to ride thru sounds low-tech enough to be readily accesible by any organising commitee.
How accurate is it?
How would that not affect traction?
It is fairly accurate, because you can measure from the exact point of take off, right to the exact point of landing. As long as you don’t leave it too long, it will run a tiny bit but not enough to affect a world record. It does not affect grip on concrete or tarmac, but if you were in a sports hall its not the cleverest thing to do! Unless there is a camcorder at the ready!
Rock on!
Edd
It works, but I’d be concerned with the danger factor. The competition event involves one rider after another, jumping until they can’t make it. Doing this on platforms could get messy.
We discussed the chalk/powder idea a while back, but I don’t think it will work for competitions. After a few riders have gone, the jumping area may be a mess. With some experimentation it might be possible to find a substance that can both be cleaned up and not mess up traction, but nobody has researched it yet.
Also I think the idea is to call it “Long Jump” and then have it essentially the same as the track & field version, except on a unicycle. This means jumping from a fixed point and measuring the distance to the landing spot. So we don’t want an adjustable takeoff area. Riders can back up their wheels, or do whatever they need to get the right pedal position.
I think someday we will have both, as this area of unicycle competition grows and becomes better understood/accepted. Then we would have to come up with rules to define a static hop, such as staying within a tiny, marked-off area before jumping.
Water method:
Like powder, it would probably take some experimenting to find the right amount of marking vs. loss of traction. If a flat area of water can be maintained just before the jump line, it can also serve as a detector for late jumps. A hair dryer could be used to clear up landing marks after they’ve been made…