I don’t really like U-games either, but I’m confused as to how do you pronounce naucc??
I’ve heard people say “Naak”. But i just say n.a.u.c.c really fast lol. Enayewesisi =]
It’s not just media, it’s sponsorship, publicity, spectators. A name like NAUCC brands the event as insular and podunk. If you want to get interest from anyone other than the people who already know about it, you have to come up with something better. (And please, if you don’t like U Games, try it yourself! It’s not easy.)
Frankly, a ton of people who are serious unicyclists aren’t interested in NAUCC, not specifically because of the name, but because of the event’s inability to adapt. The podunk name is just a symbol of that.
Oh, no, I will be there.
I just was talking about a pre-ride in Chicago. Or maybe also after Naucc too?
Also I like Naucc a lot more too. Not sure why though; I just do.
Per the organizational aims of the Unicycling Society of America, the purpose of our annual gathering is to ‘foster and promote’ unicycling. It is potentially our most powerful marketing tool. Unfortunately the USA leadership does not have a mind for marketing. Marketing is where you choose the name not to please the attendees, but to promote the event to everyone else.
Note the choice of the organization’s name. Society? Really? Oh. That was a stretch to give it a more memorable acronym. Exactly the opposite of NAUCC. I’m not used to NAUCC because I was around when it was NUM (National Unicycle Meet, since 1973). Then it became NUC (Convention, 1995-2001), and finally NAUCC since 2002. Though all of them are lousy, NAUCC is the worst for various reasons, explained below.
How about the Olympics? Those are games, so we figured that was good enough for us. 
You don’t. That’s part of the problem. Reasons NAUCC sucks as a name:
- Can't pronounce it
- Press never, ever gets the full name right unless it's written out for them
- On its own, says nothing at all about the activity
- Not easy to remember
- It's not a word, not even close to a word
- Makes our event sound about as interesting as a stamp collectors convention
The U Games name does ride on the coattails of the X Games. That’s the point. People actually know what the X Games is. How often have you had to explain what a unicycle competition is to people who have never seen one? Let me guess; pretty much every time. A name like U Games answers at least part of that question. While we are very much not the X Games, we would very much like to be many things that the X Games is, leas of all the fact that people know what it is.
Anyway, that’s a very brief explanation of the marketing behind that name. I will still agree that almost anything is better than NAUCC, which I pronounce “nowk”. Like the sound a duck makes when it hits the ground after being shot.
BTW, Unicycledood, are you really coming all the way from NZ? That’s very cool.
Hey Guys Why dont we just not talk about the name of it??? Who cares about the name, its all about getting together and riding with your friends, as Eli said.
Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize this thread was only for people to post “I’m coming, this is going to be soooooo cooooool” every day for the next six months. Sorry we’re distracting from that scintillating conversation.
Dang I sure used a lot of words to rant about the name NAUCC.
…And I didn’t even get into the problem I have with the North American part. Stop reading now if you’re only interested in “soooooo cooooool”.
On the surface, making the USA Convention into a North American convention is a great idea. Nobody else in North America was having championships. So far this still only means Canada and Puerto Rico, but there are also unicyclists in Mexico and all the other countries and islands that make up this continent. Rather than exclude them, how cool to let them participate too? This was especially nice in settling the question of whether unicyclists from Puerto Rico, which we count as a separate country for Unicon, could play.
But there are downsides. Namely the utter lack of champions for any North American country. Sure, whoever wins can be the champion for their country, but that’s not really the same thing. And only one country gets to win any of the events. We used to call the USA Convention “Nationals”. In fact, many of us still do, as it’s a short enough name and still makes sense for informal use.
I like the idea of national championships also. I bug the Canadians whenever I get the chance, that they could really use a national unicycling organization of their own. Someday they will, but the creation of NAUCC probably slowed the process.
What other sport has a North American championship and no national ones? Not that we have to follow anyone else’s lead, but it leaves a lot of people asking who the American champions are, especially if the parent organization is called the USA.
What do you qualify as a championship? I guess a competition organised over 2 days by a local organism which is not officially part of the IUF doesn’t count?
Another thing. Just like that, what about Unic (unicycle championship/convention/competition). Easy to remember, sounds pretty good, uni like unicycle, unic like unique, like one, like unicyclist are pretty unique kind of compared to some of more popular sports. That was just an idea like that.
EDIT:
I hope we won’t lose your voice over what’s going on here because of that single post you answered.
I think we actually thought of this one, but decided most people would pronounce it like “eunuch”, which would be bad.
Kudos, though, for coming up with a real suggestion. It’s always easier to criticize than to be creative.
Yes johnfoss I am and so is Mike Padial and a special guest from Australia(no not Luke Collalto, don’t get too excited kids). I know you were at Unicon, but I’m coming to NAUCC so that I can make fun of all the weenies that didn’t come to Unicon from American, ITS NOT THAT EXPENSIVE GUYS ;p.
But yeah lets stop talking about the name of NAUCC and get back to what we’re gonna be doing! STREET RIDES!!! No standing around in carparks doing flatland. Infact lets start talking about the name for NAUCC again and re name it… NAUSCC…
+1 Go big or go home 
Carparks doing flatland <3
Haha I totally editing my post.
And no Eli. NO! Atleast do flatland somewhere cool man, gad dam. Do flatland somewhere cool and I might actually join in for a little bit.
Lol, I just go with the flow, man. Where there’s a big group of people riding whatever, I’ll be there riding whatever… Maybe I’ll at least ride a llliittttlleee bit of street…
Yeah man come ride street! You gotta take a rest from freestyle sometime 
NAUCC is not officially part of the IUF. In other words, USA was there, and doing it before there was an IUF. The IUF recognizes the USA as the unicycling organization of the United States, so we can hold national championships. And since there’s nobody else in North America organized enough to feel like they are being impeded by NAUCC, no problem there either.
The question of ‘what’s a championship’ doesn’t really have a short answer. Some sports have tons of championships, or championship series events, to spread things out and allow for more people to see it. So far we just have one. And the USA prefers to do it all in one big event rather than spread it around among many. But what if you wanted to do a Canadian championship? Or Quebec Championship? The only potential obstacle is if someone doesn’t recognize you and your club/organization as one that represents all of your country or province. Stuff like that.
Also you could do a championship for events that are not covered by, or recognized by, the USA/IUF at their events. For best results though, get the IUF to recognize you, so your event will then be recognized by many countries and unicycling organizations.
I could definitely get behind that, though I like U Games better. And there’s that eunuch thing Tom mentioned (for people who don’t know that word, check Wikipedia).
Good for you! And you’re right about it being not that expensive. What’s expensive? Going to New Zealand during the Christmas/New Year holiday. Ouch! Flying up here during our summer is more expensive than winter in general, but still cheaper than the major holidays. Hope you guys will have a chance to see Milwaukee, Chicago or other interesting places while you’re over here.
I’ll be riding street the whole week and before and after. Street and maybe speed trials will be the only thing I’m competing in.
Just noticed the new site http://uninationals.com/
If I can film enough in the summer, I might do a video for the competition.
Edit: If anyone goes to Milwaukee definitely go to their art museum. For those in the East going through Milwaukee is only like 30 minutes longer.
Then, NAUCC isn’t the only championship in North America.
Hahahah, didn’t know that word before, but it fits perfectly
You might be right 