So I figured maybe I’d start a new message thread and see if it builds momentum.
Maybe someone could design a 1 mile medal, and some organization could
order a bunch of Challenge Coins or find out where the organizers of marathons
order the award medals they hand out to finishers.
So, anyone interested?
Maybe a design contest?
Even if the winning design never actually got used (due to cost issues)
the contest itself could be fun.
Last year my science final exam was a medal, but made out of paper. I dont remember what it was for, I think it was for the olympics… We can all built medals with recycled paper:p
I remember asking about the unicycle skill levels and whether anything actually tangible is awarded for reaching them (it’s buried in some old thread somewhere), and somebody replied saying that some unicycle schools did indeed hand out medals or tokens for reaching each skill level.
Not wanting to belittle the recent inductees to the one mile club (as it is a huge achievement for any beginner unicyclist and I was there myself not long ago), I found that once I reached that point I was moving on to try to conquer bigger and more exciting things pretty quickly. So if you’re going to do medals it would be good to award these later achievements too!
I think backwards is harder than SIF, especially when one considers that riding one mile almost assures that the rider will have to occasionally look over their shoulder or turn around a track.
The “someone” that thought of the One Mile Club was me if you read a few posts down the linked thread. I volunteered to create an award certificate and give it to those offering reasonable video proof. Unfortunately I am in the middle of a large personal project and don’t have the time to learn the graphics necessary for such a certificate.
If anybody else wants to take this up, have at it. I’m going to have to back away from my offer to be the “administrator” for this as I had offered in the mentioned thread.
I think everybody should make their own award and post it in a common thread along with some evidence of their mile ride. Video, photos, even a write up of the event could count.
Maybe there could be some minor standardization to give it a sense of common validity, like that the award has to say, “One Mile Ride” and then people can riff on that.
It would make it an interesting collection for both those aspiring to reach a mile, and those who have already accomplished it.
The only question in my mind is if people who live where the metric system is dominant want to go with a 1.6km award or if 1.5 or even 1km is preferable. Sure that would be easier, but isn’t the point that it sounds impressive to non-riders?
The USA Skill Levels also have patches that go with each level. The Panther Pride team gives each rider the appropriate patch when they achieve a new Skill Level, which is a nice motivation for the riders. This information is also recorded with USA as is required by their process.
Mr. Tepper (the PPUT coach) also has a series of colored beads given to new riders as they progress toward achieving USA Level 1. This is REALLY helpful in showing and celebrating progress. As we all know learning to unicycle is often a matter of small victories over a large amount of time. Being able to understand the next step in the process and celebrate even small achievements is a great motivator. I just LOVE to see the looks on the faces of the kids when they get a new bead or achieve a new level!
The club run by Andy Cotter and Irene Genelin also have a similar levels system for Muni, as their club leans that way. It’s unofficial but very helpful none the less. Attached is a spreadsheet with the latest version I have from them.
