Just wondering… Are there any rewards for winning Unicon events or just medals? With such a steep registration cost I think their should be. Considering I’m only competing in 3 or 4 events. (Like most people I know)
You should see what the budget for one of those conventions looks like. There are well over 800 awards for the various events, costing at least a few dollars apiece so that’s a start. Facilities rentals, hiring police (I think) for the road courses, and tons of other stuff that’s only affordable if there are enough people to keep it from being really expensive. For those that planned ahead it was only $200 NZD, a bargain.
Unicon is not just a bunch of competition events, it’s a huge convention of unicyclists from all over the world. The synergy of that alone is worth the price of entry.
And competition-wise, it’s not much different from the Olympics. The goal is a medal. Sure, some of those sports can launch careers for top athletes, but not for most. Can you name any famous Luge riders? 
They’re just like us.
no but at least most people understand that sport and they get TV coverage etc.
What is a luge rider?
and just so im not spamming id like to say that im uber pumped for unicon (altho i geuss this still kinda is cause its off topic, but oh well)
Medals and a giant party everyone in our dorm room will hold 
Medals and your 15 minutes of fame 
If you are a kiwi chances are you will also get in the newspaper and on TV.
The rego price is very cheap. I’m guessing you haven’t been to many big sports events before? Tony and I just competed as a relay team of two in the road lake taupo cycle race. It was a $190 entry fee for a one day event.
Yeah this isnt uni weekend Chris its WORLD Champs which isnt normally cheap
Looks like we need an actual competition going instead of just unicon
Def.
The elite medals are made of Pounamu, in case you were wondering.
It is also the cheapest Unicon you will ever go to Chris.
Pretty well summarised.
We are running a pretty lean budget, considering the facilities we’re using.
That’s an awesome idea! 
John’s point, elegantly proved.
Sam
That is an awesome idea. I give you organizers props for that no doubt.
Cheapest unicon indeed. EUC seems to be more my thing tho.
I though they were going to be made of chocolate fish? I’m very disappointed…
chocolate fish should come with the pounamu medals
Wait, what?
We won’t be able to bask in the glory and retire after winning one of the competitions?!
No driving cars into the pool?
No teenage groupies and throwing TVs out of the hotel window?
That’s it, I’m not coming.
I’m still going to come, I just refuse to win any events.
Uh, some understand what luge is…
Oddly enough, last night they had the captain of the US Luge Team on one of the latenight talk shows (Jimmy Fallon). They totally made fun of the sport, but not of the athletes. They had Jimmy doing a super-easy, super-short ride on a wheeled luge in Rockefeller Center and making it into a slow-motion epic of determination and sacrifice. It was kind of funny but at the same time I can appreciate how Luge athletes might find it super-annoying…
Such as?
True dat. Those other-side-of-the-world Unicons always seem so much more expensive to get to! I have been fortunate enough to be able to drive to five of them. I could have driven to Unicon VII, but it’s a long way from NY to Minneapolis so I flew. Still way cheaper than flying to or from NZ!
Who said you couldn’t do that?
This is my most expensive Unicon ever (I’ve been to three). It beats even Denmark (I bought mum tickets), by a factor of about 8 