Wouldn’t a lower centre of gravity make it harder to stillstand? It was easier for me to balance with a higher seat when learning. Similarly it is easier to balance a long stick on end than a short stick because it falls more slowly.
I reckon Ana did this because she is really really good at it!
It would be even easier to balance the long stick if it was weighted at the bottom.
I’ve found that when I pack stuff on my 36er frame that the 36er feels more stable as I ride.
I remember the Subbuteo toy football table game. The players had a weighted base so that they would stay upright. 
Riding on higher seat simply gives you more time to react and correct your balance because your axis of movement is longer.
Easier with lower center of gravity
It is easier to balance with a lower center of gravity when you can’t move your base of support (stillstand) and easier to balance with a high center of gravity when you can move your base of support (riding).
It is easier if the stick is weighted at the top. Weighting it at the bottom would do little except make you work harder to make adjustments. See also what minimalist said. Stick balancing falls under the part where you can move the base.
If the base has enough weight then the stick will stand on it’s own. Pyramids/obelisks prove this point but they would become highly unstable if you were to turn them upside down.
Google ‘Subbuteo football game’ and you’ll see what I mean about low weight distribution.
Having said all that I’m wondering, during such competitions, do the umpires check for weighting in the unicycle wheels or on the contestants lower legs etc.
oops I erased this post.
Lower centre of gravity helping when you can’t move the base, that’s an interesting idea. Kind of see what you mean because moving your arms will have a bigger effect, assuming your arms aren’t lower as well. This needs an experiment. I’ll report back. I can’t stillstand for more than the chance time before falling over, so it might take a while. Maybe someone who can will experiment with weights at different heights?
Pyramids and Subbeteo footballers are not relevant because they sit on a base rather than a point.
BTW I don’t think Ana will have any significant advantage from any of these factors, besides maybe she’s really tall? I reckon she is just better because she’s awesome.
I doubt the judges do. I think Ana is probably one of the few who has made balance disciplines their main focus so there has probably never been so much competition that people would try sneaky tactics like that.
All the people who got times much shorter than Ana shows how much better everyone can get by just practicing. When you get 5 people who can all do very similar times to Ana, that is when you are likely to see people trying to weight frames.
There are no rules against adding weight to your unicycle. This is in general; not specific to Stillstands. I don’t think adding weight would be a benefit, unless you added a really huge amount below the axle. Similarly, adding weight for racing has not seemed to be an advantage, so we don’t worry about it in the rules.
IUF rules are available online:
Here’s a video clip from Unicon 16 in Italy. As you can imagine, watching Stillstand competition, especially when it’s one at a time, gets real boring real fast. Right arrow ahead, and the lady in the red shirt is Ana.
Unicon XII, Tokyo. My pictures of the informal Stillstand competition start here. There is also a little video in there, where you can see the Richam brothers and Ana, coming up on the 2-minute mark. What you don’t see in those pictures is how bloody hot/humid it was that day!
I think it would make a very small difference also. The biggest difference is practice. Putting weights on your frame/wheel wouldn’t make a real difference to results until you have many competitors separated by tiny margins of time.
At some point still stand may get so competitive and prestigious that everyone is trying to get the edge on their competitors… I think that point is a looooong way off however.
Really what people should take away from Ana’s record is that there is huge room for improvement in men and women’s still stands and people should practice more if they want to get +1hour times.
As much as I appreciate the skill, I have better things to do with my 1+ hours. 
Yeah, the pyramid was a bad example 
, but the Subbuteo players have a rounded end with only a very small point of contact, similar to a wheel.
Thanks John for posting video and the photos. I noticed in one photo that Ana was managing to balance with her arms lowered. This would save a huge amount of energy if she could sustain that posture throughout the exercise.
Ana has a fantastic sense of balance.
She is my new unicycle hero
I remember saying to a journalist that balancing exercises are good for the mind. Stresses of work etc., are forgotten when the mind is absorbed with balancing.
‘Still standing’ on a uni takes balancing to a higher level and can be done at home regardless of the weather and there’s a sense of achievement as you increase your times. It must be a seriously good exercise for focus.
I think this is a skill that I want to explore. If I get good at it, I will snub those who can idle and dismiss them as being mere …eh! … ‘idlers’
Here is a video of a reasonably long still stand. There are periods of having arms down here also.
Thanks Pinoclean I’ve just been watching it. Lots of mental stamina needed for that effort. Amazing stuff.
And yeah, I notice when he puts an arm down, he relaxes the resting arm as much as possible.
This is a new challenge for me. I’m feeling really inspired right now after watching that video.
I agree, Unibokk, it would be great to learn stillstanding. Satisfying in itself. The skills I’ve learnt helped other abilities too, in unexpected ways, like idling helps riding over rough ground and riding up hill.
I assumed that the reason there was such a difference was because whomever won for the guys probably said “Ok, I won? Great, back to riding trials/street/flat!” and then just stopped 
Ana was obviously going the distance…
My real question is, did she fail when she hit that time, or did she say “Ok, I’ve made my point” and dismount?
It seems like this guy might have deliberately jumped off…
