At first I thought the entry fee was too high but in hindsight it was actually about right … slightly off topic, the marathon and 100K were way too close together, I just could not recover that quick… also the 100K course was borderline dangerous!! far too technical for what was supposed to be a distance race not an obstacle course!! … also it wasnt closed to the public, I know a number of competitors were concerned about this Imagine a rider on a schlumpf 36 doing over 30kph running in to a poor old nun or a child in a pram!! Its just luck that this did not happen
In contrast the marathon course was really good, only a few technical bits, just a shame the start was such a farce
Seconded. Atleast there could have been daily summaries (something like the top 3 for all events of the day) and the next day the detailed results including points/time.
This is true. I only entered a handful of events, partially because I was volunteering. I guess you can think of it as having the opportunity to enter a huge number of events. In the future I can see where you might have fees based on what events you enter, but you would probably still end up paying a similar amount as many of the costs are not event-based.
I can’t speak for “all these major conventions”, but I don’t think there is intent to mistreat any event(s). Unfortunately I don’t know what happened with the Street/Flat venues so I can’t comment on the problems.
I know there were big problems with the Flatland venue for U Games in 2010. I think that one was about small, budgetless organization vs. big city politics. They never got straight answers on location requests and had to punt at the last minute, ending us up in that gravelly parking lot. Sure, it was in view of the Golden Gate Bridge, but as a riding space I’m sure the Berkeley High School courtyard would have been better.
Yes, to control some mountain passes for unicycle racing was probably possible, but outlandishly expensive. And racing on those narrow streets with traffic in motion would be too dangerous, even in light of the Downhill courses they made for us.
Kind of ironic, since the next Unicon had an even more dangerous course anyway. But with a slew of injuries you might rather not have had, especially as an organizer.
Yes; unicyclists might have been literally bitch-slapped into the harbor by those Wellington winds! That’s what happened to me in the Marathon; just not into the water.
Better still, give the Unicon 17 organizers the feedback; lessons learned from past events that they should be aware of so they don’t get repeated at the next one! For the hosts of Unicon 16 I would offer only praise for handling the biggest and most complex Unicon ever.
I’ve had the same experience. Where does that money go? In both cases, not to line somebody’s pockets.
The program book shows a specific location for Street, but lists the Ice Hall as the intended location for Flat. Slippery? I can see that being a major issue for Street, but a common problem for Freestyle riding. Flat, on the other hand, is still thought of as an outdoor event, so a rougher-textured surface should be expected.
Yup. It’s tough when the event goes to a new location each time, but there is talk of building more of a “convention crew” within the IUF, to carry the experience of convention organizing from one event to the next. Volunteers wanted, of course.
A very intriguing idea! We have grown to a place where this could make a lot of sense. People would need to commit to specific activities and/or timeframes, but then they would be a lot more motivated to help out. While a handful of the people running today’s Unicons are compensated, 99% of us are not.
In a word, probably sleep. Especially toward the end of these conventions, lack of sleep catches up with even the hardiest souls. The people running the data stay up late every night, and have to be onsite early every morning, before events can start. The next morning’s event takes priority over online visitors that might not be paying attendees of the event.
The Marathon was also too close to the Downhill, for those of us that don’t have brakes. But scheduling such events is complicated enough as it is; sometimes there will be some bad timing. And as for dangerous–nothing beats those downhill courses (both of them)!
Yes, not sure why it got off to a late start, but apparently there was very strong pressure to get underway, even though the buses got there maybe later than they should have. Probably due to the police escort and other traffic considerations that were in place. Officials were told that if they didn’t get the race started within a few minutes of when it happened, the race would have to be cancelled.
I’ve ridden every single Marathon event ever held at UNICON (not counting when the 10km race used to be called the Marathon), and it was by far the most technical.
Lot’s of sharp corners, acceleration/deceleration, shifting, obstacles (bikes, little old ladies with walking sticks, women with prams), and only 2m wide throughout (if that).
Check out the NAUCC '12 street course. Features of note include the 4 set with 1 rev of run up complete with wooden handrail on only one side and the wheelchair accessible manny pad. Also, flatland was held in a gym.
I take it you were not satisfied with these facilities? This is where I think it might be beneficial for the competitors to build the obstacles, but of course this needs to be announced in advanced. If you have the expectation of a pre-built course and get that, blah. Plus you would need materials to build with.
I think this is why these courses are often not built before the convention; they want them built to the standards of the riders and there are no instruction manuals for Street and Trials obstacles. They keep having to get harder.
Flatland in the gym:
So did all riders have to use plastic pedals? Were the organizers considering that Flat-type riding might tend to be a lot harder on a gym floor than traditional Freestyle?
I liked it… there was probably actually less turns than the Dusseldorf course?? … granted I having oposing traffic wasnt so great… I had visions of running over a nun … would that be a sin?
I think Unicon itself was very well organized. At first I thought 200 euros was expensive, but I realized it was a two week event and the money runs quickly with 2000 participants. However, the street and flat comps were disappointing. The flatland, as well as the Street Comp needs work in the rulebook and judging criteria.
I don’t know the specifics, I only went to unicon. But if I had gone, I would’ve been very disappointed. I think street is much easier to build beforehand than trials. I believe the IUF rulebook even specifies what needs to be provided in each zone. Stair zone: a big stairset (6-8ish) and a small one (3-5ish). Grind zone: equal grinding opportunities on BOTH sides. Manny Pad zone: two manny pads. I don’t believe it discusses the use of ramps, but needs to be forbidden ASAP.
You are well-positioned to have an impact on those events at Unicon 17 if interested. There is a plan to re-vamp the way the rules are modified/improved/updated. This fall there will be an effort to make it something that’s more streamlined and transparent. Keep your eyes on the IUF website for developments. November? Not sure, but the next time we open up IUF competition rules for edits, it will probably be on a by-event basis. In other words, you won’t have to vote on stuff about events you have nothing to do with, which will make it easier to concentrate on the events that are your passion.
This is good to know, thank you! And yes, I’d definitely like to help out with Unicon 17 since it’ll be so close, I’m even thinking of getting a job in Montreal for that summer
I agree that the NAUCC '12 Street Course was not optimal. Some of the other courses weren’t either. I was there. Rather than getting angry or bitter about NAUCC courses, hopefully it can be used as a learning experience for the future. The organizers were unpaid volunteers who did the best they thought they could.
One of the highlights of NAUCC '12 was the Crit course. Best Crit ever. The course happened when several people put their heads together and made the best of an unfortunate situation.
As for Flatland at NAUCC '12, it was held in the gym. This was a wise decision. It was well over 90 degrees F that day outside. The parking lot seemed much hotter than that. It was tolerable in the gym. Actually, the weather in Saline was incredibly hot most of the week- a drain on competitors and spectators.
Many of the unicycling disciplines are growing rapidly- almost too quickly for the handful of people who have been shouldering the convention work. Those with passions for disciplines need to speak up AND get involved. (Julia, I realize you will get involved with the Flatland end of things which is awesome!). More constructive input is needed, but it needs to be backed up with solutions as well as criticisms. (Once again, Julia, this is not directed towards you, just general observations from what happens often on forums.)
Part of the issue that occurs with unicycling is that the budget often requires concessions in ideals. The word budget applies to not only money, but time as well. At the NAUCC level, the local hosting club gets a lot on their plate in terms of making ends meet (I’m sure UNICON does too, but I can’t speak from that experience). It can be tricky for smaller clubs in new locations to get the infrastructure of venues on board.
That being said, we hope to make NAUCC 2013 the best event possible. We’re considering all events important (not that others haven’t), and enlisting outside help for those events in which we’re not experts. Street is being specifically addressed with the help of Kelly Hickman. For trials, we’re looking to Andy Cotter’s plans and Kris Holm’s notes to get our builders inspired. We’ve got a good grasp on what needs done for holding events on public roads because we have friends who are helping us with permits- and we’ve done a stage race before. For MUni, we’ve been involved with the local mountain bike racing organizations for years.
We’ve also got a lot of help from the past clubs who have hosted NAUCC. The core group of volunteers that have organized past events are a valuable resource.
Sorry if I’ve turned this into a commercial, but we’re hoping to make NAUCC 2013 a spectacular event for all involved. Our local tourism board is incredibly interested in highlighting this event not only to the competitors, but the general public around here.
We are hoping to get as many in attendance as possible.
I think the biggest problem with NAUCC 2012 was that so many of the top riders were at unicon. Usually there would have been many more street and flat riders there to organize/fix things. NAUCC 2013 sounds great, I’m definitely planning to be there! In fact it should be a very well-attended event, I think there will be several flat riders from Europe coming as well. Should be fun!
Imagine a rider on a schlumpf 36 doing over 30kph running in to a poor old nun or a child in a pram!! Its just luck that this did not happen
I guess you can think of it as having the 
This is where I think it might be beneficial for the competitors to build the obstacles, but of course this needs to be announced in advanced. If you have the expectation of a pre-built course and get that, blah. Plus you would need materials to build with.