All,
I probably wont be going to Unicon this yeah because my buddy can’t make it, and half the draw was the cross-country trek by truck, and sleeping in campgrounds.
However, you never know, maybe I’ll do it this year at the last minute, or maybe next year.
So, I’m wondering, what is really required to go to unicon?
I am trying to figure out if I have to belong to any organizations to go? DO I have to be a member of USA? Or what?
I guess the question applies both th Unicon and NUC.
Animation
I’m shocked any one dares asks questions like this since UniDak’s Newbie Tirade…
All you need to know is on this page:
and this page:
Christopher
Rhysling,
It was those very pages that confused me.
I wanted somebody to briefly state the requirements.
However, I waded through it again and this time I realized that the “must be a member in good standing” apparently applies only to competitions. The links that say “register” well one pointed to the very same page or one like it, but the next one actually did point to a register page. Then again maybe I just got confused? Ugh. The registration pdf looks like its for people who compete … all kinds of events are mentioned. Hmm. Maybe the same form is used for both and I just dont check any events?
Ah well, I’m up to 65% confidence, up from 50%. I suppose that reference did help.
I wish they had a registration wizard. 
Me, if I knew the answer for sure, and I were telling somebody the answer, I’d just say “no requirement other than cash, printing THIS (a link) form, filling out only the top section, and sending it to Y.” or maybe “you can show up at door and register there.”
Thank simplicity that you can just show up at DragonCon and be treated like the cattle you are (simple lines of people saying “moo” with people pointing the way).
I wish there were a “register on site” option for UNICON. Maybe there is. I might wade through again. I needed more of a baby-steps guide than reference material. OK I will dive in again and see if there is on-site registration at the event or not.
Lewis
Lewis-
I think that the .pdf registration forms are confusing. I e-mailed Tom Daniels about this before I registered but got no response from him so I registered anyway. That showed him. I couldn’t tell where the childrens’ events ended and the adult events began so I just registered for what I thought looked like fun. Then I figured at a unicycling convention they’re all essentially childrens’ events anyway and that’s pretty much why we’re going, right?
To top it off, after I registered for both NAUCC and UNICON, NWCUE sent me, of all things, registration forms in the mail. They were the same as the .pdf forms so nothing was clarified. (Clarify is something you do to butter, isn’t it?) Well, anyway, I’m going and I’m going to race a bunch of people who are faster than me and I’m going to get on a basketball team with a bunch of people I don’t know and I’m going to STUFF JAVIER!! I may even try hockey although I’m not registered for it but, to tell you the truth, I don’t think NWCUE knows that.
Hope to see you there. If you sign up for basketball we can STUFF JAVIER together. I think he’s shorter than he looks on that giraffe. Puerto Rican All-Stars…come on. It’s just a little, bitty island. Come on Lewis…we can take 'em.
BRING IT ON, JAVIER!!
Harper,
Thanks. And to participate in the unicycling events, you had to be a member of the USA, right? Is that the only other requirement?
I’d love to go, but I probably won’t. However, if at the last minute I decide to go, then I will know what to do.
I presume they dont have an “on site, last minute” sign-up option? That reminds me, they didnt mention a cut-off date for getting registrations in. Or did I miss it? I looked twice but I’m bad for finding stuff like that.
Lewis
RE: Unicon requirements?
> However, I waded through it again and this time I realized that the
> “must be a member in good standing” apparently applies only to
> competitions. The links that say “register” well one pointed
> to the very
> same page or one like it, but the next one actually did point to a
> register page. Then again maybe I just got confused? Ugh. The
> registration pdf looks like its for people who compete …
> all kinds of events are mentioned. Hmm. Maybe the same form
> is used for both and I just dont check any events?
This is valuable feedback. As our conventions grow and become more complex,
we encounter issues we didn’t have in the past. It’s especially sticky this
year, with two consecutive conventions and the longest forms ever.
Since we started calling the USA event a convention in 1994, there have been
issues of definition. It used to be called a “meet”, and being
competition-oriented was expected. But now after several years of calling it
a convention, people are actually expecting more of a convention (and
starting to get it). But the registration forms may not be real clear on
this.
In future I think it will be a good idea to have separate registrations for
competitors and non-competitors. As the non-competitor population grows, we
will have more activities that aren’t competitions and more fun for all.
In answer to your basic questions, yes you have to register, either as a
competitor or non-competitor. For the IUF UNICON, nothing more is required.
There is actually an IUF membership fee included in your registration.
Hopefully the IUF will figure out something useful to do with this money.
For the USA NAUCC, you must be a member of the Unicycling Society of
America. You must also be a resident of the US, Puerto Rico (technically
also the US), or Canada.
On the subject of Puerto Rico, yes, we count it as a separate country at
UNICON, just as they do at the Olympics. The more countries, the merrier!
> I wish they had a registration wizard.
Sorry about that; something to think about for next time.
> I wish there were a “register on site” option for UNICON.
It is essential that you pre-register if you know you’re coming. This is
because these conventions are not money-makers, and are run by unpaid
volunteers. There aren’t enough volunteers to do the registration process
on-site without wasting a great deal of your (and their) time. Also, the
organizers need the registration fees to pay fees and deposits, and to set
up the facilities. Please register as soon as possible. Financial incentives
have been included in the registration process to “assist” you in this.
General questions of this nature are good to share here, so we can answer to
a larger audience instead of one person at a time. Please help out the
convention staffs any way you can, both before the events and during. Lots
of helpers will be needed.
Stay on top,
John Foss
President, Unicycling Society of America
President, International Unicycling Federation
jfoss@unicycling.com