UNICON X (UX), which was held in Beijing China during August, 2000 was an
extraordinary event.
The Chinese hosts invested a large amount of money and energy to make
possible a very complex event. Over 400 overseas competitors, maybe the
greatest collective unicycling talent ever assembled, invested nearly
US$1,000,000 of their own (or their sponsors) money just to participate.
The event planning team was a truly global adventure. People in Germany, the
United Kingdom, the USA, Puerto Rico, Japan, Hong Kong, and mainland China
coordinated their efforts. This team speaks at least 5 different vernacular
languages. Then you have all the different team leaders that worked hard
organizing each team.
To complicate matters even further, the IUF, as part of its strategic plan, had
decided to hold the event in China, a country with no previous experience
running UNICONs. There was the possibility that the lack of experience could
create problems. And there were problems, but they were solved.
The result was an excellent UNICON. For the first time ever, all events were
held. There was a lot of socializing between the different delegations, and most
people had a great time.
I am a lucky person. I was the IUF President, the coordinator of basketball, and
the leader of the Puerto Rican team. I want to thank, and am proud of, all the
individuals that worked so hard to make the first 10 days of August, 2000, a
highlight in the life of most of us.
During the next few days, I will be reporting on what, from my perspective,
occurred during UX. You may publish these reports. In addition, you can find
plenty of pictures from UX at several webpages. To begin with, try this.
www.unicycling.com/ofoto/
I hope that you all get a chance to attend UXI to be held in July or August,
2002 at North Bend, Washington, USA, in the Seattle area.
Alberto Ruiz