In the ww race at Nationals, does it have to be ww or can it be 1ft ww? Also how long can you glide in 1ft ww before it is called gliding?
Mark
You could check the IUF and USA rulebook. They probably have something in there about it.
all it says is:
2.18 WHEEL WALK*: Riders start mounted, with their feet on the tire, and propel the unicycle only by pushing the
tire with their feet. No contact with pedals or crank arms is allowed. No crank arm restrictions.
I would assume it has to be two footed, because clearly one footed wheel walking is a LOT faster. maybe there’s another category for one footed.
The rulebook isn’t very clear, but using only one foot to push the wheel IS allowed for the wheel walk race at NAUCC.
It depends on the rider, but I rarely have seen a one-footed wheel walker beat a really fast two-footed wheel walker.
Connie
It would boil down to a judgement call by your referee. If that were me, I’d welcome any form of coasting, gliding, or one-footing that fit within the description of the race. The theory behind that is that those are all harder to do, and none are faster/safer, at least on a level track.
The fastest riders always seem to two-foot it all the way, though things can get pretty sketchy toward the finish line.
I can 1footww much better than normal ww.
Also about the question, how long can you glide in 1ft ww before it is called gliding?
How fast can you do it for 30 meters?
In a WW race, if I were the Referee, I’d let you glide as far as you want. But you must mean Standard Skill. Anyplace else it wouldn’t matter what you called it, just whether it’s allowed.
I think we’ve talked about it before, but I don’t know that there is a specific definition of when wheel walking turns to gliding. As a general rules I use the fact that gliding is a harder skill, so it’s okay to lapse into gliding from something easier. But wheel walking skills are very slow, and to use gliding might give a speed advantage that would take away from the intended skill. So there should be a limit.
As a rule of thumb I’ll offer half a wheel revolution. I think any other sort of measurement would not work well for a rider in motion. Maybe a whole revolution, but that seems excessive. Any other opinions on that? Connie?
This is one of those wonderful sticky questions, full of “If this situation, then this answer”. So:
If racing at NAUCC:
It doesn’t matter
If competing in Standard Skill:
The rules say it doesn’t matter. BUT if someone never pushes the wheel and they are doing 1ft ww, they aren’t doing 1ft ww at all. The judges probably would give 100% off. If a rider pushes the wheel with one foot, glides a bit, pushes some more, then that’s ok. If you can get 1 meter out of your push, good for you, and no points taken off.
If testing for USA Skill Levels:
Only 1/2 revolution of gliding is allowed during the 10m.
If testing for IUF Skill Levels:
Not specified. Various countries have different rules.
If you are just trying to learn the skill & dont care about all these rules:
I’d say you’re gliding when you get into the skill from riding (or riding 1-footed). Not from 1ft ww.
Does this answer?
Connie