August 2007

Submitted by Rochelle on Sun, 12/08/2007 - 21:33

Uninats News

Early Registration

Uninats 2007 Sydney is now only 8 weeks away! If you haven't registered already, the early registration discount is still available, so register now to make sure of your place!

Unicycle.com at Uninats

Unicycle.com Australia have offered to sponsor a number of prizes at Uninats and will have unicycles and accessories from across their range available to try and buy at the venues. Thanks for your support guys!

Uninats Street/Trials Building

Sydney riders have the trials and street course construction well underway - here are a few photos of the recent 'build day'. Thanks to Dan Cowling, Ashley Curtis, Marc Grunseit, Ty Peters and Matt Price - Cris.

Ashley supervises the workers:

Ashley supervises

Some of the pieces ready to go:

Ready to go


Uninats Reminders

Some things to remember when you're planning your trip:

  • Plastic pedals and non-skid tyres required for indoor riding

Any unicycle you plan to ride for the indoor events in the main hall on the Saturday needs to by 'gym-safe' - that is, not cause any damage to the wooden floor. You must have plastic pedals, and you should check that your tyre is non-marking (non-skid) on wooden floors.

Unicycle.au.com will have pedals and non-skid tyres for sale on the Saturday, but you can avoid spending time working on your unicycle by preparing in advance. (There are no restrictions for unicycles to be ridden at the track, trials/street, 10K or Muni.)

  • Appropriate Protective Equipment/Clothing

You will need at least a helmet, gloves and kneepads for most events - these are compulsory for track events, Trials and Muni. You are responsible for your own safety equipment and deciding what else to wear (e.g. shin-pads).


Uninats FAQ

Here are answers to a few questions people have asked recently:

  • Will there be anything for me to do as a beginner/new rider if I come to Uninats?

Although Uninats is called a competition, it is intended to also be a festival and celebration of unicycling. Any rider, of any age or ability, is welcome to take part. There will be plenty of non-competitive activities, and there are separate categories for riders in the competitive events. You are guaranteed to learn a lot and be inspired!

  • Is there a Street Competition?

Yes! There will be a Street event - scheduling and course details are still being worked out with assistance of local riders such as Dan Cowling and Alex Toms - watch for details when the full timetable is published.

  • Is there a wheel size limit for the 10K (or other races)?

There will be two categories of wheel size for the 10K - 20/24" and 'Other'. There will be placings in each category. The track events will normally be limited to 24" maximum wheel size for an official result (except for the Coker races, of course).

  • What time will we finish on Monday? / What time is event X?

The 'official' program currently finishes after the Muni - approximately mid-day on Monday (1st October), but there will be additional riding available on Monday afternoon - the 'AfterNats'. We're planning a choice of a 20K ride (not a race), more hockey and more street. These optional extras should be over by around 5pm.

A full timetable of events will be available on the website in the next week or so.

  • I want to enter the video competition. What format should the video be in?

We can accept videos in any common media format. The simplest option is probably to bring a DVD. Entries should be limited to 5 minutes in length for now. You can make multiple entries if you have additional material, subject to us having enough time to show them all.

  • I want to buy some extra party tickets for family/friends later (once I know how many). How late can I buy them?

We need to give final party numbers to the catering company one week before, so we'll have to stop taking bookings by the 23rd September.

Travelling to Uninats from Melbourne?

If you are planning to drive up from Melbourne for Uninats, Cassie Carter is looking to share a lift. Email cassie@circusentertainment.com.au if you can help.

If anyone else is traveling overland and would like to offer lifts to other unicyclists, contact the AUS secretary.


Singapore unicycle hockey championships

3 - 4 Nov 2007 - APacHC 2007, Singapore

The organisers of the 4th
annual Asia-Pacific unicycle hockey convention in Singapore. are inviting unicyclists to join them in November this year. The event is to promote the sport of unicycle hockey, although artistic displays of freestyle performances will also be welcome. Organisers have included in the itinery, a city tour to places of interests and yummy spots to taste the local food. If time permits, they will squeeze in a Muni.

Ashley Curtis is looking to put together an Australian Team and so far has four confirmed to go to Signapore but needs a fifth player to form a team. If you are interested in joining them and representing Australia in unicycle hockey, please contact Ashley as soon as possible (chickenloaf_au) and Maxime (jinzhanglee), who is organising the event.

So far Signapore look to have two teams, with Hong Kong also providing two and South Korea, one.

New Canberra venue

By Rod Lambert, ACTURS

We have a new cycling venue in the ACT at Mt Stromlo. The venue is exclusively for cyclists (including unicyclists) and is on about 100 acres plus, on the east side of the Stromlo mountain. It runs right into the flat area of the valley below. Facilities include a sealed criterion track about 2km long, a covered grandstand/spectator area (with toilets), a flat tarmac area about the size of 2 hockey pitches, some well signposted and maintained downhill mountain bike tracks (1-2K in length) and some ready made trials facilities. Generally bookings are not necessary but the facilities can be booked through the ACT Government (free of charge) if anyone wants to run a major event.

Some of the ACTURS group have been "working out" at this venue recently, on Sunday mornings.
So far we have managed to:

a) mark off a 100M track on a straight bit of the criterion course and practice some racing techniques with the start poles, pistol & stopwatches. The practice track is slightly uphill to give a bit more of a challenge in training. We are hoping to measure up a 400M track also but we need to get a longer tape (our current one is only 30M)

b) do a bit of longer distance riding on the 2km track with the Coker & Schlumf unicycles etc

c) Have at least one good downhill run after Lorinda Buchanan kindly drove us up to the top of Mt Stromlo. (The alternative is walking up the hill. This is good exercise for the enthusiastic, but takes a lot longer.)

The downhill run areas are still a bit devastated after the Canberra bush fires but the trees seem to be recovering rapidly with the recent rain and sunshine. In 12 months there should be quite a good tree coverage again. This whole venue should serve cyclists and unicyclists well over the next few years.

Seeking Riders in Perth

Cameron Barrett, a new young rider from Thornlie in Perth, WA, has contacted us looking for a unicycle club in his area. We don't know of any clubs in WA, but if you are a rider in Perth and are
interested in riding with Cameron, please contact the AUS Secretary and we'll forward your details.