Well, we're back from Unicon 16, unicycles unpacked and thousands of photos to sort through. It was a fantastic event and congratulations to all the Australian participants who took part: Ennio from Perth, Joseph from Darwin, Trevor and Dan from Brisbane, David and Jackie from Canberra, Ben, Christine, Cris, Jamey and Rochelle from Sydney, and George from Melbourne. Also a shout out to Tynan from Vancouver, and Brian and Tony from New Zealand who obliged by playing on the Australian hockey team. We had great fun catching up with friends from around the world and making new ones.
Set beneath the truely awesome Dolomite mountains, the picturesque Italian town of Brixen/Bressanone really embraced the Unicon, inviting over 2000 unicyclists to make as much use of the town and surrounds as possible. Unicon kicked off with a grand gathering at the main stadium. Following the whip cracking entertainment, riders and their supporters led a parade through town to the main piazza for a welcome by the mayor and town brass band, and a demonstration of schuhplattler or traditional folk dance. Brixen/Bressanone has much to offer the unicycle tourist, great cycle paths, hiking, mountain cycling, Aquarena water park, plenty of beer, pasta/pizza and, not to be missed, Thursday party nights – which were a great surprise – we loved the traditional costumes sported by some revelers in town!
Highlights of the 10 day event were many - including the insane trial finals with Max Shulze taking out the gold, the race for first in the marathon (43km!), the group freestyle and pairs freestyle comps, and hockey final. The downhill comp proved challenging for many, judging by the carnage coming off the course (the ambulances and helicopter got quite a workout). Skills displayed in the hockey comp were incredible and congrats to the Swiss team in taking out the tournament. Flatland and street competitors showed amazing skills and tricks.
For those wanting to take time out from the competition, there were plenty of workshops rounding out the convention side of the event. Beer pong was a great hit - bad luck to Aussies, Cris and team mate Mayz, who made it to the semi-finals, only to be disqualified for knocking over their own beer. Jim Sowers' impressive handstand walk was good enough to win him the sexiest unicyclist competition - an event we look forward to seeing grow and develop over time. And what is Unicon without a final party? This one went off big time, starting with a bbq at the stadium and then hitting the dance floor at Club Max. We hope everyone got home ok!
Final results of the competition are posted on the Unicon web site but special congratulations go to Australians, Ennio Folini for equal 1st in the Muni Obstacle (0-12, male) and 2nd in the Uphill Expert (0-12, male), Jamey Mossengren for 1st for the Cross Country Expert (30+, male), 3rd for Downhill Expert (30+, male) and 3rd in the Downhill Glide (30+, male), and Mark Lavis for 2nd in the Uphill Expert (19-29, male). Congrats also to (Kiwi) Christian Huriwai for 1st in the Artistic Street Freestyle.
Many, many thanks to the organizers, hosts and volunteers at Unicon 16 for putting on a great show. It was a wonderful competition in a magnificent part of the world. We can't wait for the next one. Unicon 17, Montreal 2014, get ready, here we come!