The Chronicle (14 November 2008) reports on on Kevin Wharton's ride down Toowoomba's Table Top mountain on his unicycle. Footage:
It was only a matter of time before we saw the first unicycling robot. At the Ceatec electronics show which opened in Japan in September 2008, the Kyoto-based electronics company, Murata Manufacturing, showcased Seiko, a robot that rides a unicycle.
Ride in the Spring Cycle event or come and entertain with your uni skills at Olympic Park in Sydney on Sunday 19 October. The Spring Cycle is one of Sydney's most popular rides. There are four routes to choose from: Ride North Sydney (40km), Ride The Park (7km), Ride Liverpool (20km), Ride Blacktown all finishing at Olympic Park, Homebush.
Sydney Unicycle Hockey will be playing a demonstration match on the Olympic concourse at 1pm till 2pm. The organisers are also planning on doing a live cross to the hockey demonstration, so people can watch it on the big screen. If you want to join in the game, bring a red and black T-shirt!
You can read more details about Spring Cycle and register on the website.
If you are a keen unicycle trials rider, Sydney Bicycle Film Festival is building a trials course at the Newtown Festival, and is inviting the AUS to select riders to participate.
If you are keen to ride, contact the AUS Secretary ASAP with your contact details. This should be a blast, with a big crowd ready to be wowed by your skills!
16 June Nova Scotia, Canada
35 teams representing 13 countries, many from the US as well as South Korea, Singapore, UK, will take part in Ride The Lobster, an 800km unicycle race in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada on June 16th, 2008. There's still time to arrange your trip to Canada if you've recovered from Vietnam! More details at the website.
25 July-4 August, Copenhagen, Denmark
A reminder that unicyclists are still wanted for the Australian team to participate at UNICON in Copenhagen. This is your chance to participate in the biggest international unicycling event, meet other unicyclists from around the world and learn new skills. The draft program is now available, as well as information about registering, facilities, accommodation etc. from the UNICON website. For those intending to go, please contact Ashley Curtis who is co-ordinating the Australia team.
26-28 September, Collingwood College, Melbourne VIC
With insurance assistance from the AUS, the Melbourne Juggling Festival will be able to welcome unicyclists for the first time in 2008. The plans include a dedicated unicycling hall and unicycling events and workshops. More details will be forthcoming at the MJC website.
As preparation for Unicon 14 (see below), Sydney Unicycle Hockey and Canberra riders are planning to get together for a day of hockey on April 20th.
The proposed plan is to meet at 11.30am (to give ACTURS riders time to come from Canberra) at the usual Hockey location in Newtown, Sydney. All riders welcome. See the Sydney Unicycle Hockey page or contact Ashley to confirm details, or just turn up for hockey as usual!
Just announced! Wellington, New Zealand will be the host for UNICON XV from 27 December 2009 to 7 Jan 2010 - it's so close, there's no reason for you not to be there! The Kiwis are planning a full complement of events so get preparing! See what goes on in Wellington
As Unicon XV is going to be in 2009, the AUS will be considering plans for the next Uninats to ensure we don't run them too close together but still make sure that the Australian team is on top-form for Unicon!
What a fantastic competition! If you haven't heard by now, Australia took out the inaugural Asia Pacific Unicycle Hockey Convention in Singapore in November. Team players (in alphabetical order) Cris B, Ashley Curtis (Captain), Ty P, Matt P and Nic V were outstanding in tough conditions - 33 degrees and 90% humidity, playing with no reserve team members (but exceptional support from their single person cheer squad and blow up mascot). The competition was friendly but fiercely competitive and there's no doubt that Australia dominated:
Australia vs Hong Kong 1 - 0
Australia vs Singapore 10 - 0
Australia vs Singapore (under 21s) 5 - 1
Australia vs South Korea 3 – 2
Positions second to fourth were determined on goal difference, with all of the other teams winning two and losing two games. Hong Kong finished second, South Korea third, Singapore fourth and Singapore (under 21s) finished fifth.
How good was UniNats 2007? Well, feedback from cyberspace rated Uninats as varyingly: "rad" "wicked sick" "mint" "awesome" and "grouse" - so we're very happy about that and hope that you all enjoyed yourselves!
For those keeping stats, we had 90 registered riders and another 50 or so non-riders, which is just mint.
The official results are now available on the Uninats results page - you'll need the password 'uninats2007' to access this page (to keep peoples personal details out of search engines).
The collection of photo and video links is also growing - we have more than 300 photos linked in different albums, half a dozen video links of Uninats action, and the place-winning videos from the video competition. Check out all the updates at the photo and videos page.
You can submit own photos and links to the page, and there will also be prizes for the best pictures and video.
So many thanks to those that volunteered before, during and after the event - especially the non-riders - you're awesome!
A big thanks to everyone who came along and participated - it was great fun and we can't wait to watch the next one!
The 4th Australian Unicycling Nationals (Uninats) took place in Sydney, NSW from Saturday September 29th to Monday October 1st, 2007.
Uninats is now over - we hope you had a fantastic time!
A new page for collecting your Uninats photos & Videos is now online. Add your links and enter the "best photo" or "best video " competition!
The Official results are now available - see the 2007 results page. You need this password - uninats2007 - (this helps keep the page private from search engines).
Only 2 weeks to go until the biggest event of the Australian Unicycle Calendar - we hope you've been practicing! Here's what we've been up to in the last few weeks:
The detailed timetable of events has been put up on the Uninats website - check it out so you don't miss your favourite event.
We have hired a minibus to help transport people without their own vehicles on Sunday (between the 10K and track) and Monday (for the Muni). Please share/offer rides where you can, but we'll be able to make sure nobody is stuck.
After another Trials/Street building day in Sydney (thanks to APEC), we have quite a pile of 'stuff' to challenge your skills. Sydney riders have not been allowed to practice on it!
We have put together the electronic timing equipment needed for speed trials, so there will be a 'flying 100' competition, to determine the fastest Australian unicyclist, at the track event on Sunday. We have clocked Ashely at an unofficial 21.9km/hr on a 24" wheel. Helmets required, Coker optional!
