International

Uninats, with added APUC!

It's official -  ACT Unicycle Riders will be the hosts for Uninats 2013, the Australian Unicycle Championships, between the 12th and 16th of December 2013 in Canberra ACT.

In turn, Uninats 2013 will be the host for the 4th Asia Pacific Unicycle Championships (APUC).

Australia will be hosting international riders from Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and hopefully Japan and the Phillipines at the 2013 Uninats, which will be held

Hosting APUC will give all Australian riders a chance to meet, ride and compete with great overseas unicyclists, and gives us a chance to repay the hospitality provided to Australians in every host country at previous Asia-Pacific events.

As an official event of the Canberra 100 centenary celebrations, Uninats 2013 will benefit from the experienced organising team from ACTURS and also the great venues and facilities in our national capital.

Keep watching the AUS website for further information as the detailed program is confirmed and we can open registrations.

Why December?

Finding dates which align with holidays and school breaks across Asia meant that next December was the best option, despite it being late in the year and quite a wait from the last Uninats.

To make sure you get your unicycling fix, AUS would like to organise as many 'mini' events as possible in the next year to keep everyone busy. If you would like to run an event day or weekend in your area, please get in touch!

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!

Time to get those big wheels in training for the 10th International Unicycle Marathon Competition to be held on 29th April 2012 in Duesseldorf/Germany. As part of the METRO Group Marathon Duesseldorf (run on foot), each year organisers hold a separate unicycle competition, the only event of this kind in the world.

2011 saw more than 70 unicyclists from Germany and abroad taking part. In 2012, unicyclists will have the unique opportunity to ride in front of more than 400,000 excited spectators right across the city center and some suburbs of Duesseldorf, without care for traffic lights and road rules. Unicyclists from outside Germany are very welcome to take part.

The registration fee for the event will vary between 45 and 70 EUR, depending on the time of registration. Registration is due before 15th of April 2012.

For information: www.metrogroup-marathon.de
and afterwards at: www.rmsv-duesseldorf.de www.rmsv-duesseldorf.de
See also: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90521

Ok, so this is seriously crazy.  Lutz Eichholz, a 25 year old German, has made his bid for a world record attempt of riding a unicycle over an 8.93 metre line up of beer bottles.  The story was picked up by the The Sun in the UK and has some fab photos of Lutz' attempt.  Great stuff!

Just a last reminder that registration prices for Unicon 16 will increase after 30th September.

Visit the Unicon 16 website to register now!

By registering early you lock in the early bird price - you can still change the individual events you want to be in after this date, but you must register by 30th September to get the €160 eary bird price.

You can even get a full refund up until April 2012 if you find you can't attend, so it's worth registering now even if your plans are not yet firm!

Note that the main reason you are asked for qualifying times when registering for events is to select only the top riders from each country when there are too many. Some events are limited to 20 or 50 riders per country - this is very unlikely to apply to the Australian team!

Well the Yunnanuni Tour is over and congratulations to all the unicyclists who took part. A diary of the tour with photos of this gorgeous trip through China can be accessed on the official Yunnanui web site and the 2Tyred web site.  Check out the photos and video of the amazing countryside! 

Welcome home to the Australian team from the Asia Pacific Unicycle Championships held in Seoul, Sth Korea this August.

This was a wonderful and huge event that has continued the tradition initiated in Singapore in 2007, bringing together teams from five Asia Pacific countries – Australia, China (Hong Kong), Japan, Korea, Singapore.

Team Australia boasted Ashley Curtis, Cris Bailiff, Matt Price, Rochelle Braaf, Ty Peters and Tynan Rollo from Sydney, George Cara from Melbourne, and David Buchanan, Rod Lambert and Tom Lambert from Canberra.

Day 1

The athletics competition on the first day was an impressive sight, held in a beautiful sports stadium. With over 400 unicyclists competing, the vast majority of whom were Korean youngsters, there was a fantastic energy to the competition.

Given the number of competitors, races were mixed by gender but had designated age categories including open and masters age categories. The Australians competed in every event - the 100m, 400m, 400m relay, 30m wheel walk, 50m one footed, obstacle course and slow-board - with ability not being a criteria in some events!

Despite the hot and steamy conditions, Ashley Curtis won his 100m heat to compete in the final. He came in 4th overall (showing just how fast some young members of the Japanese team were!) in a time that set a new Australian record. 

Stop Press - earlybird registration has been extended until 30th September

If you're interested in competing on an international stage, want to learn some new skills or just interested in meeting unicyclists from around the world, registration is open for Unicon XVI. This UNICON will be held in the beautiful Italian Alps in Brixen between 20 - 31 July 2012.

There are many events for competitors and non-competitors alike. Non-competitors can register to take part in workshops, courses and social events. Entry fees to all events, shuttle services, shows and more are included in the price of registration.

Competitors can enjoy all the advantages that non-competitors receive, as well as participating in their favourite events.

Register before the end of September 2011 to save with early bird prices. Prices are given in Euros:

Competitors

Phase 1 - 1 January 2011 to 31 July 2011 - €160

Phase 2 - 1 August 2011 to 31 December 2011 - €200

Phase 3 - 1 January 2012 to 30 April 2012 - €240

Non-Competitors

Phase 1 - 1 January 2011 – 31 July 2011 - €80

Phase 2 – 1 August 2011 - 31.12.2011 - €100

Phase 3 – 1 January 2012 – 30 April 2012 - €120

Check out this video of 'the JoltJoker' entertaining Tanzanian kids and adults alike with his unicycle - the locals had some moves of their own...JoltJoker

They do things differently in Germany. The seventh national unicycle marathon championship will be held in Duesseldorf in May this year. Competitors will ride across the city center - without concern for traffic lights and road rules - with the prospect of more than 400,000 spectators watching the event. The distance of 42.195 km needs to be completed within a maximum time of 4.30 hours. Unicyclists from outside Germany are welcome to participate.

When: 8th May 2011

Where: Duesseldorf/Germany Registration (you need to do this twice): -

first at: http://www.metrogroup-marathon.de/

second at: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85637