UNICON X as I Saw It
by Alberto Ruiz
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Introduction
UNICON X (UX), which was held in Beijing China during August, 2000 was an
extraordinary event.
The Chinese hosts invested a large amount of money and energy to make
possible a very complex event. Over 400 overseas competitors, maybe the
greatest collective unicycling talent ever assembled, invested nearly
US$1,000,000 of their own (or their sponsors) money just to participate.
The event planning team was a truly global adventure. People in Germany, the
United Kingdom, the USA, Puerto Rico, Japan, Hong Kong, and mainland China
coordinated their efforts. This team speaks at least 5 different vernacular
languages. Then you have all the different team leaders that worked hard
organizing each team.
To complicate matters even further, the IUF, as part of its strategic plan,
had decided to hold the event in China, a country with no previous
experience running UNICONs. There was the possibility that the lack of
experience could create problems. And there were problems, but they were
solved.
The result was an excellent UNICON. For the first time ever, all events were
held. There was a lot of socializing between the different delegations, and
most people had a great time.
I am a lucky person. I was the IUF President, the coordinator of basketball,
and the leader of the Puerto Rican team. I want to thank, and am proud of,
all the individuals that worked so hard to make the first 10 days of August,
2000, a highlight in the life of most of us.
I hope that you all get a chance to attend UXI to be held in July or August,
2002 at North Bend, Washington, USA, in the Seattle area.
Racing
Once again, racing proved to be a great attraction. Whether horse racing or
traditional racing on foot, humanity has always found it very exciting.
Unicycling garners all the enthusiasm of those races, with the added risk of
falling because you exceeded your limits.
At UX, racing was a long, time-consuming activity. There are many events
and many categories that result in many tired officials and complicated
schedules. I have mixed feelings about that.
We have received many complaints that so many categories, and so many
competitors from the same country in the same race, detracts from a World
Championship.
But we must remember that the reason why there were so many Chinese and
Japanese in the races is because they did a better job of training. They
dominated most of the racing events because they are faster. Some of those
competitors came to UX mainly to race. So, I will take the easy way out and
not take a position now.
Maybe that is the price of success. Everyone likes to compete
internationally at UNICONs. So, I am not yet taking sides on whether or not
we should limit racing. The IUF may consider it in the future.
There were many great races. The times were impressive taking into
consideration that it was a slow track. Professional track people were in
charge of running the races. They had some good equipment to measure time.
John Foss was the Chief Referee. Traditional track persons usually have
problems with the start of the races. John did a good job of explaining it
to them. They did a good job.
Most complains were in the special races. We really must run that ourselves.
There were some problems at the finish line. The track people had suggested
that we use some side numbers so that the computer could better identify the
riders. It was not done, resulting in several claims. John set up a claims
mechanism. Results were posted. That in itself was quite a job. The Results
List covered just about all the walls of the lobby. Then John gave a
deadline to file claims. He investigated and awarded the claims that were
filed.
We must congratulate John Foss and the track people. For the first time (I
believe) ever, all the events were actually run, and were actually finished
on time, allowing everybody to attend the anticipated Tiananmen Square
activity.
We should gain experience from every UNICON event. We must realize that
something may work today, but we can still find a better way tomorrow. In
this spirit, my suggestions for UNICON XI is that we can use experienced
track people, but we must improve our communication with them prior to the
event.
We must also make team leaders responsible for their competitors being
ready when and where they are supposed to be. Announcements are only an
added courtesy that we should keep doing, but it cannot transfer the
responsibility from the team leader and/or competitor to the announcer.
After all, we all know that 12 comes after 10. And 14 follows, etc. The team
leader must realize that mispronunciation of names will occur.
Hotel and Amenities
The Jing Yan Hotel was the main hotel for UX. Most rooms were in a sorry
state as it was been remodeled. The host had a second, more luxurious hotel
a short distance away. Why, then, did almost everybody decided to stay at
the Ying Jan.
Location. It was across the street from the sports facilities.
Price. Started from US$23 per night for a room with three beds and a private
bath. That is less than US$8 per person per night.
Olympic Village. There was a real Olympic Village atmosphere at the hotel.
They allowed us to ride unis in the lobby. They were very understanding of
all unicycling activities. By the end of the week, there were UX results,
memos, and schedules on just about every wall and column of the lobby. UX
participants could meet anyplace at anytime. The meeting rooms were right at
the hotel as was the dining rooms. I had never seen so much interaction
between people from different nationalities as in UX. The rooms of the hotel
did not meet the expectations of many persons, but the hotel did contribute
to the camaraderie of the unicycling community that ruled in that part of
Beijing that week in August.
Food. Good but definitely Chinese. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The nearby
McDonald's received lots of business even from usual Big Mac haters. I
liked the food, but people who are accustomed to Western food need a
periodic relief. A Western breakfast alternative would have been a good
idea. I still believe that the bones of the chicken haha that we were served
at the Great Wall lunch were smaller than any chicken bone that I had ever
seen.
Tiananmen Square Ride. I was impressed. They had a whole subway train
reserved for us. There was a failed attempt to do some type of shows
featuring small groups. Most riders wanted to share with each other, take
thousand of photos and videos. And make the lines of riders interlocking
arms. There were so many riders that they had to make at least three lines.
We rode forward and then backwards at least 10 meters. I don't know how Andy
was able to organize all of us, but he did. After the event, they took our
unis back so that we could stay downtown and do some serious bargaining for
souvenirs at the backstreets of downtown Beijing.
Great Wall. An optional trip that almost everybody attended. A long bus ride
out of the city into the mountains, the Great Wall looked like a giant
snake, or dragon, joining all the mountain tops. There were two ways up to
the Wall. You could walk or you could take a cable car. I took the cable
car. (OK, I am lazy). Once up there we enjoyed the great view. And we could
ride on our unicycles. There was a third alternative to come down the wall,
a giant slide. I took it, and boy that was fun.
Forbidden City. Another optional trip. Very impressive group of palaces
right next to Tiananmen Square in downtown Beijing. To appreciate it you
must read Chinese history and understand the role it played in separating
the emperors and its close group from the people, and you must see some
pictures.
Farewell Party. Another great success. We had a great farewell party in
Puerto Rico in 1988 and there was a great one in Minnesota in 1994. I saw
more intermingling of nationalities in this party than ever before. For the
future UNICONs, we should not schedule anything else during the Farewell
Party, no award ceremony and no workshop. Let it be a party.
Cheaper Cheaper. Part of the folklore. Everywhere you go, there are hundred
of street peddlers offering their souvenirs. You could buy real a Rolex
watch with real diamonds for US$3.75, after a starting price of US$30. Post
cards for 6 cents each and T-Shirts with a theme printed for US$1.00. I
normally don't feel comfortable in that type of situation, but in China it
was fun. The peddlers never got angry and the prices were good. So, for
those of you that received souvenirs from China, the person that gave it to
you did not pay as much as s(he) told you, except maybe in extra luggage.
Basketball
The planning of the basketball tournament started way before we got to
Beijing. There were at least three teams that were training hard and raising
lots of money just to be able to compete in this tournament. We needed, and
got, the assurance of the organizers that basketball would be considered an
important event.
Hockey had a similar situation. So, Rolf Sanders and I (Alberto)
communicated pre-UNICON to split the assigned time between hockey and
basketball. Rolf encountered some technical problems, not of his own doing,
that delayed the start of hockey, affecting basketball in two ways, both
positive.
Basketball got 17 teams, more than expected, and we got an extra night to
play games.
There were teams that attended UX exclusively or primarily for basketball.
There were teams that had never played basketball in unicycles and saw UX as
a unique opportunity to try it. There were some teams that had good riders
and good basketball players, but had never put them both together. There
were teams made up by (obviously because of their physical game) hockey
players. And there were the Japanese princesses.
We were glad to have them all. To be fair, we split the 17 teams into 4
groups, including 8 seeds. Each group played a round robin so that every
team would play at least three or four games. The top two finishers would go
on to quarterfinals. Except for the first night, we were able to post the
starting time of each game and kept very close to the schedule. So, players
did not really have to stay all that long. Many of them did anyway and they
were glad they did.
The Japanese B team consisted of some very young (and small) female players
who were excellent riders and had played some basketball. The pre-game
practice drill would include some stand-up gliding penetration so they could
be closer to the basket and reach it. They were also very fast and extremely
enthusiastic. Their opponents usually were twice their size. They showed
some amazing unicycling skills, score some great baskets, and actually won a
game. Typically, they would zoom in past an opposing player, steal the ball,
turn around and say "Sorry . . . !".
The Chinese team showed an excellent, fast, well-coached team. Most of the
players were quite small. In a very exciting game, they lost the bronze
medal by one point to the USA.
The USA tied with European United for the bronze medal. The USA featured the
tallest team, some excellent players who are top riders. Once they can
practice together they will be a tough team to contend. European United had
some tough players who obviously had played together and followed a system.
The finals were between the Semcycle team, that was the reigning World
Champions, and Puerto Rico. At half-time, Semcycle was ahead by two points,
but Puerto Rico came from behind to win a close, tough match. There were
lots of chanting fans by the end of the game.
The success of basketball at UX will raise the skill level for future
UNICONs. Semcycle wants a rematch with Puerto Rico and said that they will
practice weekly to recapture the title. Puerto Rico knows that it must
improve to keep its title. The Chinese will grow, and their lack of size
seemed to be their only weakness. Team USA, centered around some Minnesota
riders, can be a serious contender. I suspect that we will be seeing a
European League in the future. The Japanese girls may be able to teach their
male counterparts. And, who knows, we might see some rapid improvement from
some of those teams that just wanted to try basketball and liked it.
I would like to thank all the people that helped to manage the tournament,
including the three Abrahams brothers, Charles Perez, some of the other
Semcycle and Puerto Rico players, the Chinese manager of the gym, and the
Chinese translators, Ping Ping and Jane Sue. But, especially I want to thank
the over 100 riders who participated in what probably was the largest
basketball in unicycle tournament ever.
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