International Unicycling Federation

Last updated

The International Unicycling Federation (IUF), is the international governing body for the sport of unicycling. It was founded in 1982 in the United States but is composed of representatives of unicycling nations from around the world. Funding comes from participants at organised events, primarily the biennial Unicon world unicycling championships. [1]

Contents

History

The IUF was registered in Nassau County, New York, United States, on 12 March 1985, as a ‘Domestic Not-for-Profit’ corporation. Its principal office is in New York State, and the corporation’s Department of State ID Number is 980300. [2] It operates under the New York State Not-For-Profit Corporation Law. The IUF is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Purposes

Map of IUF member countries Unicycle IUF.png
Map of IUF member countries

The purposes of the IUF include:

  • 'To foster awareness of and participation in unicycling as a sport and means of recreation among people of all nations through the organization of international conventions and the development of national unicycling organizations'. [3] The IUF selects the location for the biannual unicycling world championships ('Unicon') and works with a European Subcommittee to select the location of the biannual European Championships. [4]
  • ‘to promote voluntary international standards for competition toward the achievement of Olympic status for the sport of unicycling’. [3] The IUF develops the IUF Rulebook, which is the governing document for Unicon and other competitions. The By-Laws do not specify which unicycle discipline (freestyle, basketball, hockey, track, high jump, long jump, street, flat, trials, cross country, muni, etc) should be in the Olympics, or whether the IUF’s objective is that all disciplines should be in the Olympics.
  • ‘disseminate knowledge and information on all phases of the sport to all interested parties via a newsletter’. [3] The IUF maintains a website and Facebook page to inform members and interested parties about the sport of unicycling.

IUF website: https://unicycling.org

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport of athletics</span> Group of sporting events

Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and racewalking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unicycle</span> One-wheeled mode of transportation

A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is practiced professionally in circuses, by street performers, in festivals, and as a hobby. Unicycles have also been used to create new sports such as unicycle hockey. In recent years, unicycles have also been used in mountain unicycling, an activity similar to mountain biking or trials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain unicycling</span> Adventure sport

Mountain unicycling is an adventure sport that consists of traversing rough terrain on a unicycle. Mountain unicycling (muni) is undertaken on similar terrain to mountain biking. However, muni requires much more attention to the microfeatures of the short distance in front of the wheel. Unicycles' lack of a freewheel means that descents must be controlled all the way, and the typical lack of a gear system prevents the rider from reaching high speeds. Muni usually takes place on specially designed unicycles, which are equipped with strong hubs, large, knobbly tires, high-grip pedals and rugged frames. Some are also equipped with rim or disc brakes, having the lever mounted under the nose of the saddle. The brake primarily helps to compensate the downhill-slope force, while more expert riders also use it to decelerate or stop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Paralympic Committee</span> Global governing body for the Paralympic Movement

The International Paralympic Committee is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nine sports. Founded on 22 September 1989 in Düsseldorf, West Germany, its mission is to "enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world". Furthermore, the IPC wants to promote the Paralympic values and to create sport opportunities for all persons with a disability, from beginner to elite level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horse show</span> A judged exhibition of horses

A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and international championships in a given discipline or breed. Most shows consist of a series of different performances, called classes, wherein a group of horses with similar training or characteristics compete against one another for awards and, often, prize money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Track & Field</span> US governing body for track and field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. The USATF was known between 1979 and 1992 as The Athletics Congress (TAC) after its spin off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which governed the sport in the US through most of the 20th century until the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 dissolved its responsibility. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a non-profit organization with a membership of more than 130,000. The organization has three key leadership positions: CEO Max Siegel, Board of Directors Chair Steve Miller, and elected President Vin Lananna. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can be USATF members, but permanent residents can only participate in masters events in the country, per World Athletics regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unicon (unicycling)</span>

Unicon, previously known as UNICON, is the World Unicycling Convention and Championships sanctioned by the International Unicycling Federation (IUF).

The International Federation for Equestrian Sports is the international governing body of equestrian sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unicycle hockey</span> Team sport version of hockey played on unicycles

Unicycle hockey is a team sport, similar to rink hockey where players try to hit the ball with their sticks into the other team's goal, except that each player must be mounted on a unicycle to play the ball. A team is composed of five players, but there is no dedicated goalkeeper role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Skating Union</span> International governing body for competitive ice skating

The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands, in July 1892, making it one of the oldest international sport federations. The ISU was formed to establish standardized international rules and regulations for the skating disciplines it governs, and to organize international competitions in these disciplines. It is now based in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestling at the Summer Olympics</span> Olympic sport

Since the Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896, wrestling became a focus of the Games, with the exception of the 1900 Summer Olympics when wrestling did not appear on the program. Freestyle wrestling and weight classes both made their first appearance in 1904. The women's competition was introduced in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Bowling Federation</span>

International Bowling Federation (IBF), known as the Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ) from 1952 to April 2014) and as World Bowling (WB) from April 2014 to November 2020, is the world governing body of nine-pin and ten-pin bowling. IBF was founded in 1952 in Hamburg, Germany by officials of the International Bowling Association to foster worldwide interest in amateur ten-pin and nine-pin bowling, as well as international friendship by encouraging world and zone tournaments and other competition between bowlers of different countries. IBF has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee since 1979 as the governing body for bowling sports. Starting with five member federations in 1952, it grew to 141 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Cycling</span> Governing body for bicycle racing in United States

USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and BMX across all ages and ability levels. In 2015, USAC had a membership of 61,631 individual members.

The World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS) is the international umbrella organization encompassing the major cue sports, including carom billiards, pool games of several varieties, and snooker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerobic gymnastics</span> Type of gymnastics

Aerobic gymnastics or sport aerobics is a competitive sport originating from traditional aerobics in which complex, high-intensity movement patterns and elements of varying difficulty are performed to music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Halpern (linguist)</span>

Jack Halpern is a Japan-based lexicographer specializing in Chinese characters, namely kanji. He is best known as editor-in-chief of the Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary and as the inventor of the SKIP system for kanji lookup. Halpern is also an active unicyclist, having served as founder and president of the International Unicycling Federation. He currently resides in Saitama, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Equestrian Team</span>

The Canadian Equestrian Team or CET collectively describes the athletes that represent Canada at the highest levels of international equestrian competition, specifically at the World Championship, Olympic, and Paralympic levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dustin Kelm</span>

Dustin Kelm is a professional world champion and world record setting unicyclist, performing the UniShow around the world. He has performed and competed throughout North, South and Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Dustin is a three time Unicycling Society of America expert freestyle national champion, a Unicycling Society of America mountain unicycling national champion and a UNICON freestyle World Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebony O'Dea</span> Australian rules footballer

Ebony O'Dea is an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She was drafted by Greater Western Sydney in the 2018 national draft. Delisted after one season, she was re-drafted by Collingwood in the 2019 national draft and made her professional debut in round 2 of the 2020 season.

Roger William Haun III is a US-born Ghanaian unicyclist. He is the first person to win medals at the Unicycling World Championships for Ghana.

References

  1. IUF official site - History
  2. NYS Department of State Division of Corporations Entity Information as at July 29, 2016
  3. 1 2 3 IUF By-Laws
  4. How to Ride a Unicycle, New York Times, 28 Oct 2016