Unicon, previously known as UNICON, is the World Unicycling Convention and Championships sanctioned by the International Unicycling Federation (IUF).
The IUF sanctions a biennial world unicycling convention and competition, the major event on the international unicycling calendar. Events include artistic (such as group, pairs, individual), track racing (such as 100 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres, 30 metres walk the wheel, 50 metres one-foot), road races (such as 10 kilometres, marathon), stillstand, slalom, muni (cross-country, uphill, downhill), street, trials, flatland, basketball and hockey.
Unicon | Year | Dates | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Unicon I | 1984 | Syracuse, New York, United States | |
Unicon II | 1986 | Uniondale, New York, United States | |
Unicon III | 1987 | Tokyo, Japan | |
Unicon IV | 1988 | Aquadilla, Puerto Rico | |
Unicon V | 1991 | Hull, Quebec, Canada | |
Unicon VI | 1992 | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada | |
Unicon VII | 1994 | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | |
Unicon VIII | 1996 | 5-12 August 1996 | Guildford, United Kingdom |
Unicon IX | 1998 | 27 July - 2 August | Bottrop, Germany [1] |
Unicon X | 2000 | August | Beijing, China |
Unicon XI | 2002 | 25 July - 2 August | North Bend, Washington, United States |
Unicon XII | 2004 | 23 July - 1 August | Tokyo, Japan |
Unicon XIII | 2006 | 23 July - 2 August | Langenthal and Bern, Switzerland [2] |
Unicon XIV | 2008 | 26 July - 4 August | Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark [3] |
Unicon XV | 2009/10 | 27 December - 7 January | Wellington, New Zealand [4] |
Unicon XVI | 2012 | 21 July - 31 July | Brixen, Italy [5] [6] |
Unicon XVII | 2014 | 30 July - 10 August | Montreal, Quebec, Canada [7] |
Unicon XVIII | 2016 | 27 July - 10 August | San Sebastián, Spain |
Unicon XIX | 2018 | 29 July - 10 August | Ansan, Korea |
Unicon XX | 2022 | 26 July - 6 August | Grenoble, France [8] |
Unicon XXI | 2024 | 14 July - 26 July | Bemidji, Minnesota, USA [9] |
At Unicon 19 in Ansan, Korea, a new record was set by Mike Taylor in the Platform High Jump. Mike successfully landed the high jump of 148.5cm.
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final score. Ski jumping was first contested in Norway in the late 19th century, and later spread through Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Along with cross-country skiing, it constitutes the traditional group of Nordic skiing disciplines.
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.
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.
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and racewalking.
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland, the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic events, some of which were included as exhibition events. Much of the event was played in extremely heavy rainfall.
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.
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers them to be "the three most important championships available to the sport".
Amy Shields is currently ranked among the top freestyle unicyclists in the world. She holds five world unicycling titles and in her home continent she holds over 15 North American titles since 2001.
Blessing Oghnewresem Okagbare-Otegheri is a former Nigerian track and field athlete who specialized in long jump and sprints. She is an Olympic and World Championships medallist in the long jump and a world medalist in the 200 metres. Okagbare also holds the women's 100 metres Commonwealth Games record at 10.85 seconds. She is currently serving an 11-year ban for breaching multiple World Athletics anti-doping rules. Her ban expires on 30 July 2032.
Teddy Tamgho is a French triple jumper and long jumper. He specialises in the triple jump. He is the current triple jump world indoor record holder at 17.92 m, achieved in winning the final and gold medal at the 2011 European Indoor Championships. He is the world's sixth best ever triple jumper outdoors, with his best mark of 18.04 metres achieved in winning the final and gold medal at the 2013 World Championships.
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.
The 2013 IIHF Women's World Championships was the 15th world championship sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and was the last world championship before the 2014 Winter Olympics. The tournament was hosted in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was primarily played in small community arenas, including the Nepean Sportsplex, but most games were held in Scotiabank Place arena.
Eurocycle is a European unicycle meeting.
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.
The Asia-Pacific Unicycle Competition is a regional unicycling games event that is held biennially, in alternative years from the Unicycling World Championships Unicon. The event has typically been held over a weekend where competitors from around Asia-Pacific gather in various unicycle games.
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.