Convention Aspect

All competitions at a Unicon need to make every effort to have equal time for the convention side of Unicon by involving as many competitors as possible and making the event spectator-friendly for other Unicon participants as well as non-unicyclists. Any of the following are examples to achieve this goal:

• Workshops related to the event

• Fun competitions based on the event

• Instant results for the spectators

• Ways for other competitors to be introduced to the event

• Entertainment during breaks in the competition (such as half time entertainment)

• Schedule of the events posted in multiple places

Required Events at Unicon

The following events are required at Unicon. Hosts are free to add events or variations that do not appear here, as long as there is no conflict with existing rules. If hosts are unable or unwilling to include any of these events, they must petition the IUF Board according to their Host Agreement and section Unicon.

Required events:

• Track (Racing & Other events): 100m, 400m, 800m, One Foot, Wheel Walk, and IUF Slalom, Track Coasting, Relay (4x100m), see chapter Track: Racing.

• Road Racing: at least two races, see specific requirements in chapter Road: Races.

• Muni: Cross Country, Uphill, Downhill, Cyclocross; see chapters Mountain Unicycling: Races and Mountain Unicycling: Cyclocross.

• Freestyle events: Artistic (Individual, Pairs, Small Group, Large Group), X-Style; see chapters Freestyle: Artistic and Freestyle: X-Style.

• Urban: Flatland, Street, Trials, all Jumps events; see chapters Urban: Flatland, Urban: Street, Urban: Trials, Urban: Jumps.

• Team Sports: Unicycle Hockey A, Unicycle 5×5 Basketball A; see chapters Team Sports: Hockey and Team Sports: Basketball.

• Non-competition events: workshops, judging training

Recommended additional events:

• Track (Racing & Other events): Slow Balance, Downhill Gliding

• Road Racing: a third event

• Team Sports: Unicycle Hockey B, Unicycle 5×5 Basketball B, Unicycle 3×3 Basketball

• Additional novel or experimental events

• Non-competition events: additional workshops, fun games, social events, sightseeing rides, muni rides

Sponsors

The convention host has the option to seek and obtain private sector sponsorship; for example The Unicycle.com Freestyle Awards, the Coca-Cola Hockey Cup, etc. This will allow opportunities for external funding to defray costs for host organizations and competitors. Sponsors are limited to organizations that would not bring the IUF into disrepute and are consistent with the aims and objectives of the International Unicycling Federation, Inc.

Materials & Equipment

The Host must supply all necessary materials and equipment to run the competitions, such as a timing system, starting posts, cones for the IUF Slalom, etc. Other materials such as paper and writing materials, judging tables, printers, basketballs, hockey sticks, etc. are also necessary.

Early Announcement of Rule Changes

For international competitions, written rules are needed for any planned events not described in the IUF Rulebook, and for events where additional rules are required. These special rules could be variations on the optional events found in this Rulebook. Such rules should be published at the same time as registration forms, or earlier, and must be published at least one month before the start of the event. These rules can be published along with registration forms, and/or on the convention web site. Competitors need to know the specific rules so they can train for those specific events! Hosts also need to decide on rules early, so there is less to worry about near competition time. Rule changes may be a necessary reality, for reasons such as changes in venue, weather or available equipment. When this happens these changes must be posted to the convention web site immediately. Examples: Dismount rules or timing details for off-track races, obstacle information for Street Comp, planned age divisions or combination awards.

If competition events or games not found in the IUF Rulebook are planned, written rules must be provided. These rules, if not pre-existing, should be published at the time of announcement of those events. This generally means at or before the posting of registration forms. For competitors to properly train, and be on an equal footing with local riders, all must be aware of the rules to be used.

Registration Forms

Because of the various options available to riders in different events, riders may enter different events in different age groups. A properly structured registration form is essential for making these choices clear to the participants. For example, a rider may enter Pairs as an Expert with an older rider, but may wish to compete in Individual Freestyle in his or her own age group. Before publishing, a Unicon registration form should be examined and approved by members of the IUF Rules Committee or Board of Directors. No rider may enter any event until his or her registration form has been completed, including payment and completion of waivers and/or signatures. No minor may compete until a parent or legal guardian has signed his or her release.

Classes

1. Classes reward championship titles. Boundaries of a class ensure equal conditions to compete for that title. There are two mandatory classes:

   1. Junior (<14)

   2. Senior (15+)

2. Classes can never be merged. Organizers may choose to only offer competitions in one of the mandatory classes, but if they allow competitors of both classes, they need to be separate.

3. Additionally a third class Youth (15 – 18) can be used, with given reasons in the Event Organizer Rules of each respective section. The youth class should only be used with a correspondingly high number of participants and sufficient performance differences to the adult class. When Youth class is used, the Senior class only includes starters at the age of >=19.

Age Groups

Awards

Because awards are paid for out of the convention budget, the type, number, and quality of awards are the choice of the convention host. However, these awards must abide to these stipulations:

• Men and women competitors must be awarded equitably

• Different Class competitors must be awarded equitably within the same competition (i.e. 10k Standard and 10k Unlimited)

• Awards should be equal within the ranks of Teams, Age Groups, and Champions (i.e. 0-14 in Freestyle must be awarded equitably to 16-17 Muni Cross Country)

Generally there are trophies for Champions or for 1st-3rd places in finals, medals for 1st-3rd places in each Age Group for each event, and optionally ribbons or certificates for lower places. The IUF has most frequently awarded 1st-3rd place in most events, but this too is up to the convention host. Once the competition has finished, a personal certificate must be made available to each competitor with a summary of their complete results. This can be done as an online download, and/or sent through e-mail, and/or made available as a physical copy on the event itself. The design of the certificates is up to the convention host.

Safety Equipment

Safety equipment worn by riders must meet the definitions for each, which are found in chapter Definitions. Hosts may only deviate from these rules for safety equipment if this is inevitable. The status of “inevitable” has to be documented and must be approved by the IUF Board of Directors. Any deviation from the IUF safety equipment requirements must be approved and announced at least two months before the event. Additional inevitable changes that arise just before or during an event cannot be approved by the event director alone. The approval of two IUF representatives is required in addition to the event director’s approval. These changes are once again only allowed in the case of the inevitable, and not, for example, due to the wishes of the competitors or judges.

Protests

1. An official protest form must be available to riders at all times. All protests against any results must be submitted in writing on the proper form. The form must be filled in completely. Mistakes in paperwork, inaccuracies in placing, and interference from other riders or other sources are all grounds for protests. All Chief Judge or Referee decisions are final, and cannot be protested.

2. The default protest time (counting from the posting of results) is 120 minutes, unless there is a shorter time specified for certain events (for example: track racing). By default for all results published after 8 p.m. on the same day or on another day, the protest deadline is 12 p.m. (noon time) on the day after publication, unless something different is specified for certain events. Every deviation from the default protest time has to be clearly announced when the results are posted, including stating the protest deadline on the results list itself. The protest time may be extended for riders who have to be in other races/events during the protest period.

3. All protests will be acknowledged within 30 minutes from the time they are received, and an effort will be made to settle the issue within those 30 minutes.

4. Protests handed in after awards have been delivered will not be considered if the results have been posted for at least three hours before the awards. If awards are delivered before results are posted, it is recommended to announce the schedule of posting and the deadline for protests at the awarding ceremonies.

5. The host may decide to make official video of some competitions, for example at the start line and/or the finish line, or the 5-meter-line in case of the 50 m one-foot race. This must be announced before the competition to let the competitors know about their option to protest through this video. Regardless of whether official video is available, all possible sources of evidence are generally allowed as a means of verification in case of a protest, including (but not limited to) private photos/videos and eyewitness reports. If someone submits a protest and has evidence that they want to be considered, they must state that with their protest. If possible, it is recommended that digital material is copied onto an ‘official’ computer for analysis. As an alternative, the evidence must be readily accessible, e.g. through a contact person and phone number.

6. In case of video evidence (regardless of its origin), a referee without good skills in video analysis should ask for a skilled assistant in order to prevent incorrect interpretations.

7. The referee decides which evidence they will consider, and the ‘value’ they assign to the various pieces of information. Generally, official camera footage and judge reports will have higher ‘value’ than private evidence. The objective is that all riders will be judged as fairly as possible.

Open Practice Area

For Unicon and other large competitions, at least one area with a smooth safe riding surface, sheltered from the weather, must be made available for all or part of the day on most or all days of the convention. These areas are to be used for non-competition events such as workshops, skills exchange and free practice.

Program Book

At Unicons, all registrants shall be provided with a package of pre-printed information containing a full schedule of all events, maps and directions to all event locations, and as much rule and background information as possible. This information shall be provided when registrants first check in at Unicon. Unicon organizers should consider placing as much of this information as is practical in an official Program Book. This can make excellent reading for family members and spectators, and gets them more involved in our sport. It’s also a great place to sell ads as a source for convention revenue. At other unicycling events, it is recommended that pre-printed information be provided to all participants.

Availability of Rulebook

The host must make sure there are plenty of copies of the rulebook for officials to study on the spot.

Photography and Videography

The following rules are required for Unicon and are highly recommended for other large international competitions.

In events with closed perimeters, it may be necessary to limit the number of photographers and filmers (hereafter called “shooters”) allowed inside. We want great documentation of the events, but not at the expense of safety, and of spectators’ ability to see as well.

The following guidelines apply:

• Shooters must either register ahead of time to be inside the perimeter of an event, or have actual press credentials (professional photojournalists, TV news people, etc.).

• Registered shooters must have some form of ID given to them, whether it be a pass on a lanyard, a volunteer shirt, or something else to help identify them.

• The Referee or Head Official for the event has the final say on shooting that can affect the riders and/or spectators’ view.

• The Referee or Head Official should appoint a Media Manager to manage this task.

• If a Media Manager is used, that person is still under the authority of the Referee or Head Official of the competition.

• Media Managers must have a good understanding of the needs of shooters to get the job done.

• Shooters must follow the instructions of the Media Manager or Referee/Head Official, and of the officials at the location.

• Shooters must generally stay aware at all times of the movements around them.

• If shooters continue to get in the way and/or not follow instructions they are to be ejected from the perimeter.

• It is greatly appreciated, but not required, that the shooter submits his or her top shots to the Media Manager during or directly following the convention to be used for the press.

• Flash is never allowed unless specific permission is given by the event director.

Publication of Convention Information

Convention dates and other information must be announced and/or published at the earliest possible date. The best way to control the publication of convention information is with a convention web site, with regular updates to provide all the latest information. For Unicon and other large events, registration forms should be made available no less than eight months before the convention start date. A list of all planned competition events, including all rules and information pertinent to quality training, should be published at the same time with newly available data to be added as soon as it is known. Wherever possible, hosts should provide maps, directions and other information to help make people’s convention as enjoyable as possible.

Publishing Results

Results of national and international championships must be published including details such as time, distance, and total score. For each event, the names and represented nationality of competitors as well as the names and nationality of all officials shall be published. In the artistic events, countries and names of the entire judging panel must be published.

Option to Remove People From Events

The host is allowed to remove an individual or a group if they are acting aggressively or abusively against others. These individuals/groups should be given a first warning, followed by removal from the specific event by the Host or the Chief Judge/Referee who is in charge for the competition where the problem appears. The person(s) should only be removed from that competition to have a chance to calm down. If the aggressive or abusive behavior continues, it is also possible to remove the individual or group from the rest of the convention.

IUF Public Meeting

The Unicon host will provide time in the convention schedule for the IUF Public Meeting. At this meeting, the IUF will elect officers or other volunteers, and otherwise do business and encourage the opinions and assistance of all interested convention attendees.

The meeting time should be as close to the end of the convention as possible, excepting on the final day, as people may have to leave before that time. At minimum, the meeting should be during the second half of the convention.

A minimum of two hours should be allocated, during which no other official convention events, other than open gym or other informal activities, should take place.

A meeting room must be provided that has adequate space/seating, lighting and acoustical properties to communicate and conduct the meeting. A lecture hall or theater are optimal locations, and a sound and/or projection system would be very helpful.

Other IUF meetings may be held during the convention, both public and private, but the strict requirements apply only to the big public meeting.

Changes and Cancellations

The host reserves the right to make changes, if necessary, to ensure the success of a convention or competition. Sometimes these changes must be made at the last minute, such as in switching outdoor events for indoor in the event of rain. Sometimes activities must be cancelled due to events beyond the host’s control, such as weather or power outages. When changes or cancellations are made, notification must be posted, communicated and/or distributed as early as possible.