Background and Rationale — IRUS

International Ranking of Unicycling Skill

Background and Rationale for the New Skills Development and Skill Ranking System

 

What’s the new skills system all about?

The new approach to teaching and ranking unicycling skills has been in the developmental stages for over six years now.

 

The goal of this new approach is to make unicycling a more solid sport.  By setting up a broader, more challenging skills ranking system, we’ll be able to include more unicyclists, offer them a better learning progression, and provide a more accurate way of comparing riders’ skills.

 

Why are we looking for a new program? 

The first task of the Skills Development Committee in 2002 was to get input on the existing 10-level system. The committee’s goal at that time was simply to fine-tune that system, since there were areas that riders wanted to fix.

 

When we asked riders about the 10-level system, we got back the same response over and over again: instead of suggestions for how to adjust it, we heard,  “I don’t support the 10-level system,” followed by an explanation.  The reasons people provided varied, but most often included the fact that it’s limited to one style of riding and therefore doesn’t provide an accurate representation of overall unicycling skill for most riders.

 

Other reasons included the fact that many riders needed encouragement much sooner in the learning process—that reaching the first level took way too much effort for the frustration involved. Riders also mentioned that certain levels had the effect of discouraging, rather than encouraging, further skill development.  When riders hit a skill in a level that they couldn’t do, or didn’t want to do, they stopped working on the levels altogether. While that will happen in any skill system at some point, the old system doesn’t provide any sanctioned alternatives for riders to turn to when they hit a stopping point.

 

Why don’t all riders support the existing 10-level system? 

The existing 10-level system has helped many riders, but not everyone supports it. Some of the concerns that riders have about it are listed below.

1. Difficult for many riders to reach Level 1.

2. Focused only on indoor freestyle riding skills.

3. Dead-end skills in several levels that caused good riders to abandon the system.

4. Lack of standardization in testing procedures worldwide.

5. Lack of official list of certified skill testers; lack of official certification process.

6. Ambiguities that led to inconsistencies in testing.

7. Some skills were misplaced—too easy or too hard for the level they were in.

8. Freemount requirements needed revamping to avoid using easy freemounts at difficult levels.

9. Difficult to expand to offer higher challenges.

10. Required skills were sometimes learned only for the test and never used again.

11. Some riders passed levels with more luck than mastery.

12. Lack of testing rules that allowed anyone to test, including self-testing, and self-appointed testers, which sometimes made the results difficult to verify.

 

After just a few weeks of trying to deal with these issues, it became clear that the committee’s task was much larger than we realized, and that we would need to look for new ways to address these concerns.

 

The new system is complicated! Can’t it just be simple?

Because it’s much broader, the new approach seems more complicated, and it is in some ways. But we’ve found that once groups get on board, it’s easy to use, and it’s adjustable to fit any situation.

 

While it’s easy to get going with the new system, it wasn’t easy to develop it. Imagine working with the variables here:our riders include all ages; both genders; brand new novices to high level experts. The riding styles include artistic, trials, juggling, UW, giraffe, and more. Riders work individually, in pairs, and in groups. They race, do other track events, play hockey and basketball, and are making up new events all the time. Unicycling is extremely diverse. That makes it complicated. So developing a system to support it on a broader scale was definitely a challenge.

 

Taking all these aspects of the sport and building a sound skill development program wasn’t easy. It had to be comprehensive—to please a wide variety of unicycling interests; challenging—to please the high level riders; easy—to please the newer riders; and clear and consistent so riders from all over could compare their skills accurately with others. Yet it had to be simple enough to use.

 

Fortunately, the new approach takes this complicated problem and offers a very usable solution, by providing a set of easier learn-to-ride base levels for everyone, and grouping the other skills into ability ranges (intermediate, advanced, expert) and separate divisions (Artistic, Tall, UW, and so on). It’s more comprehensive, which means it’s more complicated than the old level system, which focused on only one riding style.

 

If you think about it, most popular sports are somewhat complicated. That’s part of the attraction. If they were simple and mastered quickly, they wouldn’t have much appeal. A good comparison is figure skating. It is extremely complicated, especially after one look at their 500-page rulebook. Yet it is certainly a popular and successful sport.

 

During the field test for the new skills system, we’ve found that it doesn’t take long for riders to understand the options available to them now.  They like the idea of earning advancements in several areas of the sport, and they’re ready to begin using it very quickly.

 

What if our club is too big/too small to deal with all the different divisions in the new system?

Every group can adjust the program to fit their situation. For example, if your riders focus on Artistic skills, use the base levels and the Artistic division and ignore the rest. Then, if you have riders who would like to test for Juggling, for example, try offering it at a special event. Or, set up a special practice session where you bring in a rider who’s great on the UW. Then offer testing in that division a few weeks later if anyone is interested.

 

Remember that no one is obligated to offer testing for each division at all times. It’s there if groups want it. Otherwise, just use what makes sense for your group and ignore the rest.

 

What if we don’t have time for all the testing?

The new approach is great because it’s a lot more flexible. The bases allow new riders to test much sooner, so they’re more likely to stick with it. And that will probably mean more skill testing for most groups.

 

There are many ways to set up testing for the new levels. For example, offer testing for just 30 minutes at a practice session. If riders want to test, they’ll be there. Or train more skill testers. The new system provides much more support for people who would like to be skill testers. The rules are much clearer and more comprehensive, so testing will be standard among groups. Testers can be as young as 13, and getting the younger people involved in testing is a great way to use their skills, especially for the bases.

 

The new system also has built-in features to make sure testing doesn’t become too time-consuming.

 

1. Failing a test means waiting seven days before re-testing. That will help riders understand that it’s better to put off testing until they’ve mastered the skills. This is especially helpful for clubs that meet more than once a week.

 

2. Testers may refuse to administer a test, especially if they feel the rider isn’t ready. Testers can also set up practice tests with more than one rider at a time. They can create small groups that practice the skills in a certain level together, rather than working with each rider individually, until it’s time to do the actual test.

 

3. Fast Test: in Tier 1, riders can skip any or all of the first five bases, making it easy to test riders who have a certain amount of skill and who don’t need the smaller steps offered in the base levels.

 

4. AP Test: the new Artistic Intermediate division has an alternate proficiency test built in. If riders want to skip all five Intermediate classes, they can take the more difficult AP test instead.

 

5. Having just one extra chance per set of skills (instead of three) will also make testing go faster.  Now, testing ends sooner if riders aren’t well prepared.

 

6. Specialized testers. With the new divisions, it makes sense to have testers who specialize in a certain area. That may mean a rider who is good at juggling would do all the testing for the Juggling division, and nothing else. That will help clubs draw more people in as testers and spread out the responsibility of testing.

 

In reality, some testing will actually be faster and easier than it was in the old system, since riders can now skip or “test out” of a level.

 

How can the new skills system work for our group?

In many ways!  It can bring riders in, it can help them learn more, and it can keep them coming. Often riders come to practices for a few weeks and then disappear. Clubs experience major ups and downs in attendance. To help avoid this, they can offer new events at practices, such as learn-to-juggle-and-ride night, using the new Juggling levels.

 

The Tall division can be especially helpful for clubs. Often kids want to ride giraffes before it’s completely safe for them to try one. With the new system, club leaders can follow the requirements for the Tall division without having to set their own rules. That also encourages riders to master the basics sooner, since they know that they’ll be allowed to ride a giraffe sooner if they do.

 

The Tall division can also help clubs prepare their riders for parades. Clubs can set requirements, such as “pass Tall 7-3 in order to ride a club giraffe in the July 4th parade.” One of the primary developers of the Tall division was Jamey Mossengren, an expert giraffe rider from the Twin Cities Unicycle Club in Minnesota.  The Tall levels that Jamey helped devise are an adaptation of the giraffe test that the club has used successfully for many years.

 

The new Pairs division can be great for groups, old and new. It provides some basic training for pairs to work on before they compete. In the short time that we’ve been using the Pairs division, we’ve found that riders really have fun working with it. It can also be an incentive to master the basic skills, since riders can’t officially pass a Pairs level until they complete the bases.

 

To mix it up. Often riders hit a wall (figuratively) when they’re trying to learn new skills. With the new system, they can take a break, try to pass levels in a different division, and come back to their original goals later.  That may keep them coming, rather than cause them to give up altogether.

 

For the new riders, the new approach is much less intimidating. They feel that they belong as soon as they’re able to ride a short distance.  Acquiring the skill of riding is something most people feel very good about, and the new system acknowledges that.  We’ve found that new riders are delighted when their efforts are rewarded with a certificate that says they’ve passed the first milestone in becoming a unicyclist.  The easier early levels help keep people focused, because they see them as attainable, rather than beyond anything they could ever hope to do.

 

The new approach is especially important for the high level riders.  It extends way beyond the previous ending point, which is exciting for the sport.  For years, there’s been talk of creating higher levels now that riders have conquered the toughest skills, and the new skill system does that.  It also puts it into a new format that does several things—defines the freemount requirements more specifically, strings skills together to make the tests more realistic and more challenging, and includes new skills that have never been tested before. It will also allow some choices, so riders are not forced to learn exactly the same skills in order to be placed in the expert category.

 

Finally, the new system features skill pins that are a great way for riders to show their level of skill. Now most riders can earn ten or more skill pins that they can put on a lanyard, hat, or visor right away. The most accomplished and versatile riders will really stand out by the number of advancement pins they have to display.

 

Why even allow testing for skills that aren’t “true” unicycling skills?

Our official competitions have welcomed all forms of riding for many years, including skills done on giraffes, with UWs, and with juggling. Those performances are judged and ranked, even though we haven’t had official skill-building programs to help riders develop those skills in the past. Juggling in particular has long been recognized as a valuable complementary skill in unicycling.

 

The diversity of unicycling helps to make it so appealing. When people see the variety of skills possible, they’re amazed and drawn to the sport.

 

The new system recognizes how important it is to promote that variety, so it helps riders develop their unicycling abilities in many different ways. Trying to set a strict definition of what constitutes “real” unicycling would go against our long-standing policy of including a wide range of skills at official and unofficial competitions.

 

How does the new skills system affect the national competition?

Our national competition features a huge range of events, but we have had almost no training programs to prepare competitors in advance.  In the past, riders have often come in and entered a competition with only a few minutes of practice beforehand!  While that’s great in one way since it allows even the newest riders to compete, it isn’t a normal approach to a national competition. As we grow and continue to use the new skills program, our national competitors will come to events trained and ready. That guarantees that the overall quality of performances will improve.

 

Also, we hope that it will be easier for groups to prepare riders for national competitions by sponsoring regional competitions. The new skills system provides more structure that will help groups set these up.

 

Another plus is that it will be much easier in future years to set requirements for who may compete at a national or world competition, such as setting a rank of Artistic 7-3 in order to compete.  Or, a rank of Technical 7-5 in order to enter the advanced trials event.

 

What other benefits do we expect to get from using the new skill system?

Besides being much more comprehensive, offering lots more challenges, and making it easier for riders to reach their first few goals, it will be great in several other ways as well.

 

For the first time, riders will be able to rank their trials skills.  With the new Technical levels, groups can set up a standard testing area, do the required skills, and get a skill rank, as they do for Artistic.

 

The Tech levels are different from actual trials competitions, where the obstacles are ranked, with each trials course being different. In skill testing, everything is standard, which is the only way to get an accurate ranking of skill.  The actual trials competitions will still be the more important element, because they offer both challenge and variety.  But the competitions aren’t necessarily accurate as a ranking system, since all riders cannot attend each competition to try out the course, and because courses change each time they are set up.

 

Another very important feature of the new skills program is its potential for keeping the top-level riders in the program. Because the higher skill levels will be more diverse and include more variety and choice, more riders will be able to use them. The highly skilled riders will continue to raise the bar, giving the sport more validity.

 

The Unicycling Handbook is another terrific benefit of the new system.  It lists and explains all testing rules and offers learning tips and much more—a resource the sport has needed for a long time.

 

Will this new system be difficult to administer?

Yes and no.  It is definitely more work. But, if unicycling is going to be a serious sport, more administrative work is simply part of the equation.  It proves that we’re making progress as a sport that’s aimed at growing.

 

What can I do to help?

Join us. Just about everyone who’s taken the time to get onboard with the new approach so far has offered a valuable comment, criticism, or suggestion that’s helped make the new program better.

 

By now, lots of unpaid volunteers have put a tremendous amount of time and effort into this project. Nobody receives any kind of compensation or even much recognition for his or her input.  Help out by providing feedback that will improve the new program.

 

Contact:  Skills Development Committee Chair, Carol McLean, MN

unicyclecentral@hotmail.com             651-481-1508

 

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