With the last two prototypes and your feedback, we experienced new approaches to skill levels. It’s about time getting more concrete about the final levels.  This round of prototypes heads towards this goal. The prototypes as you know them are gone and are replaced by new ones, with new names. We have been discussing the prototypes and here are the results. At first, what happened to the first and second generation prototypes and then the new generation (3rd).

You can find the whole story in the discussion forums of the committee.

Prototype A (by Wolfgang Schaper)

Obviously the feedback says the following:

• I like the flexibility
• It’s too complicated
• It’s based on the standard skills list which is crap

we still don’t know, what to do with this prototype. We have deferred it so far, to rethink this one and get new ideas to form it into a more practical and easier prototype. Send in your ideas please.

Prototype B (by Hiroyuki Shoji)

These are the japanese skill levels, that’s why they have a division into school and club levels, because unicycling is teached in japanese schools. Though the japanese members of the skill level development committee said, there should be no division and there could be one skill levels for schools and clubs. So, prototype B can be easily merged with D and that’s what we have done (Freestyle-I and Freestyle-II). Anyway, the japanese are famous for their  spins and pirouettes, so yes we wanted to learn from them and will manifest those ways in the skill levels. So, Mayumi Sakaino altered the B and D and put in many exercises for spins. You find them as Freestyle-III below.

Prototype C (by Adrien Delecroix and Spencer Hochberg)

These guys have put together the skills for extreme unicycling, at least the technical aspects of it. So, there are two new versions of the original C-Prototype, now called Extreme-I and Extreme-II

Prototype D (by Thomas Gossmann)

Prototype D was the base for the merge with B and you will find them as Freestyle-I and Freestyle-II.

Prototype E (by Felix Dietze)

Many people like this prototype. That prototype tried to cover all types of unicycling in every aspect, with a choice for the individual and tries to guide you through this world. That’s why most people like it, unfortunately this is called a Trainingsplan and that is what’s prototype E. A trainingsplan is custumized for an individual or group to reach a certain goal (good result at a competition). Skill levels would be a part of your trainingsplan, and therefore prototype E exceeds this world and is not eligible for skill levels. What’s good about this, is that you can use each part of the prototype and build it together in your own trainingsplan. Spoken for myself: I am about discovering possible exercises for a trainingsplan in unicycling and will publish them as far as I go through this, so you will hear from prototype E.

Skill Levels – Some Notes for your understanding

While reading the feedback, I see skill levels are mostly misunderstood. So it’s time to clearify things in short.

• Skill Levels help you proceeding technically in the world of unicycling
• They are not meant to cover all skills (of a discipline), but give you a good foundation and let you to be creative
• No, they are not meant as competition qualification!

Prototypes, the 3rd Generation

Base Levels

Base Levels (German) – this document keeps 3 Variations in it. See the discussion in our forums thread.

Extreme Levels

Extreme Levels I
Extreme Levels II

Freestyle Levels

Freestyle Levels I – (German) – (Graph) – (Graph print version)
Freestyle Levels II – (German) – (Graph) – (Graph print version)
Freestyle Levels III

Future

For the future, we need to look at the specific skills for each level in more detail. We must be absolutely sure with each skill and can give a reason for its existence to deliver a great product. As you can see, with Freestyle-III, there are a lot of skills and exercises, we cannot bring them all into the skill levels. We rather have the idea to start with an exercise catalog. So, skills or exercises that can’t get into the skill levels but on the other hand are extremly helpful, will make its way into the exercise catalog.
At the moment, there could be two different types of exercises in there:

1. The first one are exercises to help you reach a certain skill (at a specific level).
2. These are exercises the help you exploit skills you have learned (at a specific level). As stated above, the skill levels should provide you with a good foundation to continue with advanced skills, these types of exercises will give you additional guidance.

How do you like this idea?

Your Feedback

Please tell us what you think about the prototypes and the other ideas included in this post. Feedback is gathered until 18th of september. There are many ways for you to submit your feedback (choose the right one for you):

New unicycle Skill Levels @ RSU
Neue Skill Levels Thread @ unicyclist.com (German)
Neue Skill Levels @ einradfahren.de
New Unicycle Skill Levels Facebook Group

Or get in contact with us by Twitter @unicycling. You can also send me your Feedback via mail.

Stay in contact with the IUF by becoming a Fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, to receive updates on the IUF and the new Skill Level System.

Thank you so much in advance for your feedback.
gossi