Part 4
Mountain Unicycling: Races
4A Overview
4A.1 Definition
Mountain unicycling (muni) refers to off-road races over any type of terrain. Terrain can be anything from dirt to paved areas, hills, ditches, curbs, rocks, sand, mud, or grass (Mountains are not required).
4A.2 Rider Summary
This section is intended as an overview of the rules, but does not substitute for the actual rules.
- You must wear shoes, knee pads, gloves, and helmet.
- Water and food stations are at the discretion of the host.
- Muni racing events have no wheel size, crank length, or gearing requirements.
- Be aware of the rules regarding false starts, passing, dismounts, illegal riding, and protests.
4B Competitor Rules
4B.1 Safety
For all muni events, riders must wear shoes, knee pads, gloves and helmets (see definitions in chapter 1D.1). Additional equipment such as shin, elbow or ankle protection are optional. Back protector or backpack and full-fingered gloves are recommended for Downhill.
Water and food are the responsibility of the rider. Hosts may offer food and water stations at their discretion.
4B.2 Unicycles
Any unicycle may be used (as defined in chapter 1D.1).
4B.3 Rider Identification
Riders must wear their race number(s) fixed at the four corners, clearly visible on their chest and, when required, on their back so that it is visible during the race and as the rider crosses the finish line. Riders must use the officially provided race number unmodified in any manner. Numbers should not be folded, trimmed, or otherwise defaced. Referee approval must be sought to modify a number plate if it cannot otherwise be attached securely due to hydration pack, rider physique or posture when riding. Lost or damaged race numbers must be replaced with approval by referee. Riders who lose or damage their race numbers during a race will not be penalized. Additionally, riders may be required to wear a chip for electronic timing.
4B.4 Protests
Protests must be filed on an official form within two hours of the posting of event results. Every effort will be made for all protests to be handled within 30 minutes from the time they are received.
4B.5 Event Flow
4B.5.1 Uphill Race
An Uphill muni race challenges a riders ability to climb. Courses may be short and steep or longer, endurance-related challenges.
4B.5.2 Downhill Race
A Downhill muni race is a test of speed and ability to handle terrain while riding downhill.
4B.5.3 Cross Country (XC) Race
The Cross Country race is an off-road distance race that challenges a rider’s fitness and ability to ride fast on rough terrain.
4B.5.4 Starting
Riders start with the fronts of their tires (forwardmost part of wheel) behind the nearest edge of the starting line.
4B.5.5 False Starts
A false start occurs if a rider’s wheel moves forward before the start signal, or if one or more riders are forced to dismount due to interference from another rider or other source.
4B.5.6 Passing
Riders must pay attention while passing and avoid physical contact as much as possible. Violations of this passing rule may result in disqualification or a time penalty, to be determined and announced before the start of the race.
If a faster rider comes from behind, the rider in front does not need to yield to the rider behind, as long has he/she is mounted. The faster rider should try to pass when safe. A mounted rider always has priority over an unmounted rider.
4B.5.7 Dismounts
Dismounts are allowed in all muni races unless otherwise noted. In mass-start events, dismounted riders must yield to mounted riders behind them as quickly as possible after a dismount, and until re-mounted. Riders may not impede the progress of mounted riders when trying to mount. If necessary they must move to a different location so mounted riders can pass. If riders choose not to ride difficult sections of the course, they must not pass any mounted riders while walking or running through them. In time trial-type events, see below for variations based on the other event details. Violations of these non-riding rules may result in disqualification or a time penalty, to be determined and announced before the race start.
4B.5.7.1 Dismounts: Uphill
Riders must ride the entire course. In the event of a dismount, the rider must remount the unicycle at the location of the wheel at the moment of the dismount. Riders may also choose to back up (toward the start line) to remount, if they prefer.
4B.5.7.2 Dismounts: Downhill
Dismounted riders must not impede the progress of, or pass mounted riders. They must remain aware of riders coming from behind, and not block them with their unicycles or bodies.
Running and fast walking are not allowed, except momentarily to slow down after an unplanned dismount. After a dismount, riders have to come to a complete halt before mounting the unicycle again. If a rider falls in front of their unicycle, they may run back up the hill to retrieve it, but must come to a complete halt before remounting. Riders may generally walk slowly if necessary. A rider may choose to dismount for a difficult section, but must walk slowly through the section until stopping to remount. The following penalties apply if riders disregard this:
- Riders get an immediate time penalty of five seconds when they intentionally run or walk fast, not recovering from a fall. A judge must clearly indicate when the time penalty starts and when the rider may continue, for example by blowing a whistle and counting down from five.
- Riders get disqualified immediately when they do not stop and wait five seconds after the judge’s indication. The disqualification should be signaled to the rider immediately by a judge, for example by blowing a whistle twice.
- Judges must be trained and tested to correctly enforce these rules. Riders must be informed about the type of signaling prior to the race.
4B.5.7.3 Dismounts: Cross Country
If the event is held as a time trial, dismounted rider restrictions must be announced before the start of the race. Depending on course length and difficulty, dismounted riders may be required to walk, or walk only limited distance, or have no restrictions at all.
4B.5.8 Finishes
4B.5.8.1 Finishes: Uphill
Riders must cross the finish line mounted on the unicycle, having both feet on the pedals. In the event of a dismount at the finish line the rider must back up, remount and ride across the finish line again.
4B.5.8.2 Finishes: Cross Country and Downhill
Riders can cross the finish line mounted as well as walking. Any finish where the rider is not mounted on the unicycle, having both feet on the pedals, will be penalized by adding a 10 second penalty.
4C Judges and Officials Rules
4C.1 Muni Director
The Muni Director is the head organizer and administrator of muni events. With the Convention Host, the Muni Director determines the course, obtains permits, interfaces with the community, and determines the system used to run the event. The Muni Director is responsible for the logistics and equipment for all muni events. With the Referee, the Muni Director is in charge of keeping events running on schedule, and answers all questions not pertaining to rules and judging. The Muni Director is the highest authority on everything to do with the muni events, except for decisions on rules and results.
4C.2 Referee
The Referee is the head muni official, whose primary job is to make sure the competitors follow the rules. The Referee makes all final decisions regarding rule infractions. The Referee is responsible for resolving protests.
4C.3 Starter
The starter starts races, explains race rules, and calls riders back in the event of false starts. The starter is in charge of checking riders for correct unicycles and safety equipment.
4C.4 Course Marshall
The Course Marshall is responsible for securing and marking the course, as well as for positioning and instructing volunteers to signal the correct way to race participants or to serve as judges in the case of dismounts (see respective rule sections for details). Furthermore, the Course Marshall should assist the Muni Director in selecting an appropriate course abiding by the guidelines in this rulebook.
4C.5 Officials Can Compete
The Referee may not compete in any competition where they may be required to make a decision. The Muni Director or Course Marshall may compete, as long as the race course has been announced early enough that they do not have an advantage from knowledge of the course.
4D Event Organizer Rules
4D.1 Venue
Very dangerous sections should be secured (for example by removing sharp stones/branches from areas where riders are likely to fall/run into due to the physics of the course).
At Unicons, Downhill and Cross Country courses should be selected by experienced expert riders using their subjective judgement. Detailed course description with character of technical sections should be provided and if possible supported by photo or video documentation as soon as the course is selected.
4D.1.1 Uphill
Uphill courses must be primarily uphill but may include flat or downhill sections. At Unicon, if the terrain is technically easy (i.e. smooth to ride, no or only very small rocks and roots), the main course has to be longer than 500 m or have a height difference greater than 100 m. If the terrain is more difficult, the course may be shorter or have less elevation gain. The event hosts may consider additionally offering Beginner/Advanced categories competing on shorter and easier tracks or on selected parts of the main course. It is recommended that Uphill courses at other types of events or competitions adhere to these rules as well.
4D.1.2 Downhill
Downhill courses must be primarily downhill but may include flat or uphill sections. Recommended course length is 2.5 km, or 1 km at a minimum, depending on available terrain, trails and schedule time. The course difficulty should match the skill of the riders at given event and should measure abilities to ride technical sections.
4D.1.3 Cross Country
A Cross Country course should be held primarily off-road but may consist of gravel and paved roads. There is freedom for the amount of downhill, flat and uphill sections, as long as the course is not primarily downhill or uphill.
Special recommendations for Unicon and Continental Championships:
There are three main categories based on distance and difficulty. The course difficulty should
match the skill and fitness of the riders at given event.
Main categories:
- Beginners: distance 3-7 km, designed for riders who have problems to ride over small obstacles.
- Intermediate: distance 8-13 km, designed for majority of the riders with common Muni skills.
- Expert: distance 15-25 km, designed for roughly 20-30 top world riders, suggested to last 1h30min for fastest riders.
The Expert category with subcategories Men and Women is required to be run. Other categories are run on the host discretion.
The Expert Cross Country course should be designed such that the fastest rider completes the race in about 1 hour 30 minutes, but never less than 1 hour. The course should be chosen such that geared riders do not have an undue advantage. Unrideable sections should be avoided to prevent riders from walking however uphill sections may include technical difficulties. Long and gentle uphills are preferred over short and steep ones. If only shorter trails are available, riders can be required to complete multiple laps of the course.
Cross Country races that are longer than 30 km and that last minimum 3 hours for the fastest riders are called Cross Country Marathon or XC Marathon.
4D.2 Officials
The host must designate the following officials for each muni race:
- Muni Director
- Referee
- Starter
- Course Marshall
4D.3 Communication
The host must publish two lists of results for each discipline after the competition: Age group based ranking and overall ranking (separating men/women).
If the hosts wish to include events other than the first three (Up, DH, XC), they must remember to provide detailed rules for these events at the same time the events are announced.
Details of all muni events must be published as soon as they are known. It is highly recommended that photo or video documentation is also provided. This is to provide competitors with the information they need to train, and to help them prepare the appropriate unicycles. These are major needs for attendees from far away. Necessary details depend on the event, but include things like course length, elevation and elevation change, steepness, level of terrain difficulty, amount of turns, riding surfaces, course width, etc. Course details should be published as soon as possible and a GPS-track must be published on the web site at least one month prior to the convention. It is acceptable to publish tentative courses while waiting for permits to be approved, etc.
4D.4 Age Groups
- Scoring will be based on age groups in accordance with rule 1C.8.
4D.5 Route Signaling
Courses must be clearly marked. At each intersection, the correct direction must be indicated by at least one of the following options:
- Option 1: Painting or chalk marking (only if authorized by authorities).
Arrows showing the correct course direction must be drawn 5 to 10 meters before the intersection, at the intersection, and 5 to 10 meters after the intersection. Crosses must be drawn on each wrong direction at the intersection and 5 to 10 meters after the intersection on the wrong paths. - Option 2: Using bands (also known as barrier tape).
Small pieces of bands (shorter than 1m) are used instead of arrows to show the right way to go. Longer pieces of bands barring the wrong paths over their entire width are used instead of crosses. These bands can lie on the ground if they cannot be hung in the air because of any restriction. - Option 3: Using any other clear signaling method.
Chipped wood or large signs with printed arrows or crosses are examples of other acceptable method. Similar to options 1 and 2, signaling must be placed 5 to 10 meters before, at, and 5 to 10 meters after any intersection, as well as signaling very clearly any wrong direction at the intersection, and 5 to 10 meters after it on the wrong paths.
Any element of the route such as the ground, trees, rocks, or barriers can be used as marking or for hanging bands, as long as the result is easily visible and not likely to be erased/removed by the passage of riders, other occupants, or weather. If the weather forecast predicts rain, option 2 or 3 is preferred over option 1. At major intersections, having a volunteer signaling the correct way, in addition to marks or bands, is highly recommended. Any signaling option can also be used on any long section between intersections, in order to confirm to riders that they are still on the right track.
If authorized by authorities, an effort must be made to mark the courses a few days before they occur, so riders can practice on it.
Any change in the track from the one given in the website/program book must be announced to the riders by email as soon as this is known, even if this is a short amount of time before the race. If the change occurs the day of the race, riders must also be told on the start line that there has been a change.
4D.6 Practice
For all muni races, every rider must get the chance of at least one test run to get familiar with the track before the actual race. If possible, the track should be open for training during all days of the event prior to the race. For multi-day events the muni competitions should take place during the second half of the event in order to give riders more time to practice on the course. The race cannot be held without the possibility of practice.
4D.7 Race Configuration
For uphill and downhill races riders should race one at a time, released at regular time intervals. If the schedule has a small time window for the race, riders should be run in heat sizes that allow passing on the course, and do not bottleneck at the beginning.
For a downhill course length less than 2 km, two separate runs should be held. In this case the ranking of the riders is based on the fastest of the two runs.
For the uphill race, either one or two runs can be held. In the case of two runs, the ranking of the riders is based on the fastest of the two runs.
4D.8 Starting Configuration
There are three different types of starting modes, that can be used in muni races.
- Mass starts:
All riders start at the same time. Mass starts must not be used when the race duration is expected to be shorter than 30 minutes. The track must provide sufficient space for passing in the first section, so that the field of starters is aligned before the track narrows down. Space for passing must be given along the track. Mass starts with more than 40 riders have to be split to avoid accidents. - Heat starts:
Groups of riders start at intervals that can vary from 30 seconds to a few minutes. The maximum number of riders per heat is determined by the average width of the first 100 m of the track. There can be one rider for each meter in width. The first heats must be separated based on gender with the first heat consisting of the top men and the second heat consisting of the top women. After the top men begin, there must be a minimum 10 minute time interval before the top women start. After the top women start there must be a minimum 5 minute time interval before the next heat begins. - Individual starts:
Individual riders start at intervals that can vary from 30 seconds to a few minutes.
4D.9 Starting Order
The fastest riders should always start first, regardless of the starting mode. The order can be determined by seeding runs or another method.
4D.10 False Starts
There are several options on how to deal with false starts:
- Time Penalty:
In case of a false start, the heat is not restarted. If a false start occurs by one or multiple riders, these riders receive a time penalty (10 seconds is recommended). - One False Start Allowed Per Rider:
In case of a false start, the heat is restarted. Any rider(s) who caused their personal first false start may start again. Any rider(s) causing their personal second false start are disqualified. - One False Start Allowed Per Heat:
In case of a false start, the heat is restarted. For the first false start of a particular heat, all riders may start again. Thereafter, any rider(s) causing a false start are disqualified.
It is highly recommended to use the time penalty method for all different kinds of starts (i.e. mass, heat, and individual starts as described in section 4D.8). If no false start rules are announced prior to the race, this is the default method. In case of a purposeful false start several seconds before the official start, violating rider(s) should be disqualified at the discretion of the Starter.
At Unicons and continental championships, a camera has to be set up to record the start of all waves from a suitable angle. The official footage from this camera serves as evidence in case of disputed false start events or other start-line related protests after the race.
Restarting heats (options 2 & 3) should be avoided. If a heat has to be restarted for any reason, the Starter will immediately recall the riders, for example by firing a gun or blowing a whistle or any other clear and pre-defined signal.
4D.11 Finish Camera
At Unicons and Continental championships, a camera has to be set up to record the finish line from a suitable angle. The official footage from this camera serves as evidence in case of dismounts over the finish line or other finish-line protests after the race.