A Cycling & bikes forum. CycleBanter.com

Go Back   Home » CycleBanter.com forum » rec.bicycles » Unicycling
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

setting up a unicycle club



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 10th 04, 12:01 AM
MrBoogiejuice
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default setting up a unicycle club


I seem to have found myself in the early stages of setting up a
unicycling club in my hometown of Macclesfield (officially the least
cultured town in the U.K.). Which is a very cool thing!

It started when I donated a unicycle to one of the kids of my mum's
mates (Lois), who works at a local school(the mum, not the kids.
Although the kids attend the school).

A new community sports hall is opening at the school in January which
has been funded by the school, the council and the National Lottery. The
"sports community development officer"((Vicky)person in charge of
filling the sports hall with all sorts of different activities) was
talking to Lois and the subject of unicycling came up. Lois and I had
been idly bantering about the possibility of setting up a unicycling
club, and she mentioned this to Vicky (the sports development person)
who is, it turns out, very interested in the prospect of a unicycling
club. As part of her remit is to have new and interesting sports go on
in the new sports centre. So I'm going in for a meeting with her to see
about setting up a club.

I'm really rather excited about all this and am prepared to put in the
time and effort to get it up and running...Even so far as to cancel my
plans to spend the winter in the alps snowboarding. However I'd like to
get a bit of input from people out there who are experienced in starting
unicycling clubs...Common mistakes, and ideas for activities etc.

So far my quandaries are....

1. FUNDING: where from, and how much? I reckon about £400-£500 would be
a good amount to get as that would enable me to get between 6 and 10
learner uni's for them's as is without to practise on and perhaps some
hockey gear too. The sports hall costs £30 p/hour to rent which is
damned good. It's a brand spanking new, massive, indoor sports hall!!! I
think I should have a core of between 10-15 people I can rely on to turn
up every week whose subs will cover the cost of the hall.

The second question is where to get funding from. Vicky (the community
sports lady...remember her???) is luckily also involved in giving grants
to projects being run in the sports hall, so should hopefully be able to
get some funding through her. If not my other options as far as I can
see a
A. Local businesses, a possibility...There's a company based in
Macclesfield called Astra Zeneca who fund lots of community projects.
However I think the main reason they do so is to ease their troubled
conscience as they are a big pharmaceutical/chemical company involved in
animal testing and other such lovely stuff so I'd prefer not to go to
them for funding despite the fact I could probably easily get some from
them. With a bit of leg work I could probably find other businesses
willing to attach their good name to the funkiest sport in
existence...One to ponder.
B. The National Lottery. As I said earlier the sports hall is part
funded by the National Lottery, so it could be quite easy to get some
pennies from them. (All I should need to do is show them Universe 2,
then show them a picture of the millennium dome and ask them which is
more worthy of funding...tee hee).
C. Make an appeal through the local media to all and sundry for money.
However I think I could incorporate that, if it's neccessary by then, to
the article I'm hoping the local newspaper will run once the club is
near to opening.

2. ADVERTISING: Where and how have people advertised their unicycling
clubs? So far I'm thinking...Local paper, schools around the town, the
school the club will happen in (perhaps having a movie evening showing
various uni vids to get people interested) Manchester (the university in
particular), a big sign stuck to my forehead, riding around on my uni
wearing a sandwich board...OK, maybe not the last two...Or then
again...hmmm.

3. BORING (but really quite important) STUFF: Things like Insurance,
whether helmets or other padding should be mandatory, would ickle
kiddies need permission slips or something??? Britain isn't quite as
litigious as America YET...but I don't want to end up with an angry
parent telling a man in a white wig what a nasty person I am!

4.ACTIVITIES: This incorporates teaching people to ride. Recently I've
found myself teaching quite a few people to ride. However teaching
several people at once would be a different ball game altogether. It
would be somewhat dependant on the unicycle to person ratio. My first
ideas on the subject are that it would probably be better to have 2
people to a uni so that one can ride while the other supports them and
they'd take turns. But if anyone has good games etc to play to get
groups of people riding that'd be cool...In fact any kind of teaching
tips, info, experience etc would be much appreciated.
Then there's other games like hockey...But my knowledge here is a bit
ropey. I've not really played any group unicycle games before so any
ideas would again, be appreciated.

5.MISCELLANEOUS:SHould I set a lower age limit...if so, how low? Too
many little kids would probably end up being a handful and I don't want
to spend loads of time calming down hyper kiddies who are getting in the
way of unicycles.
How long should the sessions run? I reckon an hour and a half is a good
amount of time. An hour's too much, and more than that would probably be
too expensive to hire the hall.
Should I make it a pure unicycling club, or incorporate other circus
skills? Personally I'd like to keep is purely uni as I'd like to promote
the sport in itself, and not bundle it into the circus skills category.
However I'd probably end up woth more people coming if it were circus
skills too...But then I'd have to find money to buy heaps of juggling
equipment too. In fact, sod it...Pure unicycling is the way i think.
Although I may allow a bit of hacky sack coz it's just so damned cool.

That's pretty much all I can think of now. I've only today found out
about the various developments that seem to be making this uni club into
a reality, so any and all input is very much welcome...Ask me hard
questions, make me think about it from lots of angles. Please. Then when
I go for this meeting I'll be able to answer any questions she has, and
I'll be able to make a better case for the setting up of a unicycle club
in Macclesfield.

Cheers very muchly,
Kit


--
MrBoogiejuice - Loyal subject of the crown

Clean living, fair play and devotion to the empire
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MrBoogiejuice's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5515
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

Ads
  #2  
Old November 10th 04, 12:27 AM
s7ev0
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Kit, you owe it to Macclesfield to drag it off the bottom spot of the
league table of cultured towns by creating a unicycle club!

You seem to have thought out most of the angles already, and in my
experience once you're at this thinking stage it's a foregone
conclusion.

The funding from the Lottery cash I think needs to show community
involvement, which you'll have in spades. I'm not sure how quickly the
cash comes through though. Local sponsorship may be your best bet. For
extra unis how about putting a call out to any local unicyclists here?
You never know...

Advertising - you seem to have it all covered. Just prioritise
according to reach vs cost.

Boring stuff - god I hate this insurance stuff. Minors should have
permission slips (an enrolment form?) but that doesn't mean you can't be
sued for negligence. How about a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check?
I'm not sure whether this would be necessary in your situation, but it's
worth checking out. This takes a while and will cost you too. You'll
probably ought to insist on helmets at least; the other armour maybe
not, but then after a few cracked shins will they come back...?

Your activities ideas seem sound. Pairing up is a great idea - gives
support and helps that whole "mates at a club" vibe. Setting small
challenges at a very low level is always a good idea.

Lower age limit probably a good idea to start with (this coming from a
Primary School head...). Practise your teaching skills on those with
better attention spans first

And definitely total uni - no c*rc*s skills

Oh, and good luck mate - let us know how you get on.


--
s7ev0 - level 1 and proud of it

s7ev0

Where there's a wheel there's a way
------------------------------------------------------------------------
s7ev0's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7310
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

  #3  
Old November 10th 04, 01:11 AM
MrBoogiejuice
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


s7ev0,
Thanks for the useful and encouraging reply, it's good to hear what a
headteacher has to say on the matter.
Enrolment forms....that's the ticket! I remember having to have one for
a juggling club I used to go to. only have to get them signed once per
term. Easiest way of covering that problem.

I remember looking into the CRB check when I was trying to get a work
permit for Andorra (only ended upstaying there for 2 weeks, as opposed
to the few months I was planning on spending there because I remembered
too late that it's not a part of the E.U. and had to faff about with
visas and get medicals and all sorts of stuff...)Anyway I digress the
school will probably sort out that stuff.

What sort of lower age limit do you think there should be? I seem to
remember at the juggling club I ,mentioned before the age limit was 9
which worked well I think.

on the circus skills side of things I definitely reckon it'll be all
uni. Although there's talk of doing an after-school club just for the
pupils of the school one night a week as well as a club in the evening.
So thought I might incorporate circus skills into the after school
thingy.

Anyhoo, I'll let you know how things go. And cheers again for the
advice.

Kit


--
MrBoogiejuice - Loyal subject of the crown

Clean living, fair play and devotion to the empire
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MrBoogiejuice's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5515
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

  #4  
Old November 10th 04, 03:50 PM
GILD
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


a brief nudge to this thread and a couple of thoughts

at our juggling club, we manage to pay the rent by having refreshments
on sale
i don't know if they'll allow u to do something like that in their new
sports hall, if they do, it's a nice way to pay the rent

we also make a fair bit of money by performing at fetes, festivals and
anywhereelsetheyllpayustobe
some of these gigs take the shape of the circus-school, but some of them
are uni-specific
don't underestimate the club's potential to make it's own money by
performing
we're looking at playing 'demonstration games' of unihoki at functions
as an additional way of earning revenue
as soon as we get paid for playing unihoki, i'll shout!

handing out flyers on unicycles is another way the club can make it's
own money
working as parking attendants at functions (it sounds dumb but i've done
it a couple of times)
meet cars at the entrance and get them to follow u to a parking spot
the novelty value of this really adds something to a function
(it's best done on 24"s or bigger)

advertising?
look out for community notice boards, online as well
check local organisations' web sites
quite often a local radio station will have a community-noticeboard of
some sort on their site
speaking of local radio
quite often they have 'swop-shop' type programmes where people phone in
looking for a dog-kennel and want to swop it for an excercise machine
phone in an offer to swop people something for their old unicycles lying
in the garage
u're not really looking for the unicycles, u're loking for the people
who bought them at one stage
if they hear about unihoki (eg) that might be the incentive they need to
get back on and get invovled in your club

when the club is ready to go, get a press release out to the local
press
they have to fill so many pages a week and something as juicy as a
unicycle club is normally just to good to ignore
send your press release far and wide
the guy at BBC 1 can delete it if he doesn't want it ( )

keep us posted


--
GILD - Waffle-Tosser and Time-bider

if you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me.--
alice 'roosevelt' (http://tinyurl.com/5ngze) longworth
i'm going to memorize your name and throw my head away.-- oscar levant
'NAMASTE!' (http://tinyurl.com/4qcxw)
'Dave' (http://tinyurl.com/ywxgb)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GILD's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/657
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

  #5  
Old November 10th 04, 08:23 PM
MrBoogiejuice
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Refreshments for funding is a wicked idea! I'd had a poder about public
performances as a way of showing benefit to the community, but hadn't
really thought about getting paid for it...[dollar signs in eyes]. I've
done a bit of flyering on my uni before which was quite a giggle. People
are nervous to take them off you at first because they think you're
going to crash into them. How little they know. I really like the idea
of parking attendants on unicycles, never heard of/thought about it
before.

On the media side of things I'm in quite a good position. One of my
mates is a DJ on the local radio station...So that's covered. And the
local paper owe me a favour for calling me a girl in one of their
articles(I've got long dreadlocks...OK)...And with Macclesfield being
the cultural wasteland it is they'll print just about anything.

A few questions...How long do your juggling club sessions go on for? And
how many people were there regularly coming to the club when it first
opened? That's only 2 questions...Ho hum...Nope, can't think of any
more.

Cheers for more useful ideas and stuff to ponder Gild.

Kit


--
MrBoogiejuice - Loyal subject of the crown

Clean living, fair play and devotion to the empire
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MrBoogiejuice's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5515
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

  #6  
Old November 11th 04, 06:39 AM
GILD
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


we've used two approaches to the length of sessions at the juggling
club
when i first went there, it started at around 19h30-20h00 ish and would
carry on untill the last person left
this would often be after midnight, with the best juggling of the night
being done in the last 30minutes
then we changed it a bit and started at 19h30, packed it in at 22h00 and
head off to the pub
this was pretty good as a way to keep people invovled
it also meant that there was less standing around talking as 'we can
talk over a beer' (my personal battle cry at the time)
so we had 2 1/2 hours of pretty intense juggling, then a beer and home
by midnight
a couple of months ago we decided to bring some beers to the hall and
juggle untill we go home
we're back on the wrong end of midnight again

the club's been going for 11 years this year
right at the beginning, it was only about 3 or 4 regular people who kept
it going
now we regularly have 15-20 people, drawing from a base of at least 100
people that have been there (in the 4/5 years i've been going anyway)


--
GILD - Waffle-Tosser and Time-bider

if you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me.--
alice 'roosevelt' (http://tinyurl.com/5ngze) longworth
i'm going to memorize your name and throw my head away.-- oscar levant
'NAMASTE!' (http://tinyurl.com/4qcxw)
'Dave' (http://tinyurl.com/ywxgb)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GILD's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/657
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

  #7  
Old November 11th 04, 07:33 AM
Jayne ZA
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


As a mom (who is learning to unicycle), I have a few more suggestions.

Stick with the minimum age limit, but if smaller kids (possibly younger
brothers and sisters of club members) are interested, let them come but
insist that they are accompanied by a parent. They might be happy just
to spectate, but if they want to try at least you'll have a spare adult
to help them out. I know you don't want to be lumbered with a bunch of
screaming kids, but if they are enthusiastic and interested GRAB THEM!
Find out what other activities are going to be offered at the hall. If
there is a ballet class they will have barres (sp?), hopefully portable,
which usually have adjustable heights. If you can get to use those
you'll have your own ready made handrails for the slightly slower
learners or for those feeling the need for more physical support.
Leave the hall tidy and respect the other users of the facility.
Once people can "sort of" ride get them to hold hands and ride across
the hall in a line. It is a bit unnerving at first but it's amazing how
much further you can get unicycling with a partner.
See if you can arrange a club discount for unicycle purchases to
encourage people to buy their own.
If you have a number of learner unis at your disposal consider renting
them out (for people to practice on at home) to raise funds to buy
more.

Jayne


--
Jayne ZA - Downsizing to a 24

Being a statistician means never having to say you're certain


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jayne ZA's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4878
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

  #8  
Old November 11th 04, 04:05 PM
Tmornstar
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


I started the Memphis Unicycle Club knowing NOTHING and learned alot
along the way. Our club is quiet strong now and seemingly healthy.
I'll be happy to share any documents that I have that may help. Just
send me an e-mail at:


Tommy


--
Tmornstar - Grandmaster 2T

Tommy Thompson
(No PMs. please)
Memphis Unicycle Club
Please vist our web site:
http://www.memphisunicycleclub.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tmornstar's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/658
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

  #9  
Old November 12th 04, 08:41 AM
Klaas Bil
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:05:32 -0600, "Tmornstar" wrote:

I'll be happy to share any documents that I have that may help. Just
send me an e-mail


Do that! Tommy has an excellent set of ideas and procedures!

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
"Deflating pi does not reduce calories, it just concentrates them. - billham"

  #10  
Old November 12th 04, 02:06 PM
Memphis Mud
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Tmornstar wrote:
*I started the Memphis Unicycle Club knowing NOTHING and learned alot
along the way. Our club is strong now and seemingly healthy. I'll be
happy to share any documents that I have that may help. Just send me
an e-mail at:


Tommy *


And he never sits down. And he never sleeps. And he never stops
moving.


--
Memphis Mud - Student of GrandMaster 2T

Mantra: Avoid Hitting Tailbone...Avoid Hitting Tailbone...

"do not think, just ride"...muniracer
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memphis Mud's Profile:
http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1987
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/36220

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Atlanta Unicycle Club bugman Unicycling 16 April 27th 04 10:05 PM
Best way to organize unicycle club meetings reidj Unicycling 18 April 19th 04 01:17 PM
calstock unicycle club north Unicycling 3 March 26th 04 02:16 PM
ISU Unicycle Club T-Shirts lilschu Unicycling 12 February 29th 04 07:45 AM
Fwd: NBC segment on my unicycle club David Stone Unicycling 2 February 23rd 04 05:35 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:31 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CycleBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.