One Dream, One Team, One Wheel

By: Carolyn Hastings. NESW Sports Featured Writer from And One

Know how you’re watching enormous athletic men pouring sweat and facing great bodily harm on a basketball court and you think, “let’s take it up a notch?” Jaded fan, meet unicycling basketball. Unicycling.org explains the rules, which are just as intimidating as the idea of playing with one wheel tied behind your back:

In IUF competition, unicycle basketball is played using the international rules for regular basketball, with a few minor changes. Below is a list of exceptions or variations that adapt the game from feet to unicycles. The items below, in combination with standard international basketball rules, are what are used for UNICON competition.                  

1.0 OFF-SIDE PLAYER: A player off his or her unicycle is considered off-side.

2.0 THROW IN: The player throwing in the ball may be mounted or unmounted. If unmounted, the player must have one foot on a pedal and the seat in position for a mount. Only one foot may touch the floor while throwing in.

3.0 DRIBBLING:

A player who stops dribbling can, if motionless, twisting or idling, keep the ball 5 seconds in hands before throwing it.

A player who receives the ball while “progressing” can make three idles before dribbling or throwing.

A player who catches the ball while motionless (balancing, twisting or idling) can keep the ball 5 seconds in hands before dribbling and progressing.

A player shall not make a second dribble after having completed a dribble, unless the ball, when it is out of the player’s control, has touched another player, or the opponents’ basket or backboard, or has been batted out of the player’s control by an opponent. 

4.0 CONTACT OF THE BALL WITH THE UNICYCLE: Contacting the ball with the unicycle is a violation. In case of doubt, a jump ball is declared.

5.0 FOUR SECOND RULE: The standard three second rule becomes a four second rule.

Questions?  Other than, why? Let’s hear from one of the smitten:

Who cares, it’s fun, good exercise, etc. Some of these people can do some amazing things.                  

When I lived in Michigan, I would travel to Livonia once a week, on Wednesday night, to play Unicycle Basketball. Usually, about 10-15 people come from all over the Detroit area, and meet at Faith Lutheran church, on 5 mile Road between Merriman and Middlebelt roads …The gameplay lasts for about two hours, with maybe a 15 minute break in the middle. This is referred to as ‘Franking‘.

In August 2000, the team [Team Semcycle] () traveled to Beijing to participate in Unicon XX, where they took the silver medal from about 16 teams worldwide. (Puerto Rico won the gold.) In July 2001, we traveled to Toronto for Nationals and won the gold and bronze medals… our A and B teams, respectively.

lilfunky1 crossed the border to photograph the international unicycle basketball games hosted by Toronto.  My favorite part of the trip is when lilfunky1 stands straight and tall before the Customs Officer:

Have you any idea what its like to tell border patrol:                  

“Hi, I’m going to Toronto for the weekend.”

“Your business?”

“A unicycle basketball tournament.”

There is no greater joy than sitting high atop a single wheel, with two pedals and no brake, knowing you are about to be shoved from behind.  This is incredible stuff.    If you want to check it out, click here to find the nearest unicycle club.   Once you have purchased your uni, click here to learn what not to do with it unless you have terrific insurance.

Oh, one more thing.  Franking.  Such a word.  I am franking sure I don’t know why halftime in unicycle basketball is called franking (Basketbawfull doesn’t either.).  Here are some other uses of my new favorite word:

Phrenology1011

Our dog was an Irish Settler, a peach of a dog as dogs go. My da traded it for a double-shot shotgun and a carton of Craven A’s filter-tipped. After the trade we had no other dogs, not one. My da traded our Irish Settler to a farmer with a garish thread of chaw-spittle franking the sideboard door of his farmer’s truck. I was boy, a fine wee specimen of a boy, knee-britches and a cowboys’ hat and all my teeth. Four days and counting until my franking into the world, chaw-spittle and knee- britches and a cowboys’ hat with a string and a roisters’ whistle.

 HK Crystal writes about a unicycling trip across China which does not involve basketball and uses franking in a non-cycling context.

The bigger problem was the lost-passport certificate. They now had the paper they needed but wanted to stamp it with a big, official looking seal from a franking machine that was broken. They spent some time trying to fix it and said that we may have to wait in LaiBing until tomorrow or even Monday to have the certificate.                 

 Jon Scieszka, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature:

Dear Bookshelf Readers,It has been a weirdly wild month. The whole combination of touring for Trucktown with Dave Gordon, Loren Long and Dave Shannon, and simultaneous Ambassador touring, has combined into a perfect storm of kid mania. I’ve been received by my people with small open arms.             

Here, for instance, is a partial list of suggestions from Ambassador fans big and small of what I should receive as Ambassador:

capesashlaurel wreath/crownbejewelled goblet

those little flags for my carguards for my embassy

an Apache attack helicopter (my idea)

jetpack

Popemobile

jetpack-Popemobile

instant restaurant reservations anywhere, anytime

a fancy uniform

medals

epaulets

a Captain Crunch style admiral’s hat (Dave Shannon’s suggestion)

Secret Service Franking privileges (mine also)

 Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

[Fanny] “But, cousin, will it go to the post?”             

[Edmund] “Yes, depend upon me it shall: it shall go with the other letters; and, as your uncle will frank it, it will cost William nothing.”

“My uncle!” repeated Fanny, with a frightened look.

“Yes, when you have written the letter, I will take it to my father to frank.”  

And let’s not forget the woodworkers

These can also be setup to cut franking mortises as well as a multitude of other mortises. But when you have a single job and dont wish to spend some serious coin on bits for a single job, I often resort back to just using the wynig because it can often do simple, one off jobs with concurrent tooling.     

  

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