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What follows is a collection of Questions and Answers to help you become acquainted with
RTUC.
How does someone become a member of Redford Township Unicycle Club?
Most of the time, our new members come from our beginning unicycling class, but not always.
We have many members who come to us already knowing how to ride, or become
interested through a friend.
Because we only offer the beginning class once a year, if you
miss it you may become a member during other times of the year
if you are willing to purchase your own unicycle and learn on
your own. The cost to join RTUC is only $5 annually. RTUC
members are also required to become and stay current
members of the
Unicycling Society of America. USA
membership is $20 for an individual or
$35 for a family and includes liability insurance for members.
When joining RTUC you should receive a membership folder, please let
Kathy Susanka
know if you need one.
What does being an "active member" mean?
To be considered an active member of RTUC you must attend
an average of one Saturday practice per month (currently 11 total since we don't
practice in December) and
two money making parades or performances per year. Your
RTUC membership fees for the calendar year must be paid up and
your USA membership must also be up to date.
Do I have to attend the practice right before an event to be able to participate?
Generally, no. If we haven’t seen you for a while and you can suddenly
attend a parade, please come. There are sign up sheets that circulate
at practice but extra people are always welcome even if you haven’t had
a chance to previously commit yourself. If you plan to participate in a
performance it is more essential that you attend the preceding
practices to learn routines.
Watch for e-mail notices about
this or announcements on our web site.
Joining is only $5.00? How does the club make money to support itself?
The donations we receive from participating in parades and performances
pays the rent for our practice facilities, some uniform costs,
insurance, refreshments at parades, maintenance and purchase of club
owned unicycles and equipment, costuming costs for NAUCC
(North American Uncycling Convention and Championships) plus many other
things. Your attendance at these events is very important to the
existence of our club.
What happens at regular
Saturday morning club
practices?
Saturdays practices are a mixture of activities and frequently
change from week to week depending upon our upcoming schedule.
Activities may include individual skill building, large and
small group riding practice, skill building games, unicycle
hockey, parade formation practice, performance rehearsals, level
testing and riding exhibitions. Practices always include
planning meetings and the ever popular snack time.
Are there other practice and/or unicycling opportunities besides Saturday mornings?
Optional Monday evening practice has been held September to May at the
Salvation Army Gym
in Dearborn Heights, 26700 Warren, 7:00 to 8:30 pm. Gym fees for
these unstructured practices are paid by RTUC with proceeds from money
making events in which active members have participated.
Monday practices are open to non-members or non-active members for a small
fee. Monday evenings in the summer are usually park rides or NAUCC (National Convention) practice.
There is a group of riders who meet on Wednesday nights to play
Unicycle Basketball and a group that meets on Sundays or Tuesdays in
good weather for Muni, or mountain unicycling (rough terrain). Let us
know if you’d like info or check the Web Calendar linked to our Events
page.
To participate in club activities: parades and performances,
what do I wear?
New riders and walkers wear the same thing; light blue club t-shirt, white pants,
white socks, ALL white shoes and a red baseball cap with embroidered
unicycle. This is also the combination worn by everyone for outdoor
club performances. The shirts, hats and some hand-me-down white pants
can be obtained from Carol Ann Matthews. Contact her with your
requests. (CarolAnnMatthews(at )yahoo.com). For cold or damp weather you also need a
red windbreaker, no hoods, please.
When a rider obtains enough skill to join the parade formation, a
new formation uniform
is needed. This consists of a blue and white shirt and blue pants
(along with white socks, shoes and red hat). The deposit for this
uniform is $20, which is half its cost, and a portion of that may be
refunded if the rider returns it in good condition when he or she
leaves RTUC. Please contact Cathy Holden for formation uniforms.
What does a new rider do during a parade?
New riders are important to our parade unit. They are the ones that the
spectators will identify with most and cheer for as they remount and
show new skills learned. These non-formation riders usually ride
separately from the formal formation and may do so in small groups
(holding hands) or individually or with the occasional help of a
walker. Sometimes young riders hula hoop
during a parade; a great crowd pleaser. Often space is tight so
new riders must pay close attention not to get in the way of the tall
giraffe unicycles or collide with the crowd. See the Parade Protocol
page in your membership folder for more information.
What does a walker do during a parade besides the obvious: walking?
Walkers are essential in every parade to help beginning riders and giraffe riders remount, provide water to riders
throughout the parade, carry the club sign and pass out literature about RTUC to parade spectators.
Beginning riders who do not feel that they have enough skill or
endurance yet to ride in parades may also fulfill their
participation requirements by helping this way.
Those blue and silver wheel streamers are nifty, where do I get my own?
RTUC will provide the streamers for your wheel, we ask that you put
them in your wheel before arriving at a parade or performance. We can
mail them to you if needed. There is an expense to the club for these
so if taking them out between events is important to you, please
preserve your streamers for next time. If you think that they are
so cool that you need your own supply, they are usually purchased at Advance Novelty on 6 Mile Rd at Middlebelt in Livonia.
Somebody handed me paper Uni-money at practice, what is that for?
Uni-money is our small way of rewarding you for your participation. It
is good for one year from the date of issue and is non-transferable.
Because it is a reward for participation, the person who earned it (did
the participating) is the only one who may use it. It is good for
anything that you might give the club money for: t-shirts, USA dues,
patches for your jacket, uniform items, gym fees, etc. Uni-Money from
practice (purple or pink) is worth 50 cents each. Uni-money earned at a
parade or performance (yellow) is worth $1 each. You may also get
reimbursement from our treasurer for other unicycling related expenses
such as new equipment or registration fees. See the reimbursement form
in your membership folder for details and make sure to include receipts
or other proof of your expense.
I’m
really excited about my new passion, unicycling, and would love the
world to know. Can I get more unicycling t-shirts and stuff besides the
light blue club shirt?
Each spring when we print the club uniform shirt , you are welcome to
order other shirt styles and colors of the same design at that time. We
also have some stock of designs that were printed in the recent past.
Contact Kathy Susanka if you'd like to know what's available. You can find some other shirts at
Unicycle.com.
We also have
unicycle embroidery designs
that is available to RTUC members only. You’ve all seen it on our red
baseball caps that we wear for parades. You can have this design, black
or silver stitching, as well as one that includes our name,
and the one that is featured on our van
signs,
stitched onto just about anything, even a garment that you already
have; polo shirt, hat, jacket, tote bag, pillow case, socks…… Initial Artistry
in Dearborn Heights, Ford Rd just east of Beech Daly is our embroiderer
of choice, drop by and see Rufus with your requests. The single
unicycle has been around $4 to have stitched and the unicycle with club
name, around $6.50. If this location is way out of your way, talk to a
member who lives nearby about doing you a favor.
Blue gym bags
in two sizes are available with RTUC screen printing for $10.50 or
$18.50. Each are big enough to hold all your uniform items or safety
equipment. See Kathy Susanka about purchasing one for yourself.
Bumper stickers
and silicone wrist bands are also available for $1.00 each. See Kathy for
these also.
I’d love to ride one of those tall unicycles, can I borrow one?
RTUC owns several giraffe unicycles, 4, 5 and 6 foot, along with lots
of interesting pieces of equipment like the balance beam and some
specialty unicycles. If you’d like to borrow one to take home and
practice on or with, talk to our equipment manager, Tom Brichford ,
(t_and_c_brichford (at) juno.com) about bringing it to practice. We do
reserve the right to restrict the borrowing of equipment based on
riding ability and equipment capacity.
I’ve noticed lots of people in RTUC doing different jobs, how can I help?
All of RTUC’s officers are volunteers. Some are elected and some have
just raised their hands and said, “I’ll do that!” If you’d like to
help, there are plenty of opportunities. If you see something that
needs doing or a way you think you can contribute, you are more than
welcome. Refreshments at practice are a good way to start, look for the
sign up sheet on the refreshment table if you like to contribute
something.
Each year, usually in November, we have an annual business meeting and
potluck. The annual election of officers as well as reassignment of
other positions and jobs takes place at this event. |
