If ever there was a prize for the most exhilarating spectator sport, unicycle hockey would win. The skill, speed and athleticism is thrilling to watch and a national tournament – including our own Canberra Bushrangers team – is coming here on 20-21 April.
Before you dismiss this as a novelty, unicycle hockey is a legitimate worldwide sport and Canberra won the first national tournament back in 2001. It’s been a while between drinks though.
The rules are straight-forward – just like ice hockey but on a unicycle. Canberra used to have a second team but the Scratchy Roos gave way to a drop in numbers post-Covid. Therefore, the Bushrangers are Canberra’s number one unicycle hockey team.
Remarkably, several Canberra players are over 60. Mike Watson, 65, is a member of Unicycle ACT and as if that wasn’t enough, he tackles mountain unicycling on the double diamond track at Mt Stromlo.
“Unicycle hockey is relatively young here in Australia and not in the public consciousnesses,” Mike said. “It’s an age irrelevant game, there’s primary school age and two of us at retirement age and we play in the same team – it’s great exercise.”
Mike competed in the last World Unicycle Championships (Unicon) in France, where Australia ranked third best country in the world, after Germany and Switzerland.
“The Swiss always win because the top two teams are sponsored by the government,” Mike said. “They get paid to compete. In Germany, the government realised that if you get people in sport, it’s worth investing in. So every town has a sports hall for 40 euros a day – we pay by the hour – because it keeps people out of hospital.”
Unicycle ACT has about 25 regular riders (teams are co-ed) but it needs more players to form a second unicycle hockey team.
“Sydney has the population to make three or four good teams and they compete against each other so the skill level goes up enormously,” Mike said.
Surprisingly, few people fall off their unicycles during a game and there‘s no record of anyone breaking a bone. It’s a non-contact sport and players use ice-hockey sticks and a tennis ball. The only difference from ice hockey (apart from the bleeding obvious) is that players are fouled if they put a stick in or under a wheel.
Canberra Bushranger s train every fortnight at Campbell High’s gym and on alternate weeks some unicyclists go mountain unicycling at Mt Stromlo. Greg Terrill, 60, attributes his unicyling craze to a Covid-lockdown project.
“My kids had unicycles lying around from a circus phase so I gave it a go,” Greg said. “Mountain biking on a unicycle is difficult with the rough terrain but that’s part of the fun, I like the technical side of it, it’s a total buzz.”
Greg also competed at Unicon in France – on a ski slope that was a one-kilometre vertical drop over a 15km course. He was joined by about 500 other unicyclists.
“It was a cracker,” he said. “Mountain unicycles have chunky tyres, bigger wheels so you can go over the rocks. They also have disc brakes, which you use to balance because you don’t have much to hold on to – you need all the friends you can get.”
Greg and his unicycle mates also ride at O’Connor Ridge or Mt Ainslie and Greg reckons mountain biking is the same on two wheels as it is on one.
“We have beaten two-wheeled bikes at Mt Stromlo,” he said. “It’s all friendly and social and the general reception from others is ‘you’ve lost a wheel mate’”.
Playing hockey on a unicycle might seem unusual but it’s far from the craziest deviation of the sport. Underwater hockey has existed since the 1950s, and in Europe the action takes place not simply underwater but also under ice. It’s all relative.
Round one of the Australian Unicycle Hockey League is on 20 April, 10am-4pm, followed by a workshop on 21 April, 9am-3pm; at Tuggeranong Archery Club. Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1192698?fbclid=IwAR3JMvAqyw_bOdBmcPjxIHJsdUzJFeYwM5tGyArdf1cs5xy9iIDcXhdxedk
