Takeaways from the NAUCC: Why Every Unicyclist Should Attend at Least Once

The North American Unicycling Competition and Convention, better known as the NAUCC, has gone by several names in its time. It’s also been known as the National Unicycle Invitational (NUI) and National Unicycle Convention (NUC), among other monikers.

Along with UNICON, it is one of the nation’s premier unicycle conventions. Here’s your primer, along with why every serious unicyclist should attend at least once.

A (Very) Brief History of the NAUCC

The NAUCC goes way back to 1971 when it was individually hosted in New York’s Central Park. After the first year it was adapted to take one week instead of one day, and has evolved into a grand week-long event consisting of a whole series of competitions.

Attendees can compete in road and muni races, track events, freestyle competitions, and a variety of team events, such as hockey and basketball.

It’s been hosted all over the country, from New York to California and everywhere in between, and it’s open to serious unicyclists from any country in North America, not just the United States.

We took the time to meet with Everett Robinson, who has attended several past NAUCC competitions, to hear what he had to say about the experience.

We Met with One of the Competition’s Past Attendees

While he might best be known for crushing the most cans with a unicycle in one minute, Everett Robsinon is a serious unicyclist, one of whose main focuses is on unicycle racing. He’s also attended a few NAUCC competitions. In his words, he’s been competing for about 5 years and has been to 3 or 4 NAUCC meetings.

He absolutely recommends a visit to the NAUCC for anyone interested in competition, “Especially if they are close by. It’s so cool to go there and meet other people that know how to ride. There are so many different styles of riding, different kinds of unicycles. It’s cool to see, it’s definitely like an encouragement.”

He also appreciated that while attendance is more intimate and there is a laid back atmosphere when it comes to the competition, “it’s pretty strict.”

This was important for Robinson, whose main discipline was unicycle racing. According to him, “They want to be sure that the timing and everything is correct for all of the speed races. They definitely try to make it fair for everybody.”

But the NAUCC isn’t just for those who are fully committed to mountain unicycle and road racing. There are also unicycle sports; according to Robinson, they’re not the main focus of the event, but while “there’s not a ton of unicycle sports, they have like 4 or 5 teams every year.”

That’s definitely good news for any local aspiring unicycle basketball teams that want to test their mettle against other athletes. It just might be the perfect amount of competition to come away with a prize.

And, even if you don’t, the NAUCC is a great place to attend and meet other like-minded, committed unicyclists like yourself. Another reason to attend is to get immersed in all of the innovation surrounding the event.

According to Robinson, it’s a melting pot where attendees can see new unicycles and new gear. “I’ve seen Torker [unicycles&91; and stuff, and there are some new brands. There’s a guy in Canada that makes Flansberrium,” he commented, adding that there’s always a unique mix of new and unique rides at the event.

Continuing, he commented that “There’s always someone that’s created something new, and they talk about it a lot. People get a lot of ideas for making unicycles while they’re there.”

At the end of the day, even if you’re just going to sharpen your skills, commune with other die-hard unicyclists such as yourself, or you just want to see what’s new in the industry, NAUCC is a must-attend event, at least once, for everyone. You just might discover your next new mountain unicycle there.

This year’s NAUCC was held between July 20 and 26 in Rochester Hills, Michigan. While the NAUCC location for 2026 has not been formally announced, Madison Unicyclists, out of Madison, Wisconsin, have applied to host next year’s in the summer of 2026. That may well occur, since they’ve hosted it 3 times before. Either way, stay posted so you don’t miss the announcement and can make arrangements if you do decide to attend.

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