IT’S ONE WHEELY GOOD SPORT!
But group wants more people to take up unicycle hockey
IT’S more commonly played on a field or on ice. You may have seen its incarnation as air hockey in arcades the world over. But now a Cardiff sports group are hoping to raise the profile of their own favoured form of hockey – played on unicycles.
“It’s played five-a-side,” said Lloyd Balch, goal-scorer for Cardiff Unicycle Hockey.
“We’ve got 15 people regularly coming and about 30 that attend not as frequently.”
The team are currently looking for more players.
“There are 10 teams in the UK in Southampton, London, Horsham, Nottingham, Bristol and so on,” Lloyd, 21, said.
“We play regular tournaments against them – it’s great fun.”
Unicycle hockey was invented about 30 years ago.
“We are trying to get officially recognised as a sport,” Lloyd said.
“In other countries it’s massive but in this country there are loads of hoops to jump through before you’re recognised as a sport.”
The Unicycle European championships are taking place in July in Sittard-Gileen in the Netherlands.
“It’s a week-long event and we’ll be taking a team over,” Lloyd said.
“Events will include things like 100m and 200m sprints. There is an uphill event – and it’s not just a little uphill but a massive hill!
“We went three years ago and it was great fun.
“It is one of those things people take part in and it is fun. If you take part in football there will not be many people who can compete for their country but you can here.”
Last time they entered they came fifth out of 20 teams.
“We only took three players so had to borrow two,” Lloyd said.
“We borrowed from a team in Germany so technically we were a collective of countries but this time we have five players.
“We’ve got a strong team. We usually average between first and third – we never really fall below that so we could be bringing the trophy home.”
Last time Lloyd, from Cardiff, was top scorer. He achieved a double hattrick and a header in the last game.
“It should be great fun even if we do not come away with the trophy,” he said.
“It brings people together – you have people from Scandinavian countries, France, Italy, everywhere. It’s a great festival.”
If they win they may celebrate with a pint.
“But we won’t be drinking while playing,” Lloyd said. “But when we go training on a Sunday we go to the pub for a few pints after.”
Lloyd saw unicycle hockey as a perfect fit for the “Red Bull sports”.
“I think we would fit in that category rather than with the mainstream sports,” he said.
“But before we do that we need to be recognised as a sport.”
The barista first got into the sport five years ago.
“I picked up a unicycle and gave it a go through No Fit State Circus,” he said.
“We have got our own website and Facebook pages but it is difficult getting people in,” he said.
They’re based in the House Sport, near Cardiff City’s stadium.
“Not many people pass through so not many people hear or see us,” Lloyd said.
“We need to get outside so that people know that we exist.
“Through the summer we of are going to go out to local parks and do events and things.
“We are still in our early days. People look at a unicycle and think that you need balance but anyone can ride a unicycle.”
But he warned anyone learning to do so would fall off at first.
“You’ve just got to pick it up,” Lloyd said. “After an hour of training we can get people riding 50m.”
It took Lloyd about a week to master the unicycle after trying “on and off”.
“People love it – it puts a smile on their faces,” he said.
“People are like: that!’” He insisted it was not risky. “It’s not at all dangerous,” he said. “When you come off your unicycle you instantly stand up. And we have strict rules about how high you can hit.”
For more information visit www. cardiffunicycle.co.uk ‘Wow, look at