Proposal 121: Remove referencing to Muni Difficulty Scale [ Revision 1 ]
Committee: 4 & 5. MuniSubmitted on 2025-07-20
Status: Passed on August 10, 2025
Background
Current Rulebook references to Muni Difficulty Scale seven times, while the Scale itself proved to not work satisfactory, is not in common use and the resources (website and calculator) are down.
Proposal
OLD RULE: 4D.1 Venue
Very dangerous sections should be secured (for example by removing sharp stones/branches from areas where riders are likely to fall/run into due to the physics of the course).
Downhill and Cross Country courses must be rated in advance by two people using the appropriate IUF Muni Difficulty Scale (see the IUF publication and online calculator). Ratings and their underlying data must be published at least seven days prior to the event.
NEW RULE: 4D.1 Venue
Very dangerous sections should be secured (for example by removing sharp stones/branches from areas where riders are likely to fall/run into due to the physics of the course).
At Unicons, Downhill and Cross Country courses should be selected by experienced expert riders using their subjective judgement. Detailed course description with character of technical sections should be provided and if possible supported by photo or video documentation as soon as the course is selected.
OLD RULE: 4D.1.2 Downhill
Downhill courses must be primarily downhill but may include flat or uphill sections. Recommended course length is 2.5 km, or 1 km at a minimum, depending on available terrain, trails and schedule time. The overall course difficulty must be rated with the Unicycle Downhill Scale. A minimum score of 20 points is recommended. Courses with scores below 15 points should be labeled “beginner downhill” for clarity.
NEW RULE: 4D.1.2 Downhill
Downhill courses must be primarily downhill but may include flat or uphill sections. Recommended course length is 2.5 km, or 1 km at a minimum, depending on available terrain, trails and schedule time. The course difficulty should match the skill of the riders at given event and should measure abilities to ride technical sections.
OLD RULE: 4D.1.3 Cross Country
A Cross Country course should be held primarily off-road but may consist of gravel and paved roads. There is freedom for the amount of downhill, flat and uphill sections, as long as the course is not primarily downhill or uphill.
Special recommendations for Unicon and Continental Championships:
There are four main categories based on distance and difficulty. The overall course difficultymust be rated with the Unicycle XC Scale. If multiple laps need to be completed, then the total distance is the basis for the rating.
Main categories:
1. Beginners: distance 3-7 km, max 15 points Unicycle XC Scale
2. Intermediate: distance 8-13 km, 16-21 points Unicycle XC Scale
3. Elite: distance 15-25 km, minimum 24 points Unicycle XC Scale, suggested to last 1h30min for fastest riders
4. Marathon: longer than 30 km, suggested to last 3-5 hours for fastest riders
The Elite category with subcategories Male and Female is required to be run. Other categories are run on the host discretion.
The Elite Cross Country course should be designed such that the fastest rider completes the race in about 1 hour 30 minutes, but never less than 1 hour. The course should be chosen such that geared riders do not have an undue advantage. Unrideable sections should be avoided to prevent riders from walking however uphill sections may include technical difficulties. Long and gentle uphills are preferred over short and steep ones. If only shorter trails are available, riders can be required to complete multiple laps of the course.
NEW RULE: 4D.1.3 Cross Country
A Cross Country course should be held primarily off-road but may consist of gravel and paved roads. There is freedom for the amount of downhill, flat and uphill sections, as long as the course is not primarily downhill or uphill.
Special recommendations for Unicon and Continental Championships:
There are three main categories based on distance and difficulty. The course difficulty should match the skill and fitness of the riders at given event.
Main categories:
1. Beginners: distance 3-7 km, designed for riders who have problems to ride over small obstacles.
2. Intermediate: distance 8-13 km, designed for majority of the riders with common Muni skills.
3. Elite: distance 15-25 km, designed for roughly 20-30 top world riders, suggested to last 1h30min for fastest riders
The Elite category with subcategories Male and Female is required to be run. Other categories are run on the host discretion.
The Elite Cross Country course should be designed such that the fastest rider completes the race in about 1 hour 30 minutes, but never less than 1 hour. The course should be chosen such that geared riders do not have an undue advantage. Unrideable sections should be avoided to prevent riders from walking however uphill sections may include technical difficulties. Long and gentle uphills are preferred over short and steep ones. If only shorter trails are available, riders can be required to complete multiple laps of the course.
Cross Country races that are longer than 30 km and that last minimum 3 hours for the fastest riders are called Cross Country Marathon or XC Marathon.
OLD RULE:4D.3 Communication
The host must publish two lists of results for each discipline after the competition: Age group based ranking and overall ranking (separating male/female).
If the hosts wish to include events other than the first three (Up, DH, XC), they must remember to provide detailed rules for these events at the same time the events are announced.
Details of all muni events must be published as soon as they are known. This is to provide competitors with the information they need to train, and to help them prepare the appropriate unicycles. These are major needs for attendees from far away. Necessary details depend on the event, but include things like course length, elevation and elevation change, steepness, level of terrain difficulty, amount of turns, riding surfaces, course width, etc. Course details should be published as soon as possible and a GPS-track must be published on the web site at least one month prior to the convention. Ratings of courses (using the IUF Muni Difficulty Scale) and their underlying data must be published at least seven days prior to the event. It is acceptable to publish tentative courses while waiting for permits to be approved, etc.
NEW RULE: 4D.3 Communication
The host must publish two lists of results for each discipline after the competition: Age group based ranking and overall ranking (separating male/female).
If the hosts wish to include events other than the first three (Up, DH, XC), they must remember to provide detailed rules for these events at the same time the events are announced.
Details of all muni events must be published as soon as they are known. It is highly recommended that photo or video documentation is also provided. This is to provide competitors with the information they need to train, and to help them prepare the appropriate unicycles. These are major needs for attendees from far away. Necessary details depend on the event, but include things like course length, elevation and elevation change, steepness, level of terrain difficulty, amount of turns, riding surfaces, course width, etc. Course details should be published as soon as possible and a GPS-track must be published on the web site at least one month prior to the convention. It is acceptable to publish tentative courses while waiting for permits to be approved, etc.
Body
The chapter 5 of Muni Difficulty Scale states that it is an experimental version which requires intensive testing.
It is already 10 years since publication, and since 2019 it is clear that the scale does not gauge properly.
MDS doesn't work for both XC and DH Courses. In both cases it assumes that steeper the slope, the more difficult section is. Which is not true in many cases, because in some grades, the gravity helps to roll over obstacles, and in other grades it adds to difficulty.
Example 1:
Flat beach with very loose sand - you will be struggling to ride 20 meters. / 45 degree volcanic slope with loose sand - easy ride.
Example 2:
Rock garden with roots, highest obstacle 20 cm. - in 45 degree downhill - easy, if flat - challenging, if uphill - unrideable
As the general awareness improved we can rely on the opinion of experienced riders.
As for comparability of different courses on different events - it was a good idea but it did not kick off.
Finally, the Scale was not in use by the major events - including Unicon 21.
As for communication - good description with photo/video documentation is worth more than Scale.
References
Discussion
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Votes on this proposal:
8 out of 12 voting members have voted.
Agree: 7, Disagree: 0, Abstain: 1.