World Unicycling Calendar

 
2024 edition is available
All 12 photos can be previewed here

History
In 2010, I took the initiative to create a wall calendar dedicated to unicycling. The direct trigger for this was the fact that the calendar of UNI Magazine wasn't produced anymore (as was the magazine itself). Since then, I have made a calendar every year, and I intend to continue for the foreseeable future. The World Unicycling Calendar has always been a non-profit project.

How to get a copy? 
Anyone interested can get a copy from me, for free. Send an e-mail to unicyclist@xs4all.nl and state the country where you live, and I will mail you a personal download link through WeTransfer, once the calendar is ready. This is a pdf file that you can print for yourself.
Conditions:

• For your personal use only. Please don't forward the download link or the file itself. Anyone can get a copy directly from me.

• No commercial use. I put a lot of effort in the calendar and distribute it for free. Also, riders and photographers from all over the world give permission to use their photos, trusting that no-one makes money off of it.

How to get a unicycling photo in the calendar? 
Every year in December I invite people to submit their best unicycling photos through facebook,the unicyclist.com forum, or personal contacts. Preferably post low-res there, as this is just for a first selection. Alternatively, you could (at any time of the year) send your photos, e.g. through facebook messenger or via e-mail to unicyclist@xs4all.nl. In addition, I will try to find suitable photos myself, such as on the Unicyclist.com forum and on facebook, and contact the owner if I might want to use something. If your photo gets on the shortlist (pre-selection), I'll contact you for a hi-res version.

What are selection criteria for the photos?

• Must be from the previous year (example: I create the 2023 calendar by the end of 2022, using photos from 2022)

• Must be about unicycling (duh)

• Pros: 
      * action shots as opposed to posing
      * expert riding
      * spectacular
      * amazing
      * remarkable
      * funny
      * technical picture quality
      * composition
      * gorgeous scenery/surroundings

• In each edition, I strive for a wide spectrum of disciplines such as muni, road riding, track racing, urban, freestyle and team sports. Also, I want to somewhat balance country/continent of origin, age and gender of depicted riders. Indeed,  picture selection is a balancing act, much like unicycling itself :-)

Frequently (or sometimes less frequently) Asked Questions

• How can I get a copy of the calendar?
  Send an e-mail to me (unicyclist@xs4all.nl) requesting a copy, and state your country of residence. I will send a download link through WeTransfer to the address you sent your request from.

• Why do you need my e-mail address?
  I distribute the calendar digitally via WeTransfer, this service only works through e-mail.

• Why this distribution system? 
  I like to keep track of where the calendar ends up, which is easy with WeTransfer. It’s a thrill for me to know that it hangs in homes and offices throughout the world. That's why I don't just put it somewhere in the cloud, or on my website.

• In what format do you send the calendar?
  I distribute the calendar as a pdf file, without password or any restriction. There are 13 pages: one front/cover page, and one page for each month of the year. Filesize varies from year to year, usually around 20 - 40 MB.

• Any recommendations for printing?
  I recommend to print on glossy photo paper. The layout is optimised for A4 format in portrait orientation (21.0 x 29.7 cm). If you print on another size such as "Letter", you may want to tweak the print settings. I optimised the photos for printing, therefore I recommend NOT to use automatic print optimisation - it might "over-optimise", If you don't have a good printer, you might want to take/send the file to a print shop.

• Can I see the calendar before I request a copy?
  I usually post a picture of the calendar, once it's ready, on facebook and on the unicyclist.com forum. I guess you can search for it.

• Are older calendars still available?
  In the first few years, the calendars were not it pdf format, so it would be a hassle to recreate those. Starting from 2014, pdf files are available on request.

• Am I "subscribed"?
  I save all requests in a distribution list. The next year, I will alert you via e-mail when the calendar is ready, but I won't send it until you request it.

• What happens with my data?
  I keep my distribution list "forever", but I won't share your data with anyone without your explicit approval. You can request to be deleted from the list.

• Can I unsubscribe?
  If you don't respond to my e-mails nor request a copy of the calendar for two years in a row, you won't receive any messages from me until you contact me again. (Note: this is implemented in December 2022, at which moment I start counting.) Additionally, you can request to be deleted from the distribution list rightaway.

• How many people have (had) the calendar, and where are they?
  WORKING ON THIS

• Can I get my picture in the calendar?
  In principle: yes. I accept all submissions. But please be aware that each year I receive many more pictures than there are months in a year, so your picture has to pass a "survival of the fittest" process. 
  See also above this FAQ list, under "How to get a unicycling photo in the calendar".

• Why the mix of unicycling disciplines? Many riders have specific interests.
  I recognise that the sport of unicycling includes many disciplines and not everyone will be interested in all of them. I think that a broad range of pictures is generally most appealing, so that’s what I’ll keep aiming for. Obviously, you are free to make your own Muni/Freestyle/whatever calendar, but it would not be THE World Unicycling Calendar :-)

• Why didn't you include this-or-that picture?
  My principal approach is to select the very best unicycling pictures of the previous year. This is obviously a matter of taste, and your taste may differ from mine. In addition, there are more criteria than just the best pictures. See the section on picture selection above this FAQ list.

• What determines placement with a certain month?
  I try to tie the photos to time of the year - a snow picture in January is almost traditional. Also I try to distribute subjects/disciplines evenly throughout the year. E.g. if I can avoid it, you won't find two muni pictures in adjacent months.

• Do you edit the pictures?
  Yes, almost always - that is why for the final selection I prefer to work with the original files. I optimise contrast and colours for printing on photo paper, and crop to fit the available space. Sometimes I'll also rotate pictures slightly to correct camera angles, or stretch or compress some regions. Occasionally, I even add pixels. Everything is done gently, respecting the original photograph. I bet that often even the original photographer would only spot the differences when comparing side by side. 

• Do you ever pay for a photo?
  There is no money involved at all. Photographers share their pictures for free, for calendar use. As much as possible, riders and photographers are credited in the captions.

• Why not more pictures than one per month?
  I usually don't combine two or more pictures into one, because it would dilute the attention given to any of them. Occasionally I do combine pictures, if there is a strong relation between them. And I don't want more pages (like one per week); the monthly format ensures that only the very best pictures get the attention they deserve.

• Why not use a double-size format, where the photo(s) would be one sheet, and the calendar on another, below it?
  That is an option that is often used for calendars to make them bigger than the paper they’re printed on. It’s a matter of taste but I think the calendar is big enough as it is. Also, if there is a whole A4 for the picture to occupy, all pictures for the year should have a ‘landscape’ aspect ratio. On the current format the allotted space is more squarish (about 5:4) so that a mix of 'landscape' and 'portrait' pictures is possible without too much empty space.

• Why A4?
  A4 (21.0 x 29.7 cm) is the standard paper size in most of the world's countries including all of Europe (where I live). The A-series of paper sizes is arguably the most rational one: A0 is one square meter, and the ratio of long side to short side is √2. This implies that if you cut one sheet in half, you get the next smaller size while the proportions remain the same.

• Why is the calendar not formatted for writing stuff on?
  The calendar is not intended for practical use beyond being inspiring/beautiful. Photo paper (which I recommend) isn’t very suitable for writing on anyway.

• Why do some dates have a grey background?
  Those are official holidays in many parts of the world, like New Year's Day and Christmas. One particular case is April 27, this is "Koningsdag", a public holiday in my home country The Netherlands. You can think of its inclusion as a nice exotic "couleur locale" touch.

• Why does the week start with Sunday?
  In many parts of the world, including where I live, Sunday is usually considered the first day of the week. See e.g. https://calendars.fandom.com/wiki/Days_of_the_week. For some people this feels strange, as their first day of the week is Monday. Actually, I would like to offer a choice of first weekday between Sunday and Monday, it would fit the spirit of the international unicyclist community. Unfortunately, it is surprisingly complex to adapt the calendar software (which is Excel-based) to offer such a choice. If you are skilled in Excel and want to try your hand at this issue, please contact me on unicyclist@xs4all.nl.

• Why do you do all this? And for free, at that?
  I started this project in 2010 to create a wall calendar for myself, as the then-famous UNI calendar was not issued anymore. I collected pictures from the Unicyclist.com forum where I was (and still am) a long-time member, and in return offered to share the result with other forum members. I did this for free, because I felt part of the community. Since then, the World Unicycling Calendar has gained momentum, but I still provide it for free because I like how it is appreciated all over the world, and I like fiddling with pictures. Win-win!

Is your question not in the list? Let me know!