Senior Ben Dixon nervously climbs on his unicycle and begins to cycle around the track as hundreds of spectators cheer, watching him balance on one wheel. His heart beats at a fever pitch. He prays that he will not fall.  As he reaches the end of the track, a huge smile overtakes a nervous grin.

Dixon’s thirst for unicycling began as a freshman. In fact, his desire to share this skill with others was such that he began the school’s own Unicycle Club as a sophomore after only unicycling for one year.

“I personally enjoy unicylcing because whenever I go ride, I just concentrate on my movement.  Once I start moving, it’s basically a never ending rhythm, and, to me, it helps rid myself of any stress,” Dixon said.

In order to get this club up and running, it was necessary to obtain 25 signatures to begin the process.

“I attained the 25 signatures, turned it in, and hoped for the best. Then, we had to follow an outline to write a Constitution for the club,” Dixon said.

Thanks to Dixon, the Unicycle Club was declared an official club at the school one month later, though their first meeting wasn’t until this school year.

“We usually hold meetings on Thursdays at the track at 2:20 PM, but once Cross Country season ends I plan to hold meetings on Tuesdays as well. At these meetings the members have an opportunity to practice riding the unicycles,”Dixon said.  “Only a handful of the club can actually ride so the experts try to guide and help the beginners.”

Currently 10 to 12 people attend each meeting, but members are looking to expand.

“We are now in the works of establishing membership fees so we can declare attendees official members of the club,” Dixon said.

Physical Education teacher Melody Hartranft and World History and Economics teacher Jason Zuidema currently act as the club’s sponsors. Hartranft mainly sponsors during the fall season, while Zuidema sponsors during the winter switching duty in relation to other sports they coach.

“On top of being a lot of fun, unicylcing is really good exercise.  Its s perfect mixture of concentration and balance,” Hartranft said.

Unicycle Club Vice President senior Austin Jennings is excited that the sponsors are actually involved with the club.

“Mrs. Hartranft is fantastic! She used to unicycle as a child so she is extremely passionate about the club. Hartranft is very easy to plan meetings with and I can’t wait until next fall when she sponsors again,” Jennings said.

The club is promoted in many ways.  They are showcased on the morning announcements and make appearances during homecoming parades.

“Perhaps the greatest way to advertise is when we ride around after school because people will question how we ride, and we simply just reply “come to the meetings, and find out,” Dixon said.