St. Nicholas unicycle group offers fun, unique outreach
GIG HARBORBy Anna Weaver
Frank Rainsberger has been enthusiastic about unicycles since he began riding them as a 12-year-old.
So when his son’s parish school, St. Nicholas, was searching for more student activities in 2012, Rainsberger decided to share his love for the sport with students and anyone else interested in learning.
His one condition? The group had to be open to the larger community.
Rainsberger, who converted to Catholicism in 2012, thinks there could be better outreach beyond the parish. He hopes to promote the club more in the community, with performances at local events, retirement homes and other venues, as well as advertising to students outside St. Nicholas School.
The group has about a dozen unicyclists, mostly ages 7-13, plus a few adults, and they’re largely from the parish. They meet weekly in the parish hall in the late afternoon so kids from outside St. Nicholas can attend. Parish bookkeeper Naomi Wark, who is a part-time clown and rides a unicycle, helps at practice.
So far, the group has participated in a Gig Harbor parade and gone on summer weekend rides in the area. A little history was made at the group’s Nov. 7 meeting, when St. Nicholas student Kele Rivers became the first club member to ride a 9-foot-tall unicycle.
Rainsberger loves to see the enjoyment club members get out of the sport as they progress from not being able to stay on a unicycle, to riding even the tallest unicycles.
Unicycling gives children “this sense of accomplishment that they may or may not get with traditional sports,” Rainsberger said. “Anyone can learn to ride a unicycle if you put the time into it. It teaches them balance and determination to not give up.”
December 30, 2013