“Wow” would be the one exclamation when you see this group of cyclists.

But they’re not like any other cyclists. They won’t be the next Lance Armstrong.

On one wheel, these cyclists impress unsuspecting passers-by and they hear things like, “wow” or “oh my gosh.”

Jan Layne pointed at her T-shirt that says “WOW, on one wheel.” Layne is the 34th annual North American Unicycle Championships and Convention director.

“WOW doesn’t stand for anything,” Layne said. “It used to stand for Wood One Wheel for Wood County one-wheelers, but so many people would say, ‘Wow, look at that,’ so we changed it to just WOW.”

People as young as three years old and as old as 74 joined in the festivities of the NAUCC in Bowling Green. Starting yesterday, unicycle competitions are being held until this coming Sunday.

“I’m just so excited,” bright-faced Layne said about the upcoming competitions. She has been unicycling for about 30 years in the WOW unicycle club.

A lot of preparation went into the upcoming events. Student Ashley D’Amore works with the conference directors to help set up conferences on campus. She said she had to make sure all the rooms were available and that there were enough tables and chairs.

She helped arrange housing for 12 people in the Offenhauer dorms. She said the other unicyclists commuted or set themselves up in hotels.

“It’s my job to make sure everything runs smoothly for them,” D’Amore said.

And running smoothly it is, considering all of the unicyclists were enjoying themselves in Eppler South yesterday, playing hockey in the morning and basketball in the afternoon.

While on their unicycles, unicyclists play the games like someone on two feet and they are just as aggressive.

If they are not on their unicycles, they cannot take the ball or take a shot, Layne said.

Layne said there should be about 200 competing unicyclists and 100 non-competing unicyclists. Non-competitors will watch the competitions.

Mike Gilligan, a WOW unicyclist, is a non-competitor who has been unicycling for 18 years. He started because his youngest son, at eight years old, wanted to do it because he saw his school mate riding his unicycle. Soon after Gilligan’s eldest son, who was 10 at the time, now 31, began unicycling.

With all of the competitions, the unicyclists are split up into their skill levels from one to 10, with 10 being the expert.

“The younger you start, the quicker you learn,” Gilligan said. “When you’re younger, you don’t have to worry about falling. Because when they break a bone, they get back up on the cycle. When you’re older, you worry about falling.”

Starting at 8:30 a.m. today at the Anderson Arena, there will be an opening ceremony.

“Some of the little kids are adorable,” Layne said laughing. “I have a three-year-old granddaughter who needed a smaller wheel, because she couldn’t pedal fast enough to keep up with anyone else.”

There is a young kid named Sammy who plays his flute at the opening ceremony with a monkey on his unicycle, Layne said.

“And the other kids follow him like the Pied Piper. It’s so cute.”

After the opening ceremony, they will have the artistic, standard, individual freestyle and expert individual freestyle competition. In their individual skill levels the unicyclists compete in front of judges.

The artistic category is the most fun with props and costumes, Layne said. The standard is the competition that shows improvement among the unicyclists.

Tomorrow, they will have an individual and pairs freestyle, the individual group’s and the 10 different unicycle club’s freestyle competition.

The individual routines are like ice skating routines, Layne said.

“They have to have their arms spread out from their shoulders and their fingers tucked in,” she said. “If their arms move, it’s a wave and they lose points.”

On Friday at the Bowling Green High School Track, they will have unicycle races. They will start with the 1500 meter for the older unicyclists, continue with the 800 meter, 400 meter for the obstacle course and 100 meters for the slow forward and backward.

They also have a relay for one foot, backward and wheel walk. A parade competition and workshops afterward that contain working with the different levels in the competition.

Layne said the unicyclists have workshops like “Do my mount, because they think they’re being tricky.”

On Sunday they have a 10K on the street, where the unicyclists will ride from the Stadium down to Alumni Dr. to Wooster St. to Mercer Rd.

“When we were in the 4th of July parade in Centerville, the crowd was ecstatic,” Layne said. “The applause gave us the chills.”

With much excitement, Layne said about the competition, “If you don’t come on time, you’ll miss it.”

Gilligan said the WOW Unicycle Club gives lessons for six weeks, an hour a week.

“Some people learn quicker than others,” he said. “You’ll learn how to ride a unicycle well enough by the end of the six weeks.”

But not like a professional.

“You have to do it. No one else can go out there and do it for you.”