Competitions and nerves!

[*JennaD*]

Hey everyone,

I have a competition in less than a week and I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to stay *calm* before a competition? I am always really nervous and the first few jumps/spins I do in my program are always very shaky because I am so nervous! I was wondering if anyone knows any tricks or anything to overcome that? Because I realyl want to skate my best and prove to my coach that I can do well in competition! Lately I have not been doing so well...and I think my coach is kind of underestimating me, so I want to show her that I can do it! Except becaise I'm always so nervous, my jumps are sometimes shaky and I skate wayyy more slowkly than I normally do (and I'm not a fast skater!! :roll: 8O ) !

Thanks!


-Jenna

[climbsk8]

Please don't do this without your coach saying OK, but I've found that getting really, really warmed up before I skate is the best way to keep my legs from getting shaky. Jogging or jumping rope until I'm breaking a sweat, then stretching, then going out for the warmup on the ice is my usual routine. By then I'm too tired to get nervy :)

I also try to take three or four really deep breaths after I'm on the ice, but before my music starts. This gets the oxygen going early.

[doubletoe]

Try to warm up at another rink before your competition and sretch immediately afterwards. When you arrive at your competition rink, jog around or jump on the floor to warm up again for 10 minutes before putting your skates on. Also, keep your legs warm (zip-up warmup pants are an excellent investment) and keep bending your knees and shaking your legs out to keep them from stiffening up.

Here are the other techniques I use to keep from succumbing to jello legs during competition:

1) Have cue words for every element in your program, especially the ones you tend to mess up on when you're nervous. I even have cue words for my back crossovers, since the deep knee bend is usually the first thing to go when we get nervous (I tell myself, "Butt down" with each stroke). Your cue words remind you of the proper technique and walk you through it step by step, even when your legs feel like jello. They also give you something to focus on, and that keepsdistracting thoughts from taking over and messing you up.

2) In addition to keeping your legs warm and moving while waiting to take the ice, you should also breathe as slowly and deeply as possible. Do the deep, slow breathing while you are waiting to take your official warmup and also while you are waiting to take the ice to skate your program. This type of breathing short-circuits the adrenaline reaction that gives you jello legs.

3) Have your entire day planned out and written down so that you don't have to remember what time you're supposed to leave for the rink, what you need to do when you get to the rink, what you need to pack, etc. I even have my 5-minute warmup planned ahead of time, since that's when I tend to get the worst adrenaline interference and lose my concentration.

[Mrs Redboots]

When you are dressed and warmed-up, sit in a quiet corner and remember to breathe slowly and deeply - inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4.

Then visualise yourself running through your programme (listen to your music on headphones, if you can), and doing every element absolutely perfectly, exactly where you intended.

And when you go out there, don't forget that you can't control what the other skaters do, nor can you control what the judges think; all you can do is go out there and have fun! So you might just as well relax and enjoy it.

[Rusty Blades]

It was a LONG time ago but I was always nervous in front of crowds! I'd go through the routine in my head before going on ice and I'd take my own sweet time getting to my start position - just getting loosed up and getting the feel of the ice. I'd keep my head down, not look at the crowd, until I got into my routine. Once I got moving (and didn't fall on my face!) I'd feel a lot better and start watching the crowd. If it was a nice friendly crowd (feedback) and I was having a good day, I could REALLY get into it!

Don't know why but even if I skated again in front of the same crowd later in the day, I'd be just as nervous the second time!

Coming back after 30 years away, I don't want to THINK how bad the nerves will be THIS time!

[Raye]

Coming back after 30 years away, I don't want to THINK how bad the nerves will be THIS time!

Trust me on this one - Adult competition is a whole new ballgame. Adult competitors are a very supportive community - we cheer for everyone and we MEAN IT.

[doubletoe]

Trust me on this one - Adult competition is a whole new ballgame. Adult competitors are a very supportive community - we cheer for everyone and we MEAN IT.

That's true, there is very little snotty behavior among adult competitors and the bigger the competition, the more wonderful the feeling of comraderie. But I still get nervous, just because I want to do well and I judge myself even if other don't. Fortunately, we adults are mature enough to know ourselves better than we did 30 years ago and be aware of what mental state works for us and how to get into it.

[*JennaD*]

I wish I was in adult competition! It sounds so much mroe *fun* and much less stressful and competitive!

[Raye]

I wish I was in adult competition! It sounds so much mroe *fun* and much less stressful and competitive!

Your time to compete as an adult will come soon enough - enjoy your youth and don't wish your life away.

You cannot control those around you, but you can control how you act or react. Some of the teens I know are having a great time competing because they have chosen to focus on the *fun* aspect of competing and ignoring the inevitible politics.

[TimDavidSkate]

Good way for you to start managing your nerves are going to your competitor's rink. And skate with them during a freestyle, then do your program. Try that and let us know what happen.

* It was aggrivating for me as well trying to manage my nerves during warmup and competition during my teen years. But then I got the nerve to go on High level freestyles and go to my competitor's rink. I got used to it little by little. *

[doubletoe]

I wish I was in adult competition! It sounds so much mroe *fun* and much less stressful and competitive!

It's funny how we all want what we don't have, isn't it? You wouldn't believe how many adults say they wish they had had a chance to skate when they were young because they would have been such better skaters if they had started when they were kids. I used to say that, too, but I'm trying to stop. :P

[TimDavidSkate]

I wish I was in adult competition! It sounds so much mroe *fun* and much less stressful and competitive!


I wish!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
It is fun, but still is competitive & stressful like the standard track.

[e-skater]

1) Have cue words for every element in your program, especially the ones you tend to mess up on when you're nervous. They also give you something to focus on, and that keepsdistracting thoughts from taking over and messing you up.

2) In addition to keeping your legs warm and moving while waiting to take the ice, you should also breathe as slowly and deeply as possible. This type of breathing short-circuits the adrenaline reaction that gives you jello legs.


From Mrs. Redboots: Then visualise yourself running through your programme (listen to your music on headphones, if you can), and doing every element absolutely perfectly, exactly where you intended.

And when you go out there, don't forget that you can't control what the other skaters do, nor can you control what the judges think; all you can do is go out there and have fun! So you might just as well relax and enjoy it.
__________________________________________________ _______________

I've found recently that "performances" and "competition" appear to get the same reaction out of my body as to nerves. I usually do two performances each year and one competition (I had one year where I did two competitions).

Cue words were something I'd never tried until a few weeks prior to two performances this year. They make a difference. They focus you and help you get out of your body what you can do, as opposed to the stilting nerves give you. I went back, after my first performance, and retooled my words and focus, which helped me in my second performance (they were one week apart).

2toe and Mrs. Redboots both mention breathing. This works for me as well. It's calming and flows throughout the body with it's effects. At least I hope it will continue to help! ;)

I like listening to my program music and stepping through it with my skates on off ice. I especially like doing as much of my upper body movement as I can, as this helps relax me and contributes, at least in my mind, to hopefully more "artistry" during my skate.

In 2002, my second competition skate ever, I realized after I got home, that what mattered to me is skating my program the best I can skate it for those few moments. I was last in that event, but I did skate a clean program.

In a 2003 competition, I was just happy I could be skating, after having been off ice for a while. I could have cared if Michelle Kwan was in my "group". I was focused on myself and my skating only.

I agree so much with Mrs. Redboots that your skating is all you have control over. I doubt that you are competing to, say, worry about other skaters or judges, right?!? I do think it may help to have a personal goal with respect to each program/competition. Such as, you want to skate a clean program. You want to land a certain jump or hit a certain spin. Or, you want to show more expression. Things like those, as opposed to outcome goals focusing on placements, or comparisons with other competitors.

Have fun with it, and enjoy your music. Remember why you wanted to learn a program, and why you picked your music. Enjoy it as much as you can.

[jazzpants]

Good way for you to start managing your nerves are going to your competitor's rink. And skate with them during a freestyle, then do your program. Try that and let us know what happen.Hmmm? Don't you mean competing at the rink where the competition is at? :?? Makes no sense to compete at your competitor's rink, particularly their rink is significantly larger/smaller or if the ice is harder/softer than the competition rink. To me, that's what practice ice sessions are for... to get used to skating at the rink that you're going to compete at.

Which reminds me, maybe I better start practicing at where Sectionals is going to be at... so I can get used to their ice.

[Skate@Delaware]

Hmmm? Don't you mean competing at the rink where the competition is at? :?? Makes no sense to compete at your competitor's rink, particularly their rink is significantly larger/smaller or if the ice is harder/softer than the competition rink. To me, that's what practice ice sessions are for... to get used to skating at the rink that you're going to compete at.

Which reminds me, maybe I better start practicing at where Sectionals is going to be at... so I can get used to their ice.
He means to attend a drop-in freestyle session at the rink hosting the competition. Say, if you were to compete at ABC IceZone Rink (no rink that I know of, just made it up for the sake of argument), then find out their drop-in schedule and attend a drop in appropriate for your level....sort of "feeling" out the competition. Chances are, most of the people there will be practicing for the upcoming competition. You can also check out the facilities: bathrooms, locker rooms, snack bar, area restaurants and eateries, and scope out how hard it is to get there (and getting lost days before the competition is better than getting lost the day of!)

I like the tip about cue words for the program....realized I don't have any!! Yikes! I can run through my program some before the exhibition (Sunday) and figure out where I need to be and when....

[FrankR]

I like the tip about cue words for the program....realized I don't have any!! Yikes! I can run through my program some before the exhibition (Sunday) and figure out where I need to be and when....

I also liked the tip about the cue words. I read this thread over the weekend and followed doubletoe's advice during my sessions on Tuesday morning. As I was warming up I kept thinking to myself that I needed to bend my knees, to keep my butt down, to let the edges ride. Then during my program run-through I tried to think of little one to two-word cues to keep me thinking about my technique on each element. It worked very well! On the whole, I think I was more relaxed during my sessions and, except for a couple of little slip-ups, the run-through was more or less clean.

So thanks doubletoe! :D

I'm going to keep trying to focus on these cue words from now on.

Frank

[jazzpants]

I've been doing the cue words idea the last year or two and it has helped me to calm down. But what ultimately has help me to calm down some is... experience!!! :D It's true what they say about stage fright... the more you confront your fear head on, the less afraid you become. (Of course, that doesn't guarantee that you will not be "chicken" either... but that's another story...)

Also, the other thing that helps is to go into the competition the attitude that you have "nothing to lose and everything to gain" from the experience.

And this comes from probably the biggest "chicken" out there in terms of performing too!!! :P

[doubletoe]

Very welcome, FrankR. ;)

The thing about cue words is that you need to PRACTICE thinking them every time you practice each element. That way, the cue words become a part of the element. You don't want to be frantically trying to remember what your cue words are when you're skating your program in a competition and approaching your difficult element, LOL! Also, try different cue words and see which words make sense to your body. You will find that as your technique evolves or you are challenged by new problems, you will have to change your cue words. I keep a little notebook and write down my cue words for every element as soon as I find cue words that work.

As for competitions, since I only have control over my own skating, not the judges or anyone elses' skating, it is never my goal to win or medal at a competition. Rather, my goal is always to say every single cue word in my head from the beginning to end of my program. Needless to say, taking the pressure off and maintaining that level of focus usually results in a good performance and placement anyway! :)

[Mrs Redboots]

I hadn't thought about cue words, but of course, the Husband and I have always used them in our free dances and stuff, especially while we're learning the routine.

[MichTheSkater]

This is what i do at competitions.. It helps me stay calm.. Hope it helps you!


When i get to the competition i regester and put my things in the dressing room. ***TAKE ANYTHING VALUABLE*** (like your skates always take your skates.. my coach told me one time a girl got her skates dull because someone rubbed the blade on the cement) I doubt it would happen but it could! so i take my skates and my music :D arround the rink and take a short walk. then i go to a calm spot in the rink where you can see the ice surface. I look onto the ice and picture me skating my perfect clean program. then after i walk through my program with jumps... and then i warm up. My coach always tells me funny storys before i get on the ice just to calm me down.

Things to remember

On warm up * If you dont land everything.. dont worry its just your warm up.
the warm up is the time to Make "Friends" with the ice :D

Competition: If you miss an element.. dont let it get your upset.. its just ONE element.. you can still have a really good program. and its not just the jumps and spins. its about stroking and looking nice too!.


So SMILE and have a good time:)


Hope this helps:)

[*JennaD*]

thanks guys ! I have my freestyle tomorrow so I'll let you know how it goes! I am also doing dance on saturday...I'll let you guys know about that too!

[*JennaD*]

Hey guys!

Well I wasn't taht nervous at my competition...except I fell on my first jump! So it really ruined my skate because everyone else in my group was really good so I came in last place 8O but thanks for your tips ! I was a lot less nervous than I normally am!

[doubletoe]

Hey guys!

Well I wasn't taht nervous at my competition...except I fell on my first jump! So it really ruined my skate because everyone else in my group was really good so I came in last place 8O but thanks for your tips ! I was a lot less nervous than I normally am!

Great! And you still have a chance to do even better tomorrow! Have fun and OWN that 2-3 minutes on the ice, because you've earned it. :)

[mikawendy]

Kudos to you, JennaD for going out there and skating your program. I didn't know you would be skating again tomorrow (well, today)--but good luck and above all enjoy yourself!

I recently skated in my first competition. I was very nervous before I skated (but less nervous than before each test I had taken before that). While I was skating, I was nervous and shaking a little bit--but I was also thinking to myself, wow, I'm having fun!

[MichTheSkater]

CONGRATS! My coaches tell me its good to come in differnt places, it helps you in many different ways!

Thats great you had less nerves!! thats something i always try to fix! hah but i used to lose my nerves by crying :giveup: haha my coach used to get soo mad :D haha:) but she always tells me

" If your not nevous, then i think somethings wrong with you 8O . your alloud to have nerves.. everyone has them, even if they dont show it!" 8-)

it always makes me laugh when she says that! :D

also i know its hard to get up and continue with your program after you fall on the first element. you just have to remember.. its only ONE element and and you have tons of time to make up for it. i remember when i went to a competition and i forgot my program and i missed the first 1/4 of my program and then i just made stuff up :oops: cant say it was very fun! but think of it this way


whether you fall on the first jump of your program or the last.. FORGET ABOUT IT! and move on! dont let it get you down when you only have 2-3 mins on the ice:) enjoy the time you have and have fun! :D