Hey guys!
i was just wondering, what you guys do at competitions and how you get ready. I am in my first year of competitve pairs, i am still in test streem for singles but i was just curious of what you guys do at competitons?

the day of a the competition for me starts out eating a healthy breakfast.(or tim hortans) haha then i go to the competition and hand in my music and register... then i warm up. take a break to think and plan what im going to do on the ice, also i like to run thru my program visually looking on the ice.. carfully placing each element in its proper spot, then i go for a quick run then strech. get my dress on and touch up my make up. off ice jumps, do program off ice,,, then put skates on and go on for my warm up

normaly i stoke forwards and backwards then a quick but controlled back spin 2 waltz jumps and a waltz jumb/backspinn for my axel, then i do my jumps axel-dbl sow-dbl loop-dbl toe-dbl flip-double axel. then if i have time i spin.... and if i have even more time i stroke and do edges to stay warm and feel the ice...

you?

I do something which most of my friends think of as suicide but it's always worked for me- I do not skate the day before the competition. I know that I'm trained, I know my program, and being on the ice the day before I risk pulling something, and just mess everything up in my head. I get a good dinner the night before- always simple wheat pasta. The day of, I only get breakfast, I do not care how late my flight may go on, I don't eat lunch or dinner before I have skated, otherwise I'm sluggish. At the rink, I don't talk to anyone but my coach until I'm done skating. I don't watch others skate. I don't look at any of my friends' results. I do nothing, and I do it on my own. I always always always have music with me to listen to, though. And I stretch forever.

I'm rather the opposite of fadedstardust - if I am left alone to focus, I get far too nervous, and that will guarantee I skate badly.

What I do find, though, is that it is nearly impossible to settle before a competition. If we arrive early, the idea is to find a seat and sit and watch earlier classes. Huh! Doesn't work for me. I sit down for five minutes, then a friend goes on to skate, so I have to go down to congratulate her, and I'm away! In the changing-rooms, out of them, back up to the seats.... When, oh when, will it be time to change and warm-up???

At the Scottish it was easier, as, with one exception, we didn't have any friends in the morning classes. So once our friend had skated, we went up to the cafe and had a bacon roll - we didn't want a great deal of lunch, but we did want something, we found! And one we'd done that, it was time to go and change and warm up!
And once I'm ready and waiting to go on, I'm far, far better if I have someone to chat to. Takes my mind off it. I do listen to my music, assuming I'm doing a class that needs my own music, and will probably step through the programme off-ice, just to make sure I know what I'm about to do (in theory!), but once I've done that, then I'd rather chat.... Husband is a great support on these occasions! But then, he always is, bless him.

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Mrs Redboots
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