Okay I have my first REAL competition on Friday (I have participated in 2 club competitions in the past, but that is completely different, you are in groups of 3 and you know the people and it is judged by the other teen skaters)

I'm really freaked out about this. My coach told me that competing is a whole different ball park and I shouldn't expect anything spectacular, and that if I get in last great, if I get in first great, if I'm in the middle fantastic. Trust me, I'm not expecting much! I am against 7 other girls (around my age, which really freaks me out since I've only skated 3 years!)

Any advice on the nerves? I could use any advice you've got trust me!

& This is my new dress for the competition:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...ontandback.jpg

and you can't really tell in the picture but on the skirt it is kind of ruffled with these little sparkly gadgets :
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...4/NewDress.jpg

It took me a long time to get a picture of that sparkly thing, the light kept reflecting off it and then it would be blurry! Lol. I'm hoping the dress looks good on the ice and with my hair colour (I'm a blondie!)

How did you do in your club competitions? Honestly, there is no difference. In either type of competition you have a very short time to warm up, you need to skate your program all by yourself, and you are being watched and judged by people. Thinking it is different just because it's a "real competition" will only get you needlessly stressed out, so get that idea out of your head!

When you skate your program, remember to breathe and keep your knees deeply bent so that you feel like you're "into the ice", and stay in the moment as you skate your program, focusing on each element as it comes up. Be sure you practice your warmup routine in the days leading up to your competition so that it feels familiar. Most importantly, remember that you can only skate YOUR best; comparing yourself to others and thinking about the placements will only distract you and will not help you skate better.

Have fun!!

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Relax! You can't control how anybody else skates and you can't control what the judges are going to think, so all you can do is go out there and enjoy yourself. You've got the rink all to yourself - how often does that happen? No need to worry about anybody getting in your way.

Enjoy wearing your dress, doing lots of make-up and perhaps some glitter in your hair, and have fun. If you have fun out there, everybody else is going to have fun watching you skate - and that, in the end, is what it's all about. Bother where you place - it's nice to place well, but unimportant. What matters is that you skate as well as you possibly can.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Thanks for the awesome advice guys, I guess I shouldn't think of it as so much different.

BTW, can anyone tell me what DD and DH mean on these boards? I read people writing it all the time and I don't get it!

DD=Darling Daughter; DH=Darling Husband; DW=Darling Wife

More message board shorthand here: http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=30289

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Ha! I've been wondering about that one for a while. It's easy enough to guess who you're talking about, but I had no idea what the actual letters meant. I've been on a lot of forums and never seen that.

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I'm a boy, and I can figure skate if I want to.

Hi,
Enjoy yourself! I remember my first competition after a year of skating. My expectations were to have a good time , and that I really did. It was so nice to have the whole ice to myself and skate!
Love the dress.

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