(Sweaters should NOT be over the head. A cardigan with a zipper or button front makes removal easiest. Also, girls can wear tight knit tan leggings over tights to keep them warmer. A side note for the ladies ... do not wear any underpants when you compete! It is not very attractive should it show from under your skating skirt.)

2-3 Weeks Prior to the Event...

• Be sure that your blades are sharpened (if they need to be sharpened.)
• Have your second tape copy in your skate bag.
• Wear each of the outfits you will be competing in before the day of the competition so any last minute adjustments can be made. You should also put an extra pair of new tights in your skate bag.
• Your skates should be cleaned and polished a week before competition. (Make sure you have skate polish for touchups, bur remember they need time to dry!) You should also put in a brand new pair of laces or clean the ones currently in your skates. Its also a good idea to keep an extra pair in your skate bag at all times.

Practice Ice and Schedules: Some of the larger ISI competitions and some USFSA competitions offer practice ice for the competitors the day of their event. Each ice surface feels different to the skater, and this time is to help acclimate the skater to the new ice and help them feel more relaxed during the actual competition. So you can see how important it is to go to your scheduled practice time. One to two weeks prior to the competition you should receive the schedules in the mail with your times for both practice and competition. Coaches are not sent copies of the schedules, so you must tell them what times the skater is scheduled to skate.

Competition Day: Each skater should arrive at the rink 45-60 minutes before their warm up time. You will check in at a registration desk and turn in one good copy of your tape(s). Please make sure tapes are rewound and ready to play! Be sure to have an extra pair of tights, extra program tape(s), extra laces, sweater, gloves and a warm coat for before and after the event. Once you arrive at the rink please go down to the ice and find the rink monitor who should be close to the entrance of the ice carrying a clipboard. Let the monitor know you are in the rink and find out from them if the competition is running on time. The times listed for your event are approximate and the actual times can vary substantially. Let your coach know when you have arrived.

Skating Order: The order of the skaters in the competition book (USFSA) is not the skating order for competition. The order is drawn randomly so the skaters will sometimes skate first, other times they may skate later in the fight. The order is posted prior to the event in the same area where they post the results after the event.

Warm-up: The skaters are given warm-up time for 2-4 minutes immediately before they are to skate. Two competition groups sometimes warm-up together and then the skaters get off the ice to wait their turn. Each skater should have a warm-up routine laid out prior to the competition. Coaches should work with each student to plan together the best usage of warm-up time.