Would you enter?

[Christy]

We have a fairly small local competition coming up shortly and I was thinking about entering. There is another lady who is incredibly good who was trying to decide if she should enter when a third person who is also very good came up and said she assumed I wouldn't be entering and implied I'd be wasting the entry fee. I really don't think it was meant in a nasty way - I've not had a chance to practice my program recently as I've been recovering from my foot injury, getting used to my new skates, and preparing for my dance test. Also I won't be able to skate for a few weeks in the month before the competition, but I was thinking of the competition as a good goal to aim for, and was planning to discuss it with my coach but now I'm thinking it's maybe too much.

[fsk8r]

Ignore who might be competing and focus on whether you want to do the competition (and whether you feel you have enough time to feel prepared for it).
Once you make that decision you can then worry about who your competitors are.

[Christy]

Neither of these ladies would be my competitors - they are both at much higher levels. I would just be looking to see if I could improve my scores from last year.

[littlerain]

Neither of these ladies would be my competitors - they are both at much higher levels. I would just be looking to see if I could improve my scores from last year.

In that case, why not go for it?

[icedancer]

So was the one skater implying that you would be wasting the entry fee because you wouldn't have anyone competing in your event?

It is always a good thing to get yourself out there whether there is anyone else in your group or not!

[Live2Sk8]

I agree, you should enter.  Especially if you don't have local competitions very often - it will give you a great goal to work towards and an opportunity to perform your program with no one else on the ice in your way.  If you decide to do it, I hope you have fun and enjoy the journey of preparing for the competition!

[AgnesNitt]

Enter if only for the opportunity to get more experience skating before a crowd and judges. Not to mention the whole costume panic thing.

[Christy]

So was the one skater implying that you would be wasting the entry fee because you wouldn't have anyone competing in your event?

It is always a good thing to get yourself out there whether there is anyone else in your group or not!

That wasn't discussed. It was just a case of saying she assumed I wouldn't be competing, and when I said I was thinking about it but unsure she said it was a lot of money to waste.

[AgnesNitt]

That wasn't discussed. It was just a case of saying she assumed I wouldn't be competing, and when I said I was thinking about it but unsure she said it was a lot of money to waste.

Sometimes it's not about you.

She may be thinking 'lessons, costume, ice time and it's only a dinky little comp' and and said something in the 'editorial voice': "it's a lot of money to waste" (with the unsaid part being 'for a dinky little local comp').

[sarahspins]

That wasn't discussed. It was just a case of saying she assumed I wouldn't be competing, and when I said I was thinking about it but unsure she said it was a lot of money to waste.

That is just a silly notion, honestly - it's ultimately your choice, and it's not money wasted, no matter what your competition is or how you expect to place.  Most adults I know compete just for the added experience getting in front of judges, it's not about the competition or the placement - those are just extras.  Your personal goal to skate better than you did before should be all you need to justify entering

[Meli]

As long as you're not stressing yourself out over it, go for it!  Smaller and local sounds like fun!

[Casey]

Are you doing it because you love skating and that's that? Then enter. Nothing else matters!

[Christy]

Well, I discussed the competition with my coach who told me I'd be ready and he didn't see any reason why I shouldn't enter, so I'm going ahead. I'll definitely see what reaction I get from the lady....

[Loops]

I'm glad you're entering.  At our age/stage competitions are really (imo) something very personal.  It's not about the podium or final results, but really about our own goals and motivations.  The only reason I can think of for you not to do it, would be because of the potential stress closer in resulting from the time you'd need to be off ice.  It should be fun and not stressful.....well, not more than a reasonable amount of stress, anyway.  It being for you to define "reasonable".  So other than for curiousity and/or a chuckle, what that other lady has to say is really irrelevant.

Good luck!!!!

[rd350]

Agreed!  If you want to enter - enter.  For yourself!  Have fun with it.