practicing right before a competition

[VAsk8r]

Do you practice as much as possible in the day or two leading up to a competition or a test, or do you take it easy?

I'm competing in an ISI comp Saturday, although admittedly it's a fairly low-stress competition. I'm doing two events and have nobody against me in either. I told my coach I really just want to get past this and focus on USFS stuff.

My program was pretty good Tuesday night. I skated this morning, and it was decent. My spins were pretty terrible, but it was 7:30 a.m. I did end up re-working the last few seconds of it slightly, just to make sure the spin I end on isn't in the lutz corner, but I feel like that should be fairly easy to translate into the competition.

I know skating tomorrow night probably isn't going to improve any skills enough to make a difference Saturday, and it's a public so I won't even be able to run my program. But I still feel compelled to go and work on stuff that's not enough in my program, just for fun and to get in one last skate. My coach would probably tell me to not skate.

[hopskipjump]

Before a comp we keep her schedule the same the entire week.  The day of - if it's convenient we will do the practice ice session if it's offered by the host rink or if there is a lot of time, we will do her regular lesson at her regular rink that morning.

[turnip]

I plan my last pre-competition skate to leave a spare day i can skate on if i have a bad skate on my planned last skate. So competition on thursday, i skated tuesday morning. It was a good skate, so i didn't skate again, but if it was a bad skate i'd have skated on wednesday morning too. I like to try and make sure the last skate before a comp is a good one, so i go into it feeling as confident as i can. Also, if something happens and I can't make it, i still have time for a last practice

[VAsk8r]

Well, I stupidly read the public session schedule wrong, so that takes practicing out of the equation. Oh well!

[jjane45]

Woo Hoo good luck tomorrow!

[karne]

Never on the day before. Ever.

The one time I broke this rule was for a fun improv competition, I'd only been back on the ice a couple of days after six weeks off with my knee. I decided to get on the ice and just run through a few elements. Well wouldn't you know it - trip on the second warmup lap and fall, sprained shoulder and out of the improv!

All our competitions are on Saturdays, so I never skate on the Friday, but skate for the last time on Thursday afternoon. It works pretty well I think.

[VAsk8r]

I think my program was the best it's ever been in competition today! I can't imagine skating last night would've made it better.

I told my coach, "I wanted to skate public last night-" and she interrupted and said "No, you didn't."

[turnip]

Well done! As long as you're happy thats the most important thing!

some coaches like to give lessons on patch the morning of a competition, but my coach doesn't, and I agree.

[techskater]

Congratulations!
That's cramming and most likely when you will be injured.  A light session running through one of everything and getting off is what I do

[singerskates]

I learned that I have to stop using the practice ice at Adult Canadians because it is often way colder than the competition ice and causes my hips and other muscles to cramp up as soon as I get off of the practice ice. I'd skate well on the practice ice and then on the competition ice, I was all bound up and tight and couldn't get down in my knees properly and my hips and lower back were killing me. Result, terrible skate and came in last. Didn't rotate more then one jump properly. Also don't bother taping your skate until part way through the warm up. I had my boots way too loose when I taped them before the warm up and when I went out to do the warm up I couldn't get off of my toe pick in my sit and didn't have any spring for my jumps. It was horrible. These two things cost me a medal at Adult Canadians. Never again.

[nicklaszlo]

Bump!  I imagine one prepares for a freeskate test just like a freeskating competition.  What do you do in the days before a moves test?

[sarahspins]

What do you do in the days before a moves test?

Not days before, but in the weeks leading up, lots of moves run throughs, usually starting them with very little warm up.  I don't throw in extra practice sessions, I just keep to my normal skating schedule (which is typically 2-3 hours 3 days a week), what changes is what I focus on during those sessions. That's what I did last summer, and I felt completely prepared and confident when it was time to skate for the judges (I did not test in a test session, but on an adult freestyle/dance session) and I took two weeks to prepare. Currently as I prepare for my silver moves (which I am not testing this month, so it will be late March or April) I will do a lap around the rink just to get my feet under me then do a lap of power stroking focusing on deep knee bends and extension and then I might stretch my hips/legs some more if I'm not feeling loose enough yet (I imagine I'd do more off-ice warm up and stretching before a test session just to calm my nerves than I usually do before I get on the ice) and then I go right into the patterns, making sure I do them in order.  I don't warm any up specifically because there really won't be time to do it for the test session warm up.  Once I've done one full set of patterns, then I'll go on to do other things (jumps, spins, other MITF - I've been working a lot on my brackets lately for example, so I have less to work on for gold once I pass silver).  If I have a lesson we usually go through my moves at least once, sometimes twice if I don't feel like working on jumps, and then I usually go through them all again before getting off the ice.  I find that making myself get through them when I am tired is just as good as doing them with limited warm up - it's a confidence boost, and my coach as mentioned that if I can do them tired, I will be able to do them when my nerves are trying to get the best of me.  I want to get to where I can easily do them on an "off" day and I'm almost there with the silver moves.   

[fsk8r]

Similar to Sarahspins comment about doing the moves when tired, I was always taught in the build up before a moves test to get on the ice and after a quick lap around to get the legs moving, to run through the moves in the test order and when you get to the end you repeat straight away. This is done so a) you're tired the second time around and to help build your stamina for a test as you don't really get that long to stand and prepare yourself between exercises.

This back to back practicing starts once the papers get entered for tests. This can be several months in advance (UK test system requires papers entered and then you are allocated a test date) but it's helpful for getting the stamina ready early.

[SynchKat]

In the days leading up to a test or competition I believe you should just be doing run throughs.  You don't want to kill yourself at practice or stress yourself so just run through what you will be doing. 

If your moves are good enough to enter for a test then you are just fine tuning in the time leading. To the test.  Good luck.

[sarahspins]

If your moves are good enough to enter for a test then you are just fine tuning in the time leading. To the test.  Good luck.

I agree... most of the coaching I had in the two weeks prior to my last moves tests had mostly to do with polish and the "in between" stuff, like which end of the ice to start on, how to finish each move, where to go for the next move, watching for the judge's nod, plus how long it's okay to consult with my coach between each pattern, etc.  Also my coach is watching for anything sloppy that could be made to look nicer leading up to the test

[nicklaszlo]

how long it's okay to consult with my coach between each pattern

I didn't know people did that.  I think I was told to ask the judges if I could speak with my coach in case of a reskate.  What do you discuss between patterns?

[sarahspins]

Nothing, it was mostly if I felt like I needed a minute to collect myself (nerves).  I wonder if policies on this vary from club to club, because it's really common here.

[davincisop]

At my club they're allowed to go to their coach in between moves but the coach cannot say anything regarding the moves. They can tell them to breathe and relax and try to calm their nerves and give them water, but nothing beyond that.

[techskater]

Typically, it's like a minute between for water, nose blow, breathe and your one key word.  Usually coaches have a "plan" where you skate a couple moves, take a break, then skate the rest

[Icicle]

Would you guys go to an early morning practice the day of your test even though your actual test didn't start till three hours later? This is what I'm facing next Monday, and personally, I'm thinking of hitting that practice. But what would the rest of you do?

[Live2Sk8]

If I had to get up earlier than normal, no I would not.  But if it didn't affect the amount of sleep I had the night before, and if it wasn't a long distance to drive such that I would be tired from the driving, yes I would probably go skate for 30 minutes or so just to get my blades on the ice that day.  Especially if it was the same ice surface where my test would be.

Good luck on your test!

[FigureSpins]

I would.

[CaraSkates]

I would - especially if I hadn't skated at that rink before.  I had a competition a few weeks ago and was on 7am practice ice for a 9:30 event. It honestly didn't feel like much time in between and I was happier because of it.

If the test was extremely far and I was confident about the test, I might not.

[JSM]

I do, but I don't tire myself out!  I make sure to take it easy and just get a feel for the ice, and run through the things I really need to focus on.

[Icicle]

Yes, I agree. I think I'll have more confidence even after a little time on the ice where my test will be held.