Knowing what to expect at competition goes a long way toward helping you feel prepared. Plan to be at the facility at least one hour before your on-ice warm-up time. This will give you time to check in and orient yourself to the rink so you know where to go. You’ll also be able to get in an off-ice warm-up and take care of any last-minute hair or makeup touch-ups.

If you plan on dressing and doing your hair and makeup at the rink, make sure the competition offers a changing area as not all of them do. If they do, then you should plan to arrive at least 1½ hours before your on-ice warm-up time.

The competition organizer will group the skaters solely by their registered competition level. This means that the skaters may or may not be of similar age. Groups usually consist of no more than eight to ten skaters, and medals are awarded by group. Usually, the top three or four skaters in each group will receive a medal. Typically, if an event includes more than 10 skaters, the competition organizer will separate them into multiple groups. When this happens, the skaters are often grouped by age. Each group is now a separate event with separate awards.

As the skater’s on-ice warm-up time approaches, they should remain near the ice so they can get on as soon as the emcee announces their warm-up time. The entire group will warm up at the same time. Expect the on-ice warm-up to be short – generally only five minutes. The emcee will announce when the warm-up time is over. He will also usually give a one-minute warning. All skaters should exit the ice when their warm-up time has ended.

There will be an ice monitor standing at or near the entrance to the ice. This person will instruct the skater to enter the ice when it’s their turn. The skater should take the ice, go to their opening spot, get in their opening pose and not move. This will indicate to the judges and the person running music that they’re ready. The person running music will start it as soon as both the skater and the judges are ready. If the skater is not performing their program to music, the emcee will let the skater know they can begin by saying something like, “Skater, you may begin.”

When you finish skating, take a bow and exit the ice. If you are skating your event on half ice and the skater on the other half of the ice has not yet completed their program, wait for them to finish before skating off the ice.

For more details on what to expect at competition, talk to your coach or your fellow skaters.