Are you wondering if your child might want to do a competition? In most areas, “fun” figure skating competitions start right from the lowest level of skating, all the way up. If your child is interested in doing a competition, your professional coach will be able to help you by giving you options. If your child does not have a private coach, you can speak to a board member within the club for help, although please keep in mind that in general, you will need to have a private coach for your child to make their solo and be with them on competition day.
Doing competitions is a great way to boost your child’s confidence and their personal development, to get them used to performing in front of large groups, show off their skills, and to learn a routine in a set pattern, which often helps push their skills even further. If you make it a fun day for your child, and don’t pressure them over winning or losing, you’ll find it a good experience overall.
As for what to bring to competitions, here is a general guideline that I tell my skaters.
Here is a quick list of what you should bring for your competition day.
Skates
Skate Guards
Skating Dress/Skating Outfit for Boys (generally one for each event)
Extra Skating Dress/Extra Outfit (optional)
Extra Tights
Extra Hair Elastics and or Scrunchies
Extra Skate Laces
Hair Brush
Hair Spray
Glitter (optional)
Warm up Sweater
Music and Back up
Make up
Bottle Water
Healthy Snacks
Running Shoes
Skipping Rope
Band-aids
Sewing Kit
Healthy lunch if you’re going to be there most of the day