A lot of Skaters dream of competing in some form of competition. But not everyone knows or understands how a competitions works and how they run them. This article will go over the basics of a competition. But they all could be a little bit different. Im describing it off of what my experience was like at my first competition.
How it Works
A competition usually has runs that the judges judge your skating on. The competition I went to had two, 1 minute long runs. Before the runs started, we all got to warm up on the park. Everyone just kind of skated wherever and on whatever they really wanted to and we all just kinda talked and skated. It was similar to any other skate sesh. The best thing to do during this time is focus on your line, develop it. Figure out what tricks your gonna do and where. Than try out your line a few times. Once the runs were starting everyone clears the park. Than you get that time to do whatever you want to do for your run. For this, they take the best of your two runs that you had, and theyll use the best run when deciding your placement that you earned. After everyone runs, than the judges will figure out the placements and than announce it. The competition that I went to, everyone who got top 5 places, got some sort of prize. And the top 3 skaters got decks and some even better stuff. Although prizes will definitly be different per competition.
Things to Remember
You need to remember to stay calm during your run. Try to clear the mind, and focus on your skating. It might help to just not worry about anything at all. Remember that your there because you love skateboarding and so just focus on your tricks and try your best. Do not get upset if you dont do as good as you want to. There will be more competitions and youll always be able to practice more and get even better.
Final Thoughts
Just keep in mind that not all competitions will run this way, but this is a good outline on how most will function. They might have more runs, shorter time, longer time, etc. Small differences could occur but overall, its the same concept. Remember to have fun and keep shredding.