Being a veteran of competitive snowboarding with titles in OISA, USASA and, as discussed yesterday, an “I tried” sticker in the Burton AM Series, I’ve learned a thing or two over the years about prepping for comps.  And, as promised in part 1 of this series, I’ll share a few of those tips with you today.

First things first - competing is fun!  It’s such a great way to stretch your ability and push you to try things you never would otherwise.  But, its also a lot of work and requires a lot of prep time, both mentally and physically.  The best thing to do if you’re serious about competing is to join a team, like a high school or college snowboard team, for example, or group of people you can ride with and learn from.  I realize that’s not always an option for everyone, though, so read our tips below on things to remember before competing for the next best thing:

• Familiarize Yourself With The Course: If you can, try to head to the mountain one day prior to your competition and spend the day practicing the course.  During most competitions, for time’s sake, you’ll likely get just one or two practice runs so it’s good to know the course well before hand.  You’ll always be more comfortable on a course you’ve practiced!
• Plan Out Your Run Prior To Your Spot: As tempting (??) as it may be to make up your run on the fly, you’ll do much better if you plan out your winning run a few days prior to the comp. and practice it to the T.  Take all things into account while planning - What tricks are you best at?  What will show off your ability?  What will the judges go for? - and make sure your run aligns.  Also, right before you go, take a mental moment - close your eyes and envision your PERFECT run; I promise it will get you hyped!
• Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone: The only person putting barriers on trying new things is you!  So use competitions as a way to try something new and work at it until you get it perfect.
• Know What You’re Good At: One the flip side, you want to have a good, solid run so definitely choose tricks that show the best of your ability.  For example, if you can pull a 3, but barely, and with little air, but you can do a sick method, go for the latter instead; it will be much more impressive than something that’s not done right.
• Learn What The Judges Like: Typically (in slopestyle and pipe), judges look at air, toughness of the trick, smoothness of the run, and variety of tricks, but every competition is different.  For example, in slopestyle, jumps are usually weighted more heavily than rails, so if you have a choice between two definitely go for the jump.  Try to find out what criteria the judges are looking for and match your run accordingly.
• Pay Attention To The Rules: Most of time, the comp. rules are the same, but double-check beforehand just to make sure.  For example, I’ve competed in comps. where they don’t allow inverts, and also where you get DQ’d if you swear.  Most competitions require helmets, so plan accordingly!  
• Take It Easy, Then Go Big: In most competitions, if time allows, you get two runs and they’ll take the best of two.  Though it may be tempting to go big and pull your best tricks both times through, I’d recommend keeping your first run smooth and solid, to make sure you get it right at least once.  If you fall on your first run through the park, you’ll go into the second run knowing that its the one that will make or break the deal.  However, if you go into it knowing that you have a solid first run to fall back on, you’ll be able to pull big air and new tricks with confidence.
• Have Fun! That’s what you’re doing it for, right?

Above all, it’s important to remember that competing is 1/3 physical and 2/3 mental.  Yes, you can go bigger.  Yes, you can pull that 3 you never thought you could.  You just need to go for it.  

Have any other questions about competing?  We LOVE e-mails!  And don’t forget to check out our events calendar to find a competition near you!

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