[Help Thread] Advice and Tips for Competitions

[Ross The Boss]

make a friend or two at the competition. that really is the most important part. comps are just down right boring if all you do is sit in the corner like i did for my first couple.

 

[JasonDL13]

Don't go to a competition, you're too slow.

You need to be at least sub 10, or you'll slow the entire thing down, a judge waiting over 30 seconds for you to solve it will probably be disastrous.

Just kidding, for real, just stay calm and don't freak out.

 

[mDiPalma]

the month before: learn your algs

the week before: practice doing solves in the official competition setup (stackmat, inspection, etc.)

the day of: wake up, get dressed, eat a balanced breakfast, brush your teeth, invest in silver, pack your cubes, travel to the venue, sign in.

 

[Bunyanderman]

You prepare by failing, you will do awful for the first time accept it. For some reason most people get nervous, this is for no reason what so ever for most people. there is no difference if you get a 20 second average or 30, it is all personal.
Go, do bad, learn from it, do less bad next time is the only way to prepare.

 

[Cube Is Life]

the day of: wake up, get dressed, eat a balanced breakfast, brush your teeth, invest in silver, pack your cubes, travel to the venue, sign in.

Invest in silver?

 

[maps600]

the month before: learn your algs

the week before: practice doing solves in the official competition setup (stackmat, inspection, etc.)

the day of: wake up, get dressed, eat a balanced breakfast, brush your teeth, invest in silver, pack your cubes, travel to the venue, sign in.

I'd recommend packing your cubes the day before. The one time I decided to wait on packing my cubes, I forgot to bring my skewb.

 

[BenBergen]

Questions about Competitions

I'm a newer cuber, and I'm attending my first competition in just over a week. I've got a few questions about how competitions work though, that I would like to figure out before I go. I appreciate any help people can offer!

1. Are competitors also responsible for being judges for events ( I think that's what you call the people who sit beside the table during the solves)? Or is this taken care of by volunteers at the event?

2. How much time is there normally between when you hand in your cube to be scrambled, and when you do the solve? Also, during this time do you have to stay in a separate room with the other competitors in your heat?

3. Over how long of a period do your 5 solves take place. Is there a long wait from one solve to the next, or to they happen pretty quickly after each other?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

 

[YouCubing]

1) If you want to, you can check a box on the registration page that says "I volunteer to judge".
2) It really depends. One time, when I was at a comp, everyone else had done 3 solves before I did my first. On average though, it's about a minute. Also, the place where the competitors wait isn't too separated from the scrambling station, it's pretty much just behind the solving tables, and off to the side of the scramblers. (But looking at cubes while they're being scrambled isn't allowed, and neither is talking about the scrambles.)
3) There isn't much of a wait between solves, maybe 30-45 seconds.
Hope I helped

 

[CubeWizard23]

I'm a newer cuber, and I'm attending my first competition in just over a week. I've got a few questions about how competitions work though, that I would like to figure out before I go. I appreciate any help people can offer!

1. Are competitors also responsible for being judges for events ( I think that's what you call the people who sit beside the table during the solves)? Or is this taken care of by volunteers at the event?

2. How much time is there normally between when you hand in your cube to be scrambled, and when you do the solve? Also, during this time do you have to stay in a separate room with the other competitors in your heat?

3. Over how long of a period do your 5 solves take place. Is there a long wait from one solve to the next, or to they happen pretty quickly after each other?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

1. Depends on the comp, sometimes they make everyone judge but usually they have volunteers
2. Depends on the size of the heat but at the comps i've been to its been between 2-5 minutes, they have a room or area that is idk inaccessible to the "crowd"
3. less then 15 minutes, usually a wait of 2-3 minutes between solves

PS, you can find answers to most of this in the FAQ Comp thread Welcome!
E: and i was beat to the punch again..

 

[Nick4nick6]

Am I ready for a competition?

To all Australian speedcubers/General cubers,

I heard that there is a competition named Sydney Summer 2015 with will be on the 19th December at Redfern Town Hall,Sydney.
I am just wondering if you think if I am ready for a competition yet because I do not think there might not be a possible chance I the future.

I am a 50sec avg solver ao5vand pb 42.05

Here is what I know:
Cross: takes me around 10 secs to do (including inspection)
F2L:Ok I guess, my initutve F2l is not that bad(going to learn lags for the long cases by comp)
Oll: Case 21,22,26,26,27 and Bar,L and All( that is most of 2look lol except 4 algs)
Pll: Ua,Ub,H,Z and beginner alg Pll(R' F R' B2 R F R' B2 R2) and will learn rest of 2look Pll as well before comp.
I also know Y perm and want to learn Some easy Pll algs before comp.

Also say hi to me if I go to comp!

 

[shadowslice e]

IMO you're ready to start going to comps as soon as you're sub-60. I just never got around to it.

Get rid of those comp nerves as soon as possible!

 

[TheOneOnTheLeft]

You don't need to be at a certain speed to go to a competition.

Just go along anyway, meet some people, help out, and have a good time.

You're only competing against yourself when it comes to your actual solve times.

 

[guysensei1]

IMO you're ready to start going to comps as soon as you're sub-60. I just never got around to it.

Get rid of those comp nerves as soon as possible!

You're ready to start going to comps as long as you can solve a cube. As I tell my friends, just go for fun. You'll meet so many people.

 

[CubePro]

Well, I think that even if you are over 5 minutes, and there's a competition nearby, go for it! And BTW best of luck for your competition!
And my tip is that you should probably learn all 2-look OLL algos before even looking into PLL. And BTW what algos do you use for U-Perms? If you're using beginner algos then they are really slow. And instead of R' F R' B2 R F R' B2 R2 you can do l' U R' D2 R U' R' D2 R2

 

[Nick4nick6]

Well, I think that even if you are over 5 minutes, and there's a competition nearby, go for it! And BTW best of luck for your competition!
And my tip is that you should probably learn all 2-look OLL algos before even looking into PLL. And BTW what algos do you use for U-Perms? If you're using beginner algos then they are really slow. And instead of R' F R' B2 R F R' B2 R2 you can do l' U R' D2 R U' R' D2 R2

I use Cubewhiz.com U-perms FYI

 

[JustinTimeCuber]

Don't decide not to go to a comp just because you are slower than you'd like.

 

[BananaSlayer64]

Go for it! It's so cool to meet other cubers in person for the first time

 

[Ordway Persyn]

Go for it, you can also practice for the comp over the next month and get you're average down, all you need to do is be able to solve the cube in order to compete.

 

[DELToS]

As long as you can consistently solve a 3x3 in under 10 minutes, GO TO A COMPETITON THEY ARE SO MUCH FUN

 

[Chree]

I only read your subject line and ignored your entire post. But the correct answer is: Yes.