[Help Thread] Advice and Tips for Competitions

[Lorenzo]

-Don't be scared to talk to people and exchange info to keep in touch. One of the worst things you could do is be stationary in your seat in the crowd and never talk to anyone.

-Bring some cash to buy cubes that people sell (there are ALWAYS people selling/trading cubes)

-Try out other people's puzzles. You will feel the difference between yours and everyone else's. Plus, some people have pretty awesome puzzles!

-Cubing competitions are usually only fun for the cubers. Sad but true, but also another reason why more people should cube.

-Try being a judge.

-Relax. You get better times by doing this.

-Be early to competition. More time to meet people.

-Some people don't like having their bag of cubes open to EVERYONE to play with. Don't grab cubes from people's bags unless they allow it. If they DO allow it, MAKE SURE it goes back in the right place. But this is pretty obvious.

-HAVE FUN. But that is only possible through socializing. If you just do your solves, then you basically just do what you do at home, except in a different area. It is not everyday that you get to go somewhere where cubers rule the vicinity, unless you are in an area with a bunch of cubers.

 

[Bierproever]

- Jeans => Check
- Awesome T-shirt => Check
- Social skills => Check???

 

[Plaincow]

How do you prepare for a competition?

Wondering how you all prepare for a competition.. im going to to my first competition on this saturday and ive been practicing about an hour a day. is this normal? should i practice more or less or what. just wondering what you all do.

 

[ianini]

Practice enough so you're comfortable with your times.

 

[Hays]

make sure all of your cubes are perfect

• lube
• clean
• mod
• resticker
• read the WCA regulations

But most importantly, practice. The amount would be relative to how fast you want to be.

 

[Ryanrex116]

3 Weeks before: I stop listening to music, and try to stop other bad habits, such as over inspection. I also stop learning new algorithms.

1 Week before: I only use my main cubes, and only practice the events I will be competing in.

The whole time: practice, practice, practice.

 

[JeffDelucia]

I've only been to one actually but what I did wasn't the best. I bought new stickers about a week before the comp. I wasn't really adjusted to the slightly different shades yet. (It murdered my 4x4 results) So I would advise not changing anything right before.

 

[musicninja17]

See you at MN open 2010

 

[r_517]

Practise as much as you can.
Make sure you are familiar with the regulations.
Take it easy.
Enjoy.

 

[EmersonHerrmann]

I sleep in the car a little on the way there, cube a little, drink some coffee (latté is optional) and then I practice 3x3 One-Handed when I get there :3 and I have fun with my friends )

Oh, and I lube my cubes if I feel they need it

 

[oprah62]

Practice your events. And be careful that all your cubes are in top shape, and know the regulations. Also, be safe. I know of people that injury their hands or something right before the comp., and that ruins everything.

 

[Plaincow]

See you at MN open 2010

See you there hopefully if i can get a ride with my friend and his other friend. and thanks everyone for the tips ima keep practicing. and btw i got a ghost hand II and imo its too fast anyone else think this?

 

[Boxcarcrzy12]

I clean and lube my cubes, then before I compete a 2-7 relay is in order to warm up and get me ready.

 

[That70sShowDude]

If I'm at the top of my game for a cube (recent PB's) and it feels fine, I usually won't do anything to it.
If I feel one of my cubes needs to be lubed, I try and do it at least 2 days prior to the competition so I'm used to how it feels.
I always try to practice basically every event that I'm competing in the day before the competition. Except BLD for some reason. I actually never ever practice it.

 

[AnsonL]

how do i not get nervous?

i gets nervous even when taking a video,i can't get a good avg,and especially now in summer,i gets sweaty hand

 

[y3k9]

Summer, wtf? It's flippin' freezing.

 

[IamWEB]

The seasons aren't the same throughout the Earth at the same time.

I sometimes get nervous too when filming, so I think that listening to music could help you relax and not focus on the camera.
Filming yourself more often helps too, because sooner or later you're likely to get satisfactory results.
If your hands are sweaty, wash them before filming and use a cloth or something similar between solves too if you want.

Before solving, you could also meditate if you want. "Go for it." lol

 

[AvidCuber]

Summer, wtf? It's flippin' freezing.

^he lives in New Zealand

Anyway, I just try to focus on the cubing, not my surroundings. If you put the camera somewhere where you can't see it, perhaps, or somewhere that you can't see the LCD screen, that might help. Also, I used to be really nervous in front of cameras too but just film a lot of stuff (you can delete it if it's not good), and eventually you get used to it. Can't really say much else.

 

[y3k9]

Oh, you're in Australia. lol.

 

[Inf3rn0]

Oh, you're in Australia. lol.

No.