Plan to be at the facility at least one hour before your on-ice warm-up time. This will give you ample opportunity to check in, orient yourself to the rink so you know where to go, get in an off-ice warm-up, as well as take care of any last-minute hair or make-up touch-ups.

If you plan to get dressed and do your hair and make-up at the rink (make sure the competition offers a changing area, not all of them do), then you should plan to arrive at least 1½ hours before your on-ice warm-up time.

Skaters will be grouped solely by skill level based on the level you registered for, which means the skaters may or may not be of similar age. Groups usually consist of no more than 8-10 skaters and medals are awarded (top 3 or 4) by group. Typically, if there are more than 10 skaters in an event, the skaters will be separated into multiple groups, each of which is then considered a separate event with separate awards. In this case, skaters are often grouped by age.

As the skater’s on-ice warm-up time approaches, the skater should remain near the ice so they can get on as soon as their warm-up time is announced. The entire group will warm up at the same time. The on-ice warm-up is pretty short – generally only 5 minutes. An announcement will be made when the warm-up time is over (skaters are usually also given a 1-minute warning), and all skaters should exit the ice at this time. There will be an ice monitor standing at or near the entrance to the ice. This person will instruct the skater to enter the ice when it is their turn. The skater should take the ice, go to their opening spot, get in their opening pose and not move. This will indicate to the judges and the person running music that you are ready. The person running the music will start it as soon as both the skater and the judges are ready. If your program is not performed to music, an announcement will be made to let the skater know they can begin – something like, “Skater, you may begin.”

When you finish skating, take a bow and exit the ice. If your event is skated on half ice and the skater on the other half of the ice is still doing their program, wait until they have finished before skating off the ice.