Off Topic Meet tips

[Gymnast2009]

What can I do to prepare for one? What tips do you have if driving? What about if we‘re flying? Minimize hair/ makeup stress? I don’t havpe super long hair but used to get super frustrated when it would slick back or look good. What about day before prep? Day of schedule? I haven’t competed in years and back then I was just a little kid, so my mom did everything, now I’m a teen and expected to do my own stuff, btw parents are out of the question for hair, they suck at it, even as a 7 year old I did my own bun. And would a simple avacodo toast work for breakfast for someone who normally skips it entirely. How do I keep my cool, I used to be a little fearless kid without any mental blocks who though competed was to show mommy and daddy my flips, but now I want to score well and place, and win. Its weird. Why is it STRESSFUL?????

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

Just gonna drop this in here to follow this thread - I have the same nervousness as you at meets

 

[mezzamare]

This is kind of how it goes down in our house:

Day before:

• Eat well, get good rest. No sleepovers or big outings for the day
• Hydrate!
• Locate and lay out all of your competition gear (don't forget shoes!)
• Locate and lay out all of your hair stuff
• Pack your backpack with a snack, extra grips, hair spray, spare leo, extra hair thingies, etc.
• A good day for doing visualizations of your routines. Not unusual to see my daughter randomly doing full turns around the house.

Morning of:

• Eat good food with quality nutrition (whether that's grazing or a big meal--sometimes my daughter opts for a smoothie, then packs some pretzels, nuts and fruit for the road. Sometimes she wants pancakes, lol.)
• Hydrate!
• A few hours before leaving, do hair (and makeup, if applicable). This gives you plenty of time to deal with days when your hair wants to do anything but what you need it to!
• Get dressed and be ready to go on time!

If you have a lot of travel to do, listen to music that calms you or hypes you up (whatever you need that day!) or just an audiobook or podcast to take your mind off of things entirely.

For hair, we just use the bun doughnuts you can buy on Amazon. Those plus lots of gel and hairspray, hair thingies and a few bobby pins and it's usually pretty easy. My daughter (13) mostly does her hair herself; I just wrap the hair elastics around the doughnut.

I don't know if it would work for you, but my daughter often facetimes with her teammates when getting ready. It kind of turns her nervousness into something more like excitement, and makes her feel a lot more positive. Like they are all going into battle together, so she isn't as fixated on the little issues she's working on. It's reassuring to hear that the nerves are normal.

It's great if you can have something fun planned after the meet. Whether it's hitting up a tasty restaurant or ice cream place, or going to a friend's house for a sleepover... it's good to have something to look forward to that's going to be enjoyable, no matter what happens at the meet.

Finally, I always remind my daughter that ultimately, (like on an existential level), none of this really matters. There are any number of things she could choose to be doing on a given weekend day, but she chose gymnastics and going to a gymnastics meet, because she loves doing this sport. Meets are her chance to show off what she can do and what she's been working so hard on. It should be fun and enjoyable, to participate in this activity with a ton of other people who love the sport like she does. These are her people! This is her tribe! How wonderful to have this opportunity!

And honestly, the more fun she's having, the better she does out there. Because she's relaxed and her joy shows through. Feel better, do better. It's awesome.

Hope this is at least a little helpful. Absolute best of luck on your upcoming season! Keep us posted about how it goes!

 

[Gymnast2009]

What hair products and what makeup look should i go for? I have seen some really extra makeup looks before and not sure if i should go that way and match the Leo or go natural. The one thing my mom is good at for hair is braiding because she used to do horse back riding competitively until college and owned a horse, so for shows and comps she would braid the main and tail, so I’m thinking maybe two French braids into a braided bun? She would have to learn to French braid because I have been trying for years and I’m no hope, but I’m sure she will pick up quickly, can anyone link a good video Tutorial? Also should I use water proof makeup products for like mascara, eyeliner if I use it, concealer/foundation?

 

[Pfiga]

What hair products and what makeup look should i go for? I have seen some really extra makeup looks before and not sure if i should go that way and match the Leo or go natural. The one thing my mom is good at for hair is braiding because she used to do horse back riding competitively until college and owned a horse, so for shows and comps she would braid the main and tail, so I’m thinking maybe two French braids into a braided bun? She would have to learn to French braid because I have been trying for years and I’m no hope, but I’m sure she will pick up quickly, can anyone link a good video Tutorial? Also should I use water proof makeup products for like mascara, eyeliner if I use it, concealer/foundation?

We used to do just a simple bun, but now my daughter likes to have a french-braid "headband" going into it. It's simple enough but a bit fancier than just a bun. Here's a tutorial that might be helpful (but I usually start it closer to her natural part, rather than all the way down by her ear):

After that, you just pull it into the ponytail that goes into your usual bun.
I actually learned it by taking her to my hairdresser who was kind enough to demonstrate and teach me, so maybe you or your mom could try that too?

I don't have much advice on makeup, but it is not something you should stress about. If you decide to go with makeup, then yes, I would suggest waterproof for eyes at least. Use concealer/foundation only if you need it.

 

[Gymnast2009]

We used to do just a simple bun, but now my daughter likes to have a french-braid "headband" going into it. It's simple enough but a bit fancier than just a bun. Here's a tutorial that might be helpful (but I usually start it closer to her natural part, rather than all the way down by her ear):

After that, you just pull it into the ponytail that goes into your usual bun.
I actually learned it by taking her to my hairdresser who was kind enough to demonstrate and teach me, so maybe you or your mom could try that too?

I don't have much advice on makeup, but it is not something you should stress about. If you decide to go with makeup, then yes, I would suggest waterproof for eyes at least. Use concealer/foundation only if you need it.

Thank you! This looks nice, I will have my mom try it, but I think I want more side French braids into bun type thing. Any video suggestions on normal, simple French braids?

 

[Pfiga]

Thank you! This looks nice, I will have my mom try it, but I think I want more side French braids into bun type thing. Any video suggestions on normal, simple French braids?

This video looks helpful:

 

[Gymnast2009]

Thank you!

 

[Mish]

What hair products and what makeup look should i go for? I have seen some really extra makeup looks before and not sure if i should go that way and match the Leo or go natural. The one thing my mom is good at for hair is braiding because she used to do horse back riding competitively until college and owned a horse, so for shows and comps she would braid the main and tail, so I’m thinking maybe two French braids into a braided bun? She would have to learn to French braid because I have been trying for years and I’m no hope, but I’m sure she will pick up quickly, can anyone link a good video Tutorial? Also should I use water proof makeup products for like mascara, eyeliner if I use it, concealer/foundation?

Maybe a regional thing (NY metro area), but in 10 years of competing my daughter and her teammates never wore makeup until they were about 15, and then was only mascara.

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

I personally do very light (by light I mean lip gloss foundation and a slight blush) makeup for meets. I've never seen extreme makeup/matching leo makeup in my meets yet though.

 

[Gymnast2009]

Yeah I’m sort of thinking like concealer/ foundation if I need it, but probably just tinted moisturizer, blush, lip gloss, highlighter, mascara, tiny bit of shimmer gold eyeshadow for Special meets.