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Home/Topic Guides/Competing
📖 Topic GuidePiper Life38 linked class moments

🏆 Competing

The logistics of a competition day, from registering and packing to checking in with the steward, tuning in front of the judge, and reading your results afterward.

The Short Version

A competition day runs on a plan, not on hope. I break preparation into time scales — months and weeks ahead, the week of, the night before, the morning of — and treat each one as its own checklist: registration and travel, then rules and venue details, then packing, then the schedule for the day itself.
The steward is your main contact all day, and the etiquette around them matters. Check in with your steward when you arrive, stay findable, and check back periodically if there's a long wait. Stewards are volunteers, and hiding from them or expecting them to track you down is not a legitimate excuse to be late.
Tuning in front of the judge has its own etiquette and its own time limit. Say hello to the steward, address the judge, give the correct full names of your tunes, and tune efficiently once you're told to take your time — you won't have nine minutes to get it right.

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3 of 14 moments play here — the rest are for members

About Competing

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✅ The essentials

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⭐ Essential Highlights

“Great quote: if you fail to plan, you're planning to fail... So here's what you want: you want to feel relaxed and confident... Make a plan, and follow your plan, and you are one hundred percent guaranteed a win. What I mean is: it doesn't mean you're going to win first place, but it means you're going to have a great experience.”▶ 10:06 · On the Day
“Okay, let's talk about the elements of our plan. We need to talk about logistics and travel. You need to consider the previous experience you've had... Weather — you've got to be able to deal with weather. The layout of things. You've got to have food and water. You've got to make sure you've got appropriate sleep and rest.”▶ 13:02 · On the Day
“So I will find the steward at my platform, and I will check in with them. I'll say, hi, I'm Jori — I'm here. And they'll say, oh great — we're not starting that event till ten o'clock... You want to be respectful and friendly to your stewards — your judges too, but your stewards especially. They're volunteers.”▶ 25:31 · On the Day
“They'll stewards very and grumpy, will just it. is have any expect be completely not It of not stewards to find to hiding some Don't excuse hide. you. be a legitimate and the”▶ 30:23 · On the Day
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“to rule. that a on A your up back the well, No not should turn various comes thing — you that's was never I threads common told is, judge.”▶ 28:23 · Getting Ready for Summer Competitions and Performances

Before the day: registering, reading the rules, and knowing the schedule

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Packing and dressing for the day

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Arrival, check-in, and the waiting phase

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In front of the judge: tuning, playing, and the small rules of etiquette

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After you play: resetting, results, and reading your sheet

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