Those of us who have stepped onto the competition stage before know all too well how scary and uncertain the first time can be, especially when you don’t have the benefit of a coach or someone experienced to guide you on the day.
Apart from your actual physical preparation and meal requirements through “Peak Week” and into competition day, there are a million things to organize, pack and prepare for the show. Quite often it will involve traveling interstate or even overseas, which of course adds to the logistical complexity of it all and to the importance of not forgetting anything.
For my last three shows, Fabian and I did them 100% all on our own, and two of them were interstate. No tanning service, no makeup artists, no hair stylists – just us, with no one at all helping us. And you know what? It’s really not that hard once you get organized.
To make things as smooth and easy as possible for ourselves come show day, we have made a checklist so that we don’t need to stress out about whether we have forgotten anything. This list assumes the worst case scenario – that you need to travel for your show and therefore need to pack everything you need.
I’d like to share our checklist with you here, hopefully those of you who are just starting out with competing will find it helpful. We find ourselves regularly adding to the list so if you can think of anything useful that’s missing please let me know in the comments, that would help everyone reading this as well as myself!
- Posing suit – depending on what time you will be taking the stage, you may need to wear your suit to the venue – check with the organizer.
- Bikini Bite – this suit adhesive is essential for adhering your suit to your butt and if necessary, your breasts.
- Posing shoes.
- Costume Jewelry – whatever you’ll be wearing on stage, keep it all together in a box. This includes things like earrings, bracelets, rings, and a belly ring if you wear one.
- Backstage robe – this should be long with long sleeves to protect your tan while you’re walking around backstage or anywhere else at the venue.
- Backstage slippers – these can be flip-flops or some kind of comfortable slippers to wear while you’re not on stage.
- Makeup kit – bring all the makeup you need for your contest, and decide on what you’ll take with you to the venue itself for any needed touch-ups. Be thorough, and don’t assume that something won’t need to be touched up – you never know. Also, be sure to bring several dark foundations for your face and neck, sometimes the lighting at the venue can surprise you and you’ll need to make your face darker than you thought.
- Nail kit – wear your nails to the show but also have a few spares of each nail fully prepped and painted, ready to stick on in case of losses or breakages. Make sure you include nail adhesive, nail adhesive remover, nail removal tool, nail polish (the adhesive can sometimes spoil the enamel already on the nails as you glue them on), nail clipper and a nail file in your kit.
- Eyelash kit – bring your kit to the venue, including spare lashes. Your kit should include lashes, adhesive, applicator tool and an eyelash curler.
- Competition tan kit – bring your tan, applicators and protective gloves to the venue as well for final coats and/or touch ups.
- Glaze – depending on the type of tan you use, you may need to apply some glaze just before taking the stage.
- Sponges – these can come in handy to help with touching up your makeup or tan.
- Shower cap.
- Hair straightening iron/curling iron/blow dryer – you may need any of these items depending on your hairstyle.
- Hair products – collect all the items you need for your hair, such as shampoo, conditioner, heat spray (if necessary), hair spray, hair clips, combs, brushes, and so on.
- Makeup robe – this robe is to wear to protect your tan while doing your makeup or your hair.
- Towels – a couple of old, preferably dark, towels are essential for putting on the ground when applying your tan.
- Dark sheets – a set of dark sheets is very handy for putting in your bed the night before the contest if your tanning process starts before show day. This will prevent annoying soiling of your nice bed sheets or those in your motel room from your tan.
- Change of clothes – you’ll need something to change into once you’re done on stage for the day.
- Emergency repair kit – this should include some needles and thread (the same color as your suit), scissors, safety pins and superglue.
- Basic first aid kit – nothing fancy, just some band aids, whatever medicines you need, and some tampons just in case.
- Mirrors – double-check that the motel you booked has one in the room, and have a smaller back-stage mirror with you as well.
- Tissues – these come in handy for just about everything.
- Competition registration form – if necessary.
- Photo ID – if required.
- Cameras – a still camera and a video camera should be kept handy for capturing as much of your performance as you can.
- Warm-up bands or dumbbells – bands are much easier to travel with!
- MP3 player.
- Cooler bag – you’ll need to keep your required meals for the day cool and fresh.