CWA Blog Archive-Nailing Your Competition Day

Nailing Your Competition Day

Pdf Summary

Marisa Romero, Director of ABC Climbing Academy, offers coaches a practical playbook for competition day, the moment all the training and coaching comes together, where the goal is to show up as your best self. The advice applies across youth, collegiate, para, and elite events, and she acknowledges that with the sport and USA Climbing rules constantly evolving, even seasoned coaches can feel intimidated keeping up. Her central theme is preparation, and she stresses it's personal: the more prepared you feel, the more confident and at ease you'll be, so the specifics matter less than arriving genuinely ready. She shares concrete tactics that have worked for her and colleagues, while noting they'll vary by competition and by your climbers. Practical examples set the tone. Keep your device fully charged and carry a spare battery so you can check scores for accuracy throughout the day. If you're managing multiple athletes and other coaches, set up a communication system in advance, a dedicated group text, phone calls, or even walkie-talkies, so coordination doesn't break down during a long, chaotic event. The emphasis throughout is on removing friction before it happens. Competition days are long and logistically demanding, and small failures, a dead phone, a missed hand-off between coaches, an unclear plan, compound into stress that undermines both coach and athlete. By thinking through logistics, communication, and contingencies ahead of time, a coach frees up attention for what actually matters on the day: supporting climbers and helping them perform. Romero points readers toward companion CWA pieces on building a coaching team and on mental training for athletes as complementary preparation.

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Competition day is where training pays off, and coach preparation sets the tone. Marisa Romero's advice centers on removing friction ahead of time: charge your device and pack a spare battery for score checks, and set up a communication system for managing multiple athletes and coaches before the chaos starts.