Well, I did it! I entered and competed in my first pole competition. Honestly, that was the probably the scariest thing I have ever done.

Last year I attended the Melee on the Bayou: Houston’s Premier Pole Dance Competition to support my friend Nicole who was competing (for the first time). I recall thinking about how terrifying it would be to perform on a stage in front of that many people. No way did I ever think a year later it would be me up on that stage.

Because I was from out of town, the only pole division I could submit for was the Freestyle Division. In this division I couldn’t pick my music…. I had to walk out on stage not knowing the song that would be played, and I would have to, well, freestyle it. That made training even more difficult. I practiced to a number of different songs, worked on a variety of different combinations and moves, and worked on gauging the timing of different combinations so that I would have some idea where I was in the two minute performance. But nothing I did could have really prepared me for this…

I’ll keep the story short, but the reality is the song that played as I walked out on stage was nothing I would have ever imagined dancing to. I hadn’t practiced anything that would fit this style of song. Add that on top of the level of fear and anxiety I felt as my name was announced… well, let’s just say that undoubtedly that was the longest two minutes of my life! Here’s how it went…

I am very thankful for the experience. I learned a lot. I met some of the most amazing women. And while I’m not certain that I want to pursue pole competitions the way I do SUP racing… I’m not going to rule out the possibility of competing again in the future. But next time I will have my own song and a routine that I am much more confident about!