Guest Writer 300

The importance of rules & questions in nail competitions

By Guest Writer | 23 March 2023 | Expert Advice, Feature

Mino Vo Column Feb23

Every nail competition has its own set of rules, and rules can change from year to year.

Ensuring that you read the rules and understand them perfectly is an imperative part of the competing process, whether you are new to competitions or a seasoned pro, shares multi award-winning nail aficionado, Mino Vo.

Those who compete without reading the rules often lose points that can be easily avoided. Some may also be disqualified. When I competed at Nailympia Canada, I lost five points because I did not have a bin next to my desk. I have also seen NailPro competitors submit Disney-themed artwork for the flat art category when the rules clearly state that this is forbidden. As a result, their hard work was never judged, and they were immediately disqualified.

In additional to the general competition rules, each category will have its own rules and criteria. This is where you can learn the weighting of points and from which areas they can be gained. Rules detail what is expected from a competition.

I created these three nails for the Joy Of Nails category, Nailympia Online – second edition, and was awarded first place in Division 3. To add to the excitement, CND™ co-founder, Jan Arnold, who was a category judge, revealed that she loved my work so much that she wanted to arrange a video call with me. It was a highlight of my competing career!

Some categories will have their own theme. For example, the theme for the Invent A Nail Shape category in the second edition of Nailympia Online was ‘colours of a peacock’.

This allowed for imagination and creativity, and I created a dragon weapon nail, which I decorated in tones of blue, representing the theme. Other competitors took the theme literally, creating peacock-shaped nails.

It can be easy to miss important information when competing, particularly if you are competing in multiple categories. Take your time when reading the rules and read them several times.

During the Nailartfrance competition in Paris, I discovered that my stiletto nails were too long, as the maximum length specified the rules was 5cm. I was so used to competiing in Nailympia competitions, that have a different length requirement, that I was not used to the length restrictions for the Nailartfrance category.

I created these Russian almond nails last month as I was keen to work with some bright shades post-winter, and change up my styling efforts.

Score sheets are just as important and competition rules, as they reveal how the points are distributed. Even the most seasoned, successful competitors may not get a perfect score in nail competitions.

Knowing how the scores are distributed can help you to decided whether you want to lose a couple of points in one area in order to focus on a different area, in which you can accrue more points. Score sheets help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses.

Many new competitors run out of time on the competition floor, and file until the competition ends. Competitors should always allow for time to clean the nails and apply top coat or create a high shine.

In my opinion, these tasks are straightforward to complete so and you should be able to achieve the maximum points. Skipping these steps could cause a loss of 15-20 points.

www.minovolondon.uk

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