Tournament Foods
 
 
 
I have several tips about eating at tournaments that I would like to share with you.  Apply these principles and you will be better energized for your next event.
 
Rule #1
Eat a good breakfast.
Ideally, you should eat breakfast about 2 hours before your first match.  Your breakfast should consist of substantial carbohydrates like oatmeal, whole wheat bread, or high-fiber cereal.  Alongside your main course, you should eat some fruit.  In addition to eating, make sure to drink plenty of liquids.  After not drinking for 12 hours during the night, you will probably be very dehydrated.  I would suggest drinking water or juice for breakfast.
 
Rule #2
Eat meals when you have a break.
Any break in the tournament that is longer than 2 hours calls for a small meal.  This is important because you might not have time to eat later in the tournament when you are busy playing.  Even if you aren’t very hungry, you should still eat a meal.  I would suggest eating a meal with rice or pasta.
 
Rule #3
Snack between every match.
In some tournaments, you might be playing continuously for 3-4 hours.  If this is the case, make sure that you snack between every match.  A snack might consist of a banana, a granola bar, a piece of bread, or some dried fruit. 
 
Rule #4
Drink Calories.
Sports drinks and fruit juices are great for tournaments because they will give an added boost of sugar that doesn’t take long to digest.  Drinking calories isn’t a good way to lose weight, but losing weight should not be your goal at tournaments.  At tournaments, I usually drink about 6 quarts of water and 3 quarts of sports drink per day. 
 
Apply these 4 basic eating rules and you will be well on your way to fueling your strongest tournament ever!