For those who have had this and overcome it, how did you do it?

Every match I go to, I get nervous when it's my time to shoot. Usually just on the first and maybe second stage, but it depends on the match. I don't get nervous shooting in general, it's just the pressure of a match and maybe having the audience. Most matches I go to aren't incredibly serious shoots, they're just local clubs putting things on, and yet it still gets to me every time. I know there's no reason for it, but it happens.

Any tips?

How about a workout prior to the match?  When I was playing sports a workout helped me keep nerves down and did not affect my performance.  It took me awhile to convince myself that a workout didn't make me weaker for a game, but helped me calm down and focus.

That's your "fight or flight" kicking in.

Use it.

Your body is getting geared up. Breathing deep, getting you extra O2 to preform, getting the heart rate up to use that extra O2 and blood flowing to take it the muscles that are geared up to go.

Use it to focus more. Focus on the CoF, channel it to drown out other people and focus on the shooting. Use it and focus it to be better then you were the last time and to hopefully be better then the next guy.

My 2 cents.

The thing that I have found that helps my anxiety the most is my breathing

I do an 8 count inhale, 8 count exhale, them pause for about 4 seconds

About 3-4 rounds of this works wonders for me but it took me years to discover it

That said there are any number of different things that can work for people
Exercise, as already mentioned, meditation, staying hydrated (another one that really helps me)

Being at a public event it might be difficult but try to get away from the noise and distractions
and try a combination of any of the above

Good luck at your matches!

Aspirin and a coke.

I used to find that my best scores always came when I would go shoot a match after working a night shift. Straight from work to the range.

Are you having fun?

Mental focus.

It's an important aspect of any athlete and something that all the professionals work to improve.  Your anxiety means that you're being distracted by outside pressures rather than the task at hand.  How do we improve mental focus? You can try yoga, which does great stuff with mind body connection and breathing.  Learning to breath properly, to relax your muscles properly, and to block out outside distraction and stresses is key.  

There is a great series right now on NRA Freestyle that takes a wholeistic approach to shooting called "I Am Forever." I would encourage you to watch it and keep an open mind even though the "pupil" in that show is a young woman.  Mental focus transcends gender.

As mentioned, deep breathing. Close your eyes and visualize the drawing and engaging targets to anticipate what you will be doing

This.  Don't sweat it.

My guess is that you are focused on the outcome of your performance.

"What will the other shooters think of me? What if I make a mistake? How will I place in the rankings?"

You need to change your focus to look at the process and ignore the outcome. Even if the outcome is important to you, the fact that you allow it to worry you will negatively affect that outcome.

The process you need to focus on is,
Do I have my mags and ammo setup for this stage?
Do I have a valid and workable plan for this stage, will it allow me to succeed if some little thing goes wrong or will I have to shoot better than I ever have, just to make it work?
Have I watched other shooters and seen any issues or problems that may affect me?
Have I practiced enough to prepare for this match and do I have an understanding of what kind of shots I need on each target and array?
Do I have an accurate idea of what my capabilities are and do I know how to shoot within those capabilities.


Obviously you can add to this list but the point is that your anxiety is coming from your desire to win the match and or look good in front of your peers. That ego driven pressure can cause poor performance. By giving your brain something to do (spend cycles working on the process) you reduce the anxiety and gain confidence.

After I gave up caring about where I placed in the match, my shooting and rankings improved considerably. It was nice to see my name up high after the scores came out but the time to think about it was after the match, never before or during.

My 2 cents.

Gringop

I would add to this to "get aggressive". Get into the scenarios. Hate your targets. Focus on driving your bullets into your enemies. Sounds weird but it works for me.

Lanny Bassham, is that you?

Still happens to me all the time even more so when I am shooting with new people. Peer pressure is a bitc#, but I kinda dig the feeling too, keeps me sharp.

 

As far as how to make it go away, I don't know, but is it effecting your performance? While I still get that feeling, once I start shooting I just fall into my groove.

Not sure what competition you are in but what works for me is slow down. Focus on the front sight. Breathe.  You will lose on time for a few matches but of course you can practice this way too. Designate a match or two as "practice" and just never even look at the score. What I'm advocating is Tai Chi vs Taekwondo. Perfect your match approach moving slowly (OK not Tai Chi slow but you may get what I mean) and just focus on your own little sphere of motion.

A pretty wise old motorcycle racer named Jeff Smith once told me: "Do all you can do and then forget it. There is nothing more you can do. There will be failures but in failure lies the seed of success."