MANKATO — Just like any other sport, ice skaters of all ages learn a great deal from competition.

Humility, the value of practice and effort, good sportsmanship and teamwork are some of the reasons Mankato Figure Skating Club coach Debbie Radzak thinks competitions like the Bend of the River Skating Competition are so important.

“They have to go out there by themselves, and what they do at that moment is what they get scored on,” said Radzak, co-chair of the Bend of the River Committee. “It gives them so much confidence and character. ... And you learn about failure, because not everybody can get first place.”

The seventh-annual Bend of the River competition is Saturday at All Seasons Arena. About 25 to 30 skaters from the Mankato Club will be competing. Clubs from Hibbing, Chaska, Rochester, New Ulm and Wisconsin, among others, will be participating. About 95 skaters, overall, will compete.

Two of the local girls competing are Isabel Zwaschka, 11, and her older sister, Olivia, 14. The girls both were enrolled in skating school before competing with the Mankato Figure Skating Club.

Isabel is excited to perform Saturday, even though she’s done it plenty of times before. She’s been working on her “sit spins,” which are described as spins in which the backside is not higher than the level of the skating knee. She’s also learned loops and “power threes,” which involve a series of maneuvers down the length of the arena.

Both girls have placed in the past, and Olivia has placed first. And they’re hoping to repeat the experience Saturday.

“I’m getting the hang of it now,” Isabel said.

The age range of the skaters will be from about 5 to 18, and Radzak said 20 more skaters than last year are participating.

“We’ve had higher, up to 118,” she said. “I was just really happy to see we were up (again).”

Competitions like this take place in other cities about once a month, Radzak said. The competitions are for competition’s sake, in a way. The scores are not cumulative, nor do they help the skaters achieve a higher level. But, as Radzak said, competing is an important part of the process of becoming a better skater.

The levels go from preliminary up to senior, with six levels in between. It’s similar to earning karate belts. Similarly, judges are brought in from across the country to test the skaters and see if they are ready for the next level, a process not attached to the competitions.

Audience members without children involved in the Bend of the River competition will still have plenty to see, Radzak said. The skaters in their costumes doing routines to songs is entertaining on its own.

Perhaps the real fun, however, is for the parents in the audience.

“They’ve really grown and matured,” said Tamara Zwaschka, Olivia’s and Isabel’s mom. “Every time they (compete) it’s a new experience.”