I can certainly appreciate your feeling. Yup, tanning is a pain in the neck. Here's the problem though - with comps you get judged on grooming, and unfortunately the norm is to tan (for latin or rhythm comps). Judges will downgrade someone who hasn't tanned, just like they'd downgrade someone who hasn't dressed appropriately. I hate the tanning thing too, but having watched comps and having seen the occasional competitor who *hasn't* tanned, it really does make a difference. Because the lights are so strong at comps, people who haven't tanned look very washed out, and the judges will tend to look away from you.