There’s nothing wrong with saying “on your mark” when you want people to get ready, especially before a race, competition, or fun activities.
It’s often followed by “get set” and “go” to signal the start.
But since it’s overused, the phrase can sound old-fashioned. Sometimes, it doesn’t fit certain situations, or isn’t common in your culture.
In this article, we share 20 other ways to say “on your mark” which makes the message clearer, more modern, or suited to different contexts.
Key Takeaways
- “Get ready” is often said to alert someone to prepare themselves for a race or any activity. This makes it the best replacement for “one your mark.”
- For a more casual expression, it’s better to replace “on your mark” with “Gear up.”
- If the activity has nothing to do with racing, you can say “focus now” instead of “on your mark.”
When you break down the phrase “on your mark,” it becomes easier to figure out what other phrases might work better for your situation.
Over time, as sports became more organised, the simple command “on your mark” evolved into longer, more formal instructions like: “Runners, please move to the starting positions marked for you.”
The next step is “get set,” which tells runners to place their feet in the starting blocks and get ready to race.
Finally, when everything is in order, a starting pistol is fired to signal “go!”
It may not necessarily be a race in your situation. So you can use any of the alternative phrases below.
List of the Best Similar Phrases to “On Your Mark”
- Get ready
- Take your position
- Prepare yourself
- Get set
- Stand by
- Ready, steady
- Brace yourself
- Gear up
- Position yourself
- Ready up
- Focus now
- Eyes forward
- Stand ready
- Take the starting point
- Assume your position
- Ready yourself
- Lock in position
- Stand firm
- Find your footing
- Step to the line
Before you choose which exact suggestion to use, consider the context. Is it a game? Is it a race? Or something less serious.
All the phrases in the above list will work for when you want to instruct participants to take their positions or prepare themselves.
Continue reading to learn how each of the suggested phrases match different scenarios.
1. Get ready
“Get ready” is often said to alert someone to prepare themselves for a race or any activity. This makes it the best replacement for “one your mark.”
The most interesting thing about this alternative phrase is that it’s simple, direct, and will work in most contexts and languages even when interpreted.
The issue is that many people use “get ready” as much as “on your mark.” It’s even another way of saying “set” that often follows the latter.
But all these means you can use them interchangeably just for a variety of words sake.
2. Take your position
Assuming what you wanted to say “on your mark” for involved people following a rule in the game upon begging to be in a particular position or place, then it’s better to say “take your position.”
I have been to many inter-house sports in high school where the coach would switch between saying “on your marks,” “get ready” and “take your position” just so there’s variety to the things he yells as instruction to the runners.
3. Prepare yourself
Another simple way you can say “on your mark” is to tell the person (or people) “prepare yourself,” especially when what they are getting in position for may surprise them.
This is the kind of phrase you can use when a group of people are about to try a game or challenge for the first time.
As the moderator, you can say “prepare yourself” which is more appropriate for such a situation. The tone you use in this case also matters.
4. Get set
When you tell someone to get set, you want them to condition themselves and be prepared for what’s to come.
This could be about starting a race, commencing a fun activity, or getting set for a challenge to start.
When you use get set, keep in mind that it’s not limited to games or sports. Sometimes, you want the person to be prepared for a speech or presentation.
“On your mark” will surely be less accurate in such a case. “Get set” sounds versatile for most situations.
5. Stand by
If you’re thinking of replacing the phrase “on your mark” with “stand by,” there are a few things to consider.
First, “Stand by” means to be ready to deal or assist with something. So using this phrase will best fit a situation where what is involved isn’t racing.
For example, a debate competition is ongoing and it’s time for the opponent to go on stage. Just before they are called upon, you can say to them “stand by” instead of “on your mark.”
6. Ready, steady
The rhyme of “ready, steady” makes it an interesting alternative to “on your mark.”
When you tell someone to “be ready,” it’s a modern, brief way to tell them to get prepared for something.
This statement has a casual undertone. So you wouldn’t want to use it if you’re handling a serious officiating for a racing competition.
But for indoor games, fun activities without too many spectators, then “ready steady” is a comic option to use.
7. Brace yourself
In English, the expression “brace yourself” means to prepare yourself mentally or physically for something that is about to happen.
But here’s the catch, unlike “on your mark,” “brace yourself” is more fitting if the thing about to happen is unpleasant or difficult.
So we can argue that both phrases are not similar. But on a basic level, they convey the same intent only that you use “brace yourself” to be more intune with the difficulty of the activity.
8. Gear up
For a more casual expression, it’s better to replace “on your mark” with “Gear up.” Again, using this alternative phrase doesn’t limit to sport activities such as race.
Since “gear up” basically means to prepare or equip oneself for something, you can apply it in any situation wherein you thought of saying “on your mark.”
Even for context such as a tour guide trying to mentally prepare tourists for what is to come in the journey, “gear up” is the perfect phrase.
9. Position yourself
You can use “position yourself” to be more instructive instead of telling them “on your mark.”
This alternative phrase is more useful when the activity involved requires the person to assume a particular position to be physically ready to engage.
It’s also a perfect phrase to replace “on your mark” when a game is procedural and positing oneself is part of the steps to play the game.
10. Ready up
For the sake of this article, we refer to “ready up” as the idiomatic option.
This is because “Ready up” is actually a British and Australian slang term that means to swindle.
But the idiomatic aspect of this phrase means to prepare for use or to get ready.
So just as you’d say “on your mark” before instructing players in a game or activity to begin, you say “ready up” to confirm readiness of everyone involved.
11. Focus now
If the activity has nothing to do with racing, you can say “focus now” instead of “on your mark.”
It’s a perfect way to call the attention of all participants to the commencement of any activity. But it has to be said with a tone loud enough to do that (except you have a speaker).
It’s better than saying “on your mark” especially in a situation where you’re particular about first gaining the full attention of all participants before asking them to position themselves.
12. Eyes forward
If you’re in charge of a race event with different distances or a marathon, especially during practice sessions, repeating “on your marks” over and over can get tiring.
To mix things up, you can try saying “eyes forward” instead.
It means the same thing as “on your marks,” but it’s just a different way to say it.
Just make sure the runners know the basic rules of racing so that when you say “eyes forward,” they automatically understand it’s time to get into position.
13. Stand ready
Even when the activity has nothing to do with racing, you want a phrase that still communicates being prepared to act. This is why “stand ready” is another better way to say “on your mark.”
14. Take the starting point
If it’s actually a racing challenge, you can say “take the starting point” instead of “on your mark.” Both phrases communicate the same idea of getting into position for a race. So you can use them interchangeably.
Just remember that “take the starting point” may not be precise enough, especially when there are many starting points for multi-level games and activities.
QUICK TIP:
- It may be better to say “take THIS starting point” and then point to the area so the participants are aware of the spot where they should position for the race.
15. Assume your position
The entire idea of responding to an “on your mark” instructor from an official in a racing game is to assume position.
So, it goes without the saying that “assume your position” is another suitable replacement for “on your mark.”
They both describe the same thing. When you say either of the phrases, the runner is expected to have their back leg’s thigh perpendicular to the ground, and the front foot’s shin parallel to the ground.
Their arms should be straight but not hyperextended, and held slightly wider than shoulder-width.
16. Ready yourself
“Ready yourself” sounds more personal. So you can use this one instead of “on your mark” when talking to just one person.
Meanwhile, you can apply “ready yourself” in different situations. It doesn’t have to only be during racing.
17. Lock in position
The basic idea of being on your mark is to get into position. So saying “lock in position” is another fantastic way to say “on your mark.”
The position, as running is involved, has to do with a piece of tape or other marking on the floor that indicates a position for the person to stand in.
There are even many other games that have such features, especially games involving a starting and finishing spot. So “lock in position” will also work for them.
18. Stand firm
If you want to sound more encouraging so the person can perform well in the race, you can begin with “stand firm” and then move on to “get set; Go!”
But sometimes, this alternative phrase can stand vague. So we recommend you consider it a way to mentally and psychologically prepare to participate in a game or fun activity before it starts.
19. Find your footing
The unique thing about the phrase, “find your footing” is that it focuses on inspiring someone to perform well in an activity that is about to start.
So it’s not limited to running where they use “on your mark.”
It could be that the person is about to go on stage for a play. You can say “find your footing” as a way to tell the person to be confident or successful in a particular activity.
20. Step to the line
If it’s a game that is performed one after the other (short put, Archery, etc), then you’ll be instructing one person at a time. In such a case, it makes more sense to tell them “step to the line” instead of “on your marks.”
Final Thoughts
If you’re giving command to runners at the beginning of a race in order to get them into the correct position to start, then we strongly recommend you stick to the general “on your mark.”
But the alternative phrases in this article will come in handy when you need variants so you don’t sound boring.
