Facing it in the course of contest (8)
I believe the answer is:
opposite
'facing' is the definition.
(as in two things facing each other)
'it in the course of contest' is the wordplay.
'in the course of' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'contest' becomes 'oppose' (I've seen this in another clue).
'it' put within 'oppose' is 'OPPOSITE'.
(Other definitions for opposite that I've seen before include "completely different?" , "Converse" , "Directly across from" , "Corresponding" , "Reverse or antithesis" .)