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Snow
November2016edition
Australian Professional Snowsport Instructors
CONTENTS NOvember 2016 EDITION
President’s Notes................................................. Page II
Trevor Greenwood.................................. Page 25
Office Notes......................................................... Page 1
Jon Steel.................................................. Page 26
Financial Report................................................... Page 1
Rookie Articles
Reports
Danielle Brooke....................................... Page 28
Alpine...................................................... Page 3 Snowboard.............................................. Page 4
Robert Benjamin...................................... Page 29
Josh Laney.............................................. Page 30
Telemark.................................................. Page 7
Interschool’s Scholarship..................................... Page 31
Nordic...................................................... Page 8
Results ................................................................. Page 32
Adaptive.................................................. Page 9
Japan Calendar.................................................... Page 35
Articles
Demo Team
Alex Parsons ........................................... Page 11
New Team Announcement...................... Page 37
Danny Monaghan.................................... Page 16
Oscar Alston............................................ Page40
Ben Jackson............................................ Page 18
Michaela Patton....................................... Page 41
Sodergren Scholarship
November 2016
Sponsors/ Partners.............................................. Page 40
Ali McKenzie............................................ Page 23
President’s Letter Anthony Hill Dear Members It was only a few weeks ago that the snow finally stopped falling and now many of us turn our attention to the norther winter. The Board had a productive meeting last month and primarily the
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good news is for you, our members. Many of the agenda items were focused on returning more value to our members. As a result, the Board and our employees have been provided with a number of initiatives to complete over the summer months. I will provide further details as they come to hand. In the meantime, if you are heading overseas, be
or I can assist any of you to progress the APSI please
safe and enjoy the norther winter. As you all are the
contact me at presidient@apsi.net.au
eyes and ears of the APSI, if an opportunity presents
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OFFICE NOTES ALEXIA COLVILLE
Welcome to the 2016 end of season edition of SnowPro magazine. This year has been a great success, with an overall increase in participation and some great training results. You can read more about what went on in the following pages, but a few notes from the office first.
This year Ant Hill, Nigel Mill and Chris Allen were awarded APSI life membership. Being awarded life membership is a great honour and not a decision that the board takes lightly; however, these three members have served the association in various ways for over ten years and certainly earned the recognition. We look forward to their continued involvement for the next ten years! Once again we celebrated the end of season with spring sessions at Perisher and a BBQ at the Wild Brumby. We’re working hard on improving the spring session format and hopefully those of you that attended noticed the changes. Thank you to Brad & Monika at the Wild Brumby for hosting the end of season BBQ. Due to generous donations and participation in spring sessions, over the weekend we raised over $10,000 towards sending the team to Interski in 2019.
We’re continuing to improve the APSI mobile app (thank you to everyone that has sent their feedback). There are a few big changes to the app, which means that you will need to download the new version – there are instructions on how to do this later in the magazine. If you haven’t yet seen the app, make sure you check it out! Membership renewals for 2017 are now available through the online store. One year early bird membership is $100 instead of $125. However, renewing for 3 years ($280) is still the best deal! Early bird prices will only be available until December 31. Finally, a big thank you to Andy, the technical directors and the APSI board for their continued support and also to you, the members for your commitment to training and the APSI. I hope you all have a wonderful Summer and I look forward to seeing you again next year. Lexi
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At this year’s AGM we farewelled Mark Dixon (President) and Nigel Mills (Snowsport from the board and welcomed Ant Hill and Adam Hosie in their place. A big thank you needs to be extended to both Mark and Nigel for their time on the board to helping our association.
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Once again, we had lots of positive responses from the neck buffs that were sent pre-season and it was great to see lots of instructors wearing them out on the mountain. We hope to continue this in 2017.
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events
BY THE NUMBERS
members
candidate passes
expected net profit
new trainers
level 1
level 2
level 3
level 4
adaptive
cups of coffee
candidates
increase in particpation
attended
days training
km’s driven by trainers
averaging
days each
wet weather
exam pass rates* chairlift rides
new demo team members
*alpine exams, including Japan 15/16
manuals bought
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a p s i @ a p s i . n e t . a u
Treasurers End of Season Report Deborah Shaw Meehan - Treasurer
The APSI is in a sound financial position, and the forecast for the year ending 31 December 2016 is that there will be a profit possibly in excess of $100,000. The main factors behind this estimate, noting the results are unaudited, are: • Demand for courses was high, with many more courses conducted than originally planned. • Many budgetted items cost less than expected. • Over January to March 2016 the APSI generated a profit rather than the loss expected over the Australian summer, due to the success of training and examinations held in Japan. • Membership income is higher than expected • A large invoice for work in Japan last Christmas has been received, and this has influenced a change of policy to ensure APSI receives funds in advance of delivering courses and conducting exams, and • There is interest income from investing funds not required for operational purposes in term deposits.
A recent fundraiser for Interski was successful, generating in the vicinity of $10,000 which, along with 25% of the 2015 net profit transferred from APSI to the Interski account, leaves the Interski account looking quite healthy for this stage in the four-year planning and fund-raising cycle. Sadly, we have had two workers’ compensation claims this year. APSI holds compulsory workers compensation insurance to cover this, but APSI does pay an excess from its own funds. It is unknown whether there will be any longer-term impact, financial or otherwise, from these injuries to staff, however APSI remains committed to ensuring that staff injured in the workplace, whether on or off-snow, receive the support they are entitled to from the APSI as an employer. A formal leave policy for the General Manager and the Administrative Officer were considered.
As the National Employment Standards stipulate the minimum conditions, a formal policy was not considered necessary. There has been no movement in relation to the money owed by A Dunstone, however the Board is still taking action to recover these funds. Looking to the future, a preliminary budget for 2017 has been developed. Budget submissions have been received from Trainers and these are being prioritised and integrated into next year’s forecast with a view to finalising the forecast and budget by the end of the year. Finally, given our sound financial position, over the summer months we will be exploring further ways to use our funds in the best interest of APSI members. This will include exploring whether to invest in property. The Board and members have discussed this from time to time, however any decision would be made in consultation with members. Deborah Shaw Meehan Treasurer
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ALPINE REPORT Richard Jameson
Aussie ski instructors are some of the toughest in the business. We are known across the world as having one of the finest work ethics, strong skillset/ knowledge of our sport and the drive to deliver exceptional experiences to all of the guests we get to share our passion with. We are a hardy bunch, used to tough conditions and this season was no exception. There was certainly some difficult weather days throughout the mountains in 2016 and it was a true inspiration to witness the resilience all of you
Plenty of snow to get warmed up. The Alpine Rookie Trainer selection day at Perisher prior to the opening of the season.
showed to not only tough out these conditions by working hard each and every day, but to get out there and train hard for your goals as well. I want to personally commend all of you who pushed through this year to chase after those goals and continue the mountain tradition we all are known for and love. It was a busy season for alpine events with participation the highest for the APSI in many years. Whether you took part in your level 1 for the first time, knocked off some or all of the components in your level, or tried out for the National Demonstration Team, I hope you enjoyed the process and challenge of the winter. It’s this challenge of our job that has turned the love of skiing into a career for many of us. There was some awesome snow and weather days through the season as well! National Demo Team selection @ Falls Creek during August.
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APSI instructors battling the elements in Mt. Buller during an early season level 1 certification course.
It was wet at times!
Some great people becoming even greater instructors. The end of season Victorian level 3 exam in Falls Creek. The ultimate goal of which, is to make ourselves better in the job that we do for our schools and our guests that we get to hang out with on the front line. But it’s this personal growth and satisfaction you receive from the process that is also a huge, added
benefit. Good luck to those of you heading overseas this northern winter and I hope to see all of you back next year in the Aussie Mountains to continue this unique journey. Cheers, Richard
Snowboard ReporT Adam Federico Well I have to start by saying that Mother Nature sure did have a cruel sense of humour this year! 2016 was easily the wettest year I’ve ever experienced in my 13 years in the Australian mountains. We were probably only a few degrees off in each cycle of having the best season ever rather than Armageddon with a savior behind it.
After the craziness of 2015 I was looking forward to coming back to a much steadier schedule this winter. Boy was I really wrong about that! This season turned into being just as busy as last winter, if not busier. The great thing about it being busy is the fact that, that means lots of interest in courses and exams. This year we saw huge numbers for us at levels three and four which was really pleasing for me, high demand is certainly not a bad thing and I was definitely excited to see people stepping up to the challenge.
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Snowboard ReporT cont.
November 2016
My 2016 APSI examining season started in Japan in January where we ran some level 1 courses and exams, some resits for levels two, three and four, and for the first time a level 3 course. Again it was pleasing to see our product grow over there as the number of Australians choosing to do their Northern winters there swells. I look forward to continuing our program over there in 2017, stay tuned for the snowboard calendar shortly for anybody interested. Overall for this year at level 1 numbers remained steady and we’re still seeing fantastic pass rates at up around 96-97%. I think there was potential for even more courses and exams this year if not for some better cooperation from the weather and Ullr. I look forward to running some more level 1 courses in Japan in the upcoming winter and keep the influx of potential future instructors going. Level 2 was a little strange for me this year, with another resort moving away from running an inhouse level 2 course it felt to me as though numbers were way down. When I sat down and looked at it, numbers weren’t actually down as much as I thought. The pass rate for level 2 remained steady from previous years at just over 50%. I would still love to see more people coming through at level 2, low numbers at this level means we see less people coming through at level 3 and 4.
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This year was a fantastic year for numbers at level 3. In the past few years level 3 has been a national
Fantastic participation for both level 4 courses this season and numbers at the exam were great too. There was a big change at this level this year with the freestyle and race components (Block B) of the exam being split off and run directly after the Block B course. Feedback from the candidates was positive with the candidates feeling that having the continuity of working on those tasks leading straight into the exam being a benefit. Often times they leave the course and get back to their respective resorts and get back to work and not get a chance to work on those tasks and losing any progress they made on the course. Candidates were successful in some components and are heading in the right direction. I have high hopes for the next couple of years with the hunger and desire that this group showed me this year especially considering the constant barrage of horrendous weather they dealt with during courses
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course due to low numbers so to have level 3 courses run in Japan, NSW and VIC was awesome! The number of people that came through level 3 this year was almost double that of 2 years ago. The pass rate was not as good as I would have liked but the positive is there are many people on the cusp that were successful in the majority of components and only have to come back and resit one or two things. I look forward to seeing those people get out and train hard and coming back to finish when they get the opportunity.
One of the more interesting experiences I had this season was Andy and I getting to Corin Forest, which is a small resort just outside of Canberra to run an NTC day. This is an old resort that has been closed for about the last 20 years but with the installation of some snow guns and a magic carpet, reopened for the 2016 season. It was great to get a chance to go up there and check it out and help them out with some training to improve the overall guest experience to hopefully attract more snow sports enthusiasts to the sport that we all love.
All in all this winter proved to be quite tricky but successful, as always I will continue to work over the summer to keep moving things forward, evolving and trying to improve on the products we provide to the membership. 2017 will see snowboarding added to the APSI app, which I am continuing to work on as I write this as well as some other key projects. With the help of the incoming demo team we will endeavor to keep improving the products and processes for 2017 and beyond. If anyone would like to make comments or, suggestions, have ideas for the future or just want to reach out and say hi, please feel free to reach out anytime at snowboard@apsi.net.au. That’s it from me, I hope everyone has a fantastic summer or winter and happy holidays and I’ll see you in 2017! Fed
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This year we held tryouts in Falls Creek for the next demo team to represent the APSI in Bulgaria in 2019. Thank you to everyone that came down and participated and congratulations to the people selected, the snowboarders chosen for the responsibility of leading snowboarding over the next 4 years are Oscar Alston and Adam Rigby from Thredbo and Kylie Dwyer from Hotham. I look forward to working with you all and leading you towards 2019 and beyond.
working examiners especially Oscar, Kylie, Grant, Jason and Rookie Todd who shouldered most of the load. As always Lexi and Andy for their work in the office and behind the scenes for making it all possible and all the resorts and ski school directors for their support, which without it, none of what we do would be possible!
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and exams, culminating in lightning hold at the level 4 exam and having to be snowmobiled out from the bottom of the Village chair in Mt Hotham on the final day. Definitely a first for me but a memorable experience nonetheless.
Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that helped out this year. All of my hard
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TELEMARK ReporT Richard Hocking
Telemark has had its most successful year
Demo Team Selection
since 2011 with three level one courses
Ben Jackson was selected as a second Demo Team member for Telemark. Ben has enthusiastically stepped up to fulfill the role with a strong commitment to improve his skiing this year and with assistance in app development.
and one level two course run, including the first telemark course in Japan. There was an extra spring sessions day conducted for telemark and Trevor Greenwood passed his
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level four.
App Progress
Courses
Footage of the telemark level one progression,
The first telemark course was run in Japan at Hirafu in March. The first level one course since 2011 ran in Victoria at Falls Creek. The new structure of the level one course has better balanced the content and the time available for the course.
demos, common problems and solutions has been filmed. I’m aiming to get this added to the app in time for the Japanese season and to add a further benefit to members. The app will follow the condensed structure of the snowboard app with a demo of the turn/task and four exercises used to teach the turn.
Trainers With Trevor Greenwood completing his Level 4 there is now a Trainer based at Thredbo and Hirafu, doubling the number of resorts with Telemark Trainers. Unfortunately my prospective trainer for Mt Buller does not want to update his qualification to become a trainer. I’ll explore possibilities for recruiting trainers with Ski School directors in the new year.
APSI Telemark Facebook Group In the beginning of the season people I established a page for members who are current Telemark Instructors, people who have done an APSI Telemark Course or people who are interested in doing a course. The page has been used for simple MA training, posting items of interest to telemark and to advertise courses. The group has been a great success.
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NORDIC ReporT Warren Feakes Nordic TD Report - Season 2016 Warren
improved, and Perisher had 6 major snow
Feakes The success of Nordic Courses
events, a record I believe, since 1986.
during the season is highly dependent on the arrival of first groomable snow at all resorts. Season 2016 was a relatively late arrival which hampered the plans to conduct early season recall activities. The season of course
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The commencement of the season at Trainers Coordination was a great success for Nordic as I could concentrate on all the worthwhile information that I had brought back from Argentina. The Technical Committee and the Senior Trainers, delved
The Nordic Skills manual is, after nine working drafts over nine years, now version 2.0. I will consider producing this manual in a soft cover professional format for 2018. Discussion has been had on whether the manual should be made available in electronic format. Parts one and two are already available as downloads on the APSI site and will continue to be so.
It has been considered before but should be again that a Mid-Winter Sessions could be conducted by Nordic at Perisher for the purposes of raising revenue for interski participation. Danny Monaghan continues to be a bonus for Nordic at Buller by encouraging APSI snowboard and alpine instructors on the staff there to qualify as nordic and making himself available as an examiner. Danny also completed his level four nordic this season by submitting a very readable and pertinent paper on cross qualification. The level three course at Perisher was a great success and because of the seniority and capabilities of the students, I ran it as a tutorial style course, encouraging maximum trading of ideas between students.
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deeply into the Italian System, “Ski School to Race” to extract many new drills and teaching tactics and progression ideas. The Senior Trainers and I incorporated some of these new ideas as a “Beta” version in our training throughout the season. We intend to incorporate the ones we found successful after review at Trainers Coordination in 2017.
If somebody in your class is just not getting it. Get it. apsi snowpro
The APSI Snowsports App.
outnow! 9
Adaptive Report Tom Hodges
New to Adaptive 2016 was Elliott Russel as in house trainer at Selwyn, Jordan Elliott as in house trainer at Thredbo and Charley Evans as Rookie Examiner based at Falls Creek. Each bringing an experienced and knowledgeable skill set to the APSI Adaptive team. Their contribution to the team and the candidates they trained and mentored cannot be overstated. Along with all of the in house trainers each resort saw training and engagement of the Adaptive cert continued to grow and the quality of experience we bring to our guest continues to improve. The Adaptive instructors at each report again saw lots of interesting and inspiring students come through the doors, and in growing numbers each year. Whether its snowboarding with a young girl who lost her leg to cancer, who now rides confidently around Perisher proudly displaying her new prosthetic emblazoned with a mural or a wolf; coaching a group of ex motto-cross racers adrenaline junkie paraplegics, racing down early morning race courses in state of the art sit skis imported special from the US; or skiing all day in warm spring snow with a group of life long friends, all smiles and laughter, living independently defiant of their cognitive limitations; the joy, passion and talent of the APSI adaptive instructors gave new opportunity and challenges to all. The APSI Adaptive exam season was lots of fun and full of interesting challenges, not least the horrendous weather for the exam at falls creek – special mention to all the candidates who pushed through and made the best of what Mother Nature threw at us. The late season Thredbo exam wasn’t much better with the snow in full spring mash potato
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Perisher Exam mode. Goes to show the passion and commitment of the Adaptive candidates in general this year. I am really looking forward to coming seasons and expanding the opportunities to become engaged with adaptive training. There’s always room for more passionate instructors in the adaptive world, so if you are keen to get involved in 2017 please get in touch, hit up your in house trainer and let your snow sports school know. Finally my deepest thanks goes to all and everyone in the Adaptive snowsports instruction world, the difference you make to the diversity of the snowsports is truly inspirational. I look forward to seeing you all next year! -Tom Hodges APSI Adaptive Technical Director
Top Left: Falls Creek Exam. Top Right: Thredbo Exam. Centre Left: Adaptive snowboarding at Perisher with Joany Badenhorst Centre Right: Mono Ski race training Left: Fun spring times with great friends, what could be better!
important app update if you are using our current App… Please remove it from your device and download the new version The new version of the app includes snowboard, more alpine videos and general updates. To get the new app, search google play or aple store for APSI APP Currently: the ‘Old’ app is trill available to dowmlaod – but it will be removed soon. If you’re not sure which is the right one, look for the November 2016 update
Please contact us if you need help!
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ARTICLES
How to Live the Snow Life Long Term Alex Parsons With the Australian snow season now behind
a daughter, 20 month old Isabelle and are
us, we’re all looking forward to new adventures
continuing with back to back seasons.
- whether it’s a Northern Hemisphere winter, an Australian summer or an entirely different change of pace. It’s around this time that we can’t help but wonder, “How long will I do this
When you started out as instructors, did you see it as a long term plan or did you have other plans? Georgie: No, I left a bad relationship and asked the manager of the kids program at the time, Del Draxl, if I could have a job. I started work straight away. I also did work experience there when I was 16.
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for?” It’s no secret that ours is a cyclical industry. People come and go. Perhaps that’s because it’s a hard slog to get to the top and even harder to make a career out of it. But it’s certainly possible - even with a house, kids, partners and pets. The snow industry can be a tricky beast to tame long term. I wanted to find out the different ways that people have made it viable because, frankly, I want to know how I can keep up this awesome lifestyle with all that other “adult stuff’ that comes along the way. So I talked to some people who have done just that!
Georgie & Nev Leel Georgie and Nev are both APSI Level 4 skiers, APSI Trainer Examiners and have a number of other American and Canadian qualifications
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between them. Georgie is the Full Time Mogul Coach Leading Hand of the Junior Team while Nev is the Group Lesson Supervisor at Smiggin Holes, Perisher. The two have a massive 71 seasons between them at Perisher, Telluride and Whistler. They are also both on the Telluride Synchronised Ski Team, or Ghostriders, who won the Aspen World Synchro Championships last year. They recently had
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Nev:
No, I was working in hospitality in Sydney and took some time off to do a season. I loved it and started doing back to back seasons not long after.
Doing back to back seasons often has many uncertainties like accommodation, travel dates and income. How do you manage these? Georgie: It was pretty stressful trying to find places in Telluride every year we had a great place we rented for 3 to 4 years in Jindabyne. We stayed with my parents for a season before we bought a place in Jindabyne in 2007, and rented out rooms to fellow instructors for quite a few years to offset the fact we were not there all the time. Then it got really hard to find accommodation in Telluride for the winter, especially having a family and needing two bedrooms, so in March last year we bought a place there too that we rent it out in the summer to hep with the mortgage. Georgie, how long into your pregnancy could you continue to ski and work for? Georgie: I worked up until 36 weeks (9 months) and then had a ski two weeks before she was
born. Skiing was easier than walking. It was less impact, apart from getting off the chair lift. Does working in the snow industry make it hard to bring up a child, especially considering it’s mostly casual work and doesn’t provide parental leave?
How do you manage the balance between spending quality family time and work? Georgie: We don’t manage that well in winter but I have to give Isabelle my attention from the time I get home till when she goes to bed. It’s usually about 2-2.5 hours. Thats all we get really as the morning is a rush to get out of the house. It takes a lot of effort to juggle everything but you just have to work together and do it. It’s all worth it. What are some of the benefits of this lifestyle, for your child and the whole family?
Georgie: Yes. I love the question,“So when are you going to get a real job?” I thought I had one! People don’t ask that so much anymore. Instead they ask “So are you going back to Telluride?” And we always answer yes we are, even with Isabelle and baby number two on the way. Nev:
November 2016
Do friends and family understand your reasoning for choosing your lifestyle, or have they ever questioned it?
Some people definitely questioned it in the beginning. But after a while they could see we loved what we were doing and we’re happy.
Do you have any advice for budding instructors who are looking to get into the snow industry long term? Georgie: Do lots of hours and certifications while you don’t mind not having any money. You can make a living out of it but only if you love it. And you might start in the industry because you love skiing, but you’ll stay in it because you love teaching people to ski.
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Georgie: It makes it really hard because if you’re not working, you’re not getting paid. And you can’t help when your child gets sick. I also chose to breastfeed so I would have to pump out on the hill sometimes as you don’t always get a chance at races to get off the hill in the middle of the day. The long work day makes it hard too. You have to work as much as you can for a short time and that makes it hard on your child and partner as you never get to have both parents off on the same day, but after the season we get to spend more time together.
and friends all over the world. The travel and the awesome people we get to spend time with is worth it, and Telluride is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Georgie: Isabelle is a US Citizen and has a great life
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Allison & Andy Lane Allison and Andy have made their home at Thredbo year-round. Andy is an APSI Level of each with our pursuits. We feel we have stability in our respective job roles yearround and there is not the uncertainty we had just 4 or 5 years ago.
4 skier, an APSI Trainer Examiner and is the supervisor for both School Groups and Adult Group Lessons in Thredbo, while Allison is a
November 2016
part-time Level 2 Alpine ski instructor and has worked as a successful podiatrist for 15 years.
What are some of the most difficult aspects?
Do you have any off-snow qualifications or specialisations?
Allison:
Andy: Allison:
I’m an electrician and have a Cert IV in Outdoor Education. I’m a podiatrist with 15 years of experience.
What resorts have you worked at? Andy:
I did 16 years of back to back winters in Ellmau in Austria, Deer Valley in Utah USA, and Thredbo in Australia.
Allison:
I’ve done 3 seasons in Thredbo.
When did you decide to stop travelling and reside in Thredbo?
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Andy:
What are the best things about living your particular lifestyle? Allison:
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I wanted to settle down with Allison and start making a life here. We both have stable jobs here throughout summer. Plus, we’re at that age where we have interests and hobbies, and appreciate some stability.
The variety. We appreciate the four seasons and are able to make the most
Saying goodbye to friends every September and not knowing if we’ll ever see them again.
Do your friends and family understand your reasoning for choosing your lifestyle, or have they ever questioned it? Allison:
Various friends always try to lure us away to warmer regions, closer to them, closer to facilities, and closer to beaches. Our parents have learned not to ask why we are where we are and to just suck it up and buy a Subaru so they can come and visit any time of year!
Do you have any advice for budding instructors who are looking to get into the snow industry long term? Allison:
You have to do the hard yards, you have to prove yourself, you have to show you want to be there and are worthy of more senior staff putting time into you. You need to respect those who’ve been in the industry longer than you’ve been alive, and take the time to learn from them when it comes to dealing with the public, teaching and planning the future.
ARTICLES:
for 4 years and has worked at Thredbo, Mt Washington, Panorama and Big White. She’s been an integral part of developing grommet programs, has her NCCP Freestyle Coach certification and a BA Management to boot. Moniche gave up everything, a stable full time job, house, car and belongings, to pursue her dream of teaching and coaching snowboarding – all with a young daughter in tow.
Taking on this journey as a single mum with a baby is insanity, some would say. Most have said it’s impossible! Leaving my established career in senior management (and a very comfortable income) to peruse my passion with an infant by myself has been the hardest, most gruelling journey - yet the happiest time of my life! The biggest and hardest factor of all is the cost of a child living abroad. Since I leave Australia I cease to become a resident for tax purposes, thereby forfeiting my benefits for assistance with daycare, school, medical, and income. Lyora’s care makes up 85% of my total expenses. The seamless stability and security I must offer Lyora, without question, is by far the hardest part of a very uncertain industry. But my nickname from my nearest and dearest has been MacGyver for finding a way to make the impossible happen.
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Moniche has been a snowboard instructor
Doing back to back seasons often has many uncertainties like accommodation, travel dates and income. How do you manage these?
How do you keep yourself mentally and physically fit and healthy? My chiro, physio, homeopath/naturopath, and psychologist are on speed dial. I have broken my body in more ways imaginable. It’s what we do! Meditation and off-snow snowboard-specific training is essential at the level required to excel and push the limits. The party that our clients and rookies think our career is, is so far from the truth. To commit to be the best, you must work for it! What I do is the biggest and best party of my life that never ever stops – and doesn’t end with a hangover! Do you think Lyora benefits from a better ‘world’ education than regular kids?
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Moniche Hancock
Most definitely! She is the most profoundly grounded
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ARTICLES:
and beautiful human being. Being exposed to the most beautiful people we live and work with in this industry has blossomed her into the most divine creature.
November 2016
What are some of the challenges of doing back to back seasons with your 5 year old daughter? Doing it solo has been the greatest challenge of all with the inherent logistical and financial hardships. Providing a nurturing, secure and loving environment for a child to grow is the ultimate challenge. Time to myself is something of a distant memory. Every waking second is my daughter and my career. Eating dinner at 10pm (or even getting to eat dinner at all) and passing out in my boarding clothes was a regular occurrence! The distance from my support network and family, and having to leave people behind twice a year, makes it lonely and bitterly sad. But it’s been the most rewarding experience of my life. I could die tomorrow as an extremely happy woman knowing I did it!
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What are some of the benefits, for both Lyora and yourself?
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The benefits are endless! My biggest critics are even starting to get what I do. This is my love, my life, my passion and I will never stop pushing the limits to get to where I am going. Another benefit is showing my daughter she can overcome anything and be whoever she wants to be, and that true happiness lies within herself. Not to mention she gets to shred the globe! Do friends and family understand your reasoning for choosing your lifestyle, or have they ever questioned it? They are starting to really understand it now. But
did they question it? Hell yes! I had everything from “That’s child abuse”, through to insanity interventions to reserved apprehension. I think for the most part they all thought it was a reckless gap-year style party. And for a lot of instructors this is the case, and deservedly so! But for me it has been the biggest commitment of my life. A lot of people are impressed at how you balance snowboarding and having a family. Quite simply, how do you do it? I live life on a knife edge, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. How do I do it? Absolute dedication to both! It has certainly been trial by fire and I hope I can be a support network for anyone else. You can have both, and to share the experience with your own family is overwhelmingly rewarding! I’d like to say a huge thank you to the contributors for their time and effort, and for being so honest in their responses. You’ve provided us with an excellent insight into the different ways we can stay in the industry long term. Thank you!
ARTICLES: Cross country skiing as second teaching discipline for the Modern Snow Sport Instructor Daniel Monaghan My introduction to cross country skiing was due to ski resorts banning snowboarding in the mid 80’s. At that time when I traveled to Australian ski resorts I found their policies to allow snowboarding had changed. The decisions for me meant either a restriction as to which lifts I could use or an outright ban on snowboard in
Many skiers and boarders are self taught and I was one of them. My early cross country technique was rough and just a means to an end. Away from the resorts I noticed other x-c skiers doing their sport as a standalone activity and was envious of their grace speed and efficiency. In 1989 I passed my level 1 snowboard (at that time it was then called the A.P.S.I Snowboard proficiency level). It was the end of the Snowboard Cold War by the resorts and I didn’t really have use for x-c. A few years later I started instructing at Hotham. Most days while I was going to and from work I notice people skate sking. I was not getting as much work as I would have liked. The idea of learning a new sport for transport around the village and to teach seemed to make sense. It would be good fun to learn, great for fitness, give me a new prospective on instruction and hopefully the extra work would be a bonus.
Back then there were very few instructors that were multi skilled. Skiing was king. Some old school folk hoped snowboarding was a fad that would soon die out, Telemark and x-c ski instructors made so little money they didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. The last 10-20 years have seen things change for us and our clients. For those of us lucky enough to have extra leisure time at the snow the possibility of trying other snow sports can be a worthwhile indulgence. As instructors we all have primary snow sport we love and would not want give up, but being able to teach another sport can be great way to balancing out our work life, this could this be of use to our clients. Picture some of the busy and crowded days at your teaching resort. You’re highest priority as always is their safety. Now think about a clients who may have the luxury of being up all season and just don’t want the stress of near misses and extra care required to navigate a crowded run. How good would it be to teach on your own trail? Could you keep your client out on snow instead of in a coffee shop?
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For this reason I started using X-C skis to move outside the resort with my board in tow or on my back looking for good terrain. This gave me better speed, distance and freedom than I could get with snow shoes.
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the resort area.
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Some of Cross Country’s advantages. 1: Cross country skiing can be a mindful/relaxed sport done at a speed to suit your mood? It can be as easy as a nature walk all the way up to one of the most demanding sports on the planet. 2: It’s a fun, full body activity with a balanced overall physical work out that allows for improvement in conditioning. 3: An easy way to explore new areas near the resort that the gravity based snow sports won’t allow you to navigate. 4: You are always doing the activity, no lift line, no long lift ride. You rest if and when you want.
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5: A great social sport to do with friends. 6: Possible early and late season activity. You can find some suitable snow that is not accessible to the lift dependent sports. You are able to pick the time and snow condition best suited to your needs. 7: If your kids are racing x-c, you can lead by example and it will be a lot more fun to have use of x-c skis around their courses.
No matter which areas of snow sport you teach, you have skills that cross over to cross country skiing. As an alpine ski instructor you can already give a killer snowplow and a basic skate lesson. As a Snowboard instructor the use of fine ankle movement and balance over your equipment are relevant.
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For the Telemark instructor, the basic lead change, rise and fall can help with pressure control.
If we do have people who would like to try x-c sking we can use the skill set from their previous snow sport. Pointing out similarities between the snow sport they do and X-C will help the client and make our teaching easier. Using the full progression we have the bonus of a student who is already familiar with a dynamic sliding sport. The knowledge of the Alpine Responsibility Code is still a cornerstone but some variations in the Nordic Specific Responsibility code are Give way to Cross Country Skiers coming down hill Keep to the left and ski in the preferred direction. (This could change with signage or when sking in other counties. Do not obstruct or walk on trails Do not ski alone You need to be self reliant so if you think you need an item, it take it with you. Know your environment. If you don’t know your trails don’t go out without trail maps. (As an instructor, don’t go out to teach on a trail that you haven’t been on before.)
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The Adaptive instructor has the general abilities to help a student adapt and find links between familiar and new skills. A strong understanding and use of V.A.K teaching helps link the know skill to the new sport.
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Going through the x-c progression here are some useful cross over concepts we can try from our primary teaching disciplines.
Alpine Skiing Equipment familiarization: Correct poles and strap use. Flat Skills: Basic stance. Diagonal Stride: pole usage
Straight Running: Glide on gentle slope.
Turning on the move: general steering skills.
Double Pole: proper strap usage
Skating: revise basic Herringbone.
Speed Control and Stopping: Same snowplow stop and snowplow glide with attention to stance.
Nordic Downhill Techniques: Telemark progression.
Skating: revise basic Herringbone skate Nordic Downhill Techniques: Basic Christie, Side slipping, Stem Christie, Pole planting, Basic Parallel Turns
Telemark Equipment familiarization: Boots and skis have many similarities. Flat skills: Stance, Falling and recovery, Stationary skills with skis on. Diagonal stride: Use of lead change without rotation. Climbing steeper terrain: Herringbone and Side Stepping Straight Running: Glide on gentle slope. Glide with lead change. Speed Control and Stopping: Same snowplow stop and gliding snowplow.
Snowboard: Equipment familiarization: Boots are soft and laced. Flat skills: Stance (flexed ankles and balance over foot), Falling and recovery (getting up is best from the toe side on a snowboard) Diagonal stride: Snowboard pushing has some commonalities. Climbing steeper terrain: Sidestep with one foot for a snowboarder uses edging skills and balance over equipment for success. Straight Running: Glide on gentle slope with run out looking for stance and familiarization with sliding. Speed Control and Stopping: Understanding of how edging, pressure and rotation affect equipment. Turning on the move: The use of the 4 skills. Skating: T.A.D concept. Nordic Downhill Techniques: understanding of Side slipping.
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Turning on the move: Snow plough turns
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Climbing steeper terrain: Herringbone and Side Stepping.
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Adaptive Snow Sports.
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Equipment familiarization: correct selection and modification to suit client. Flat Skills: Basic stance: Use of props to help (i.e. double conduit for blind), suitable lifting skill to help students with difficulties. “Keep It Simple” descriptions for the visually impaired. Diagonal stride: The use of conduit to help movement. Utilizing X-C poling to x-c sit ski techniques. Climbing steeper terrain: Herringbone and Side Stepping with appropriate selection of terrain and snow type to set up for success.
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Straight Running: Glide on gentle slope with run out. The instructor using teacher assistance to reassure student.
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Speed Control and Stopping: Understanding of how edging, pressure and rotation affect equipment. And the use of tethers to help with speed and improve confidence Turning on the move: Snow plough, terrain choice and teacher assistance to help with desired outcome. Nordic Downhill Techniques: Basic Christie, Side slipping, Stem Christie, Pole planting, Basic Parallel
Turns You should be spending a few hours a week out on the trails working on your own fitness and skills. Some of your work can be generated by your time spent out on the trails. If you are lucky your trail time is your commute. Being seen out working on your technique you will gain credibility in the eyes of the cross country community. Be welcoming and acknowledge others as you pass on trails. Don’t be pushy but be casual and conversational, a tip on equipment or even the offer to help someone in difficulty can lead to a request for a lesson. Have some business cards handy. If you’re traveling the same way and speed as others great, be social, but don’t stalk people to try to find work. Some people like company and others want their solitude. If you’re seen in a good light hopefully your conduct will help sales at your ski school desk. Good luck and we hope to see you at an APSI cross country course soon. If you wish to republish or print this article in whole or part please contact me, Daniel Monaghan in writing to request permission.
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Following Bruce Lee’s Philosophies in Order to be Better Trainers and Snowsports Instructors. Ben Jackson
mountain and teaching fun and exhilarating. There have been times where I never felt my best or that I was truly giving it my best. Recently I gained an interest in masters of their fields and what makes them inspiring role models and great teachers. One that comes to mind is Bruce Lee. Most of us know him as an amazing martial artist with super human strength, agility and speed, all of which would be pretty handy skiing. But Lee was also very passionate about teaching and philosophy. I found this stood out to me even more than his athleticism. I believe we can achieve our goals and become better teachers, instructors or trainers by following his philosophies. Included are some of his great quotations.
Demonstrate Well “I fear not the man who practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” In order to make our movements accurate and precise, we need to take skiing and demonstrating seriously. Every time we ski we should demonstrate like we are the pinnacle of our art. When I ski, I try to show myself and students that I am the best at what I do in order to inspire my students and myself. Every turn or movement is taken seriously. I am the driver and never a passenger. I am fully aware and in control of what
How often have you seen other instructors lazily demonstrating or cruising around with no real purpose being expressed in their movements, or their pants down so to speak? Would that inspire you to ski with them or learn from them? Probably not, take pride and focus on what you are doing and you will only improve yourself. I know every turn or movement will not feel great, and it does not feel great for me all the time. Purpose and focus in your skiing is important, otherwise you are just along for the ride and not fully participating with yourself and learning.
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I have not always found ripping around the
I am trying to do. Even on a flat hill or moving from place to place, I might do some edge rolls, skating or fine tune balancing movements to feel and improve my reflexes and movement patterns. This is the one kick I do 10,000 times!
Express Yourself “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” Don’t be someone else, you are yourself. You have your own strengths and let them shine. You will continually grow and achieve in this industry if you express and work on yourself. Doing a few laps in the morning before line up or skiing in my lunch break after a double shot of espresso is noticed by some but not all. This is how I’m expressing myself this season. It’s my own “style” and I don’t expect others to do the same. Expressing myself in this manner ultimately
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Throughout my career instructing snowsports,
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makes me more focused and happier at work, rather than being inside and hearing others expressing themselves in ways I see as negative. Have Faith in Yourself “Goals are not always meant to or going to be reached, they are often something to aim towards.” You can do what you want to do if you believe in yourself. You should treat your goals as a journey
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rather than a destination. There are often many milestones you will achieve along the way; these can be so much more important to your confidence and rewarding than the end result.
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It is these milestones that truly make us better. Training hard, improving and believing that you can pass that exam by reaching milestones rather than the certificate is important. An example might be missing out on your carved short turns during a level 3 exam. You didn’t quite get the speed and edging skills required for the carved performance. None the less, you reached the milestone of being able to turn your legs and finally get some separation. Well done, that’s a milestone to be proud of! I myself struggled many times in the level 4 teaching exam and often didn’t believe I could pass. Before my last attempt a mentor of mine said “What’s going wrong? You teach good skiers every day? They improve and get better right? I saw you teach that group that couldn’t ski bumps. Now they can!” Suddenly I started to believe I could pass and had faith. Sometimes, telling someone that you truly believe they can achieve something helps them believe they can do it themselves!
Exploit Opportunity ‘To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.” Opportunity is everywhere if you look for it. I hear others complain that they never get the level of work they want or a chance to go training and skiing. I often make excuses myself that I never have an opportunity to this or that. Prioritise what is important to you and opportunities will come. Sometimes we just need to put other things in our lives on the backburner to really help us achieve our goals. Attend training sessions. Go skiing with stronger skiers that will push you. Talk to other instructors from APSI and other organisations. Take that opportunity to teach a level or age group you are not often given. Mentor the junior instructor that you can see is struggling or could use a good pat on the back. Opportunity exists all the time, use it wisely and make it count, it will only make you a better more experienced instructor.
Be Confident “Do not allow negative thoughts to enter your mind for they are the weeds that strangle confidence”
“Showing off is the fools idea of glory” Good teachers are very confident and enthused in what they are doing. Some of us are naturally more confident than others. Remember, your students truly believe, trust and have confidence in you. The only thing holding you back is yourself. Confidence is very different to possessing a big ego or showing off! You are a wealth of knowledge and information for you students. Share it! If you are not confident in your teaching try talking to other instructors, read up on
Confidence comes from not letting our fears get the better of us. Our minds are powerful and negative thoughts and feelings can get the better of us if we are not aware of our emotions. Be confident, what’s the worst thing that can happen? Nothing too serious really, so don’t worry about it!
Be Like Water “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind; be formless, shapeless like water. Now you can put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle; you put water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.” This quote was one that stood out to me the most. There was quite a long time during my career especially after passing my level 4 Alpine where I had crashed. I was water in a stagnant pond going stale. Teaching skiing had just become a job and I had very little passion to share. Due to some very senior trainers leaving for other resorts, a collapse of training culture in my resort and few new level 4s coming through the ranks, I felt quite disheartened. This became a deluge of rain upon me and suddenly I went from a stagnant pond to a fast-flowing stream. I made an effort to contribute to training and became a rookie trainer. I was now fluid and flowing towards new goals and achievements which only lead me to become more passionate and motivated. A spill on effect! This even spilt over more and I took on a new discipline in telemark and became a telemark trainer. Water can be shapeless and fluid and does not fight when put into a container. When spilt, it goes which ever way it desires. It is this formlessness and
The Role of the Teacher “A Teacher is never a giver of truth; he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. A good teacher is merely a catalyst.” When we teach we often try to give our students everything we know all at once. We do this because we want them to succeed. To be better at teaching, sometimes less is more. Giving our students small pieces of information often helps them learn more in the long run. This gives them a greater ability to teach and train themselves. They can learn, practice and consolidate a new skill without being overloaded with too much information. At the same time, we must not make our students depend on us. Give them drills, feelings or tasks that they can do in their own time.
Don’t Think, Feel “Don’t think, feel…it is like a finger pointing a way to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.” You have to put feeling and emotion into your actions in order to get towards your goals. Too much thinking about movements causes you to miss out on blending movements with feeling or reaction.
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Body language is key to confidence as well. Stand tall and you will feel tall! Project enthusiasm in your voice and you will enthuse not only yourself but your students as well! Don’t forget to smile and have fun, smiling is contagious and you are less likely to be fearful or nervous.
adaptability that is a quality that everyone should strive for. Let go of your own constraints, that way you can change and be flowing towards your own goals.
Proficiency in snowsports comes when you have gotten beyond the training and can feel what you need to do intuitively. Muscle memory takes over, rather than thinking you react. This makes you a proficient skier in all that heavenly glory!
Commit Fearlessly “Don’t fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.” You’re ready to do it in all its glory. Participate in that course, race or exam. Or see you at Falls Creek for demo team selection!
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lesson plans and progressions or try and shadow other instructors.
Ben Jackson Telemark and Alpine Trainer/Examiner
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Sodergren Scholarship Alpine Sodergren Scholarship Recipient Ali McKenzie I would like to take this opportunity to thank the APSI and briefly talk about my experiences and journey this season. Firstly, thank you to the APSI for offering the Sodergren Scholarship. It was a huge honour and delight. The training provided through the Scholarship has given me the opportunity to continue developing my biggest passion. Also, a huge thank you to the trainers who gave their every effort throughout
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the pre-courses and exams.
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What a rollercoaster of a season. I felt like I was sprinting a marathon. It was crammed full of on-snow training, studying by night and working two jobs. I ski instructed at Perisher and worked at Thredbo Altitude Physiotherapy as a physiotherapist and Pilates instructor. The up times were filled with days of expanding my ski knowledge, skiing with friends and gradually improving. The downs were due to frustration when trying to master new movements and of course the countless rainy days and instances of soggy thermals. I was extremely lucky to have two amazing trainers for the two pre-courses, both of whom I had never skied with. For the Teach and Demo course I was in a group with Richard Jameson and for the Race and Free Ski I had Paul Lorenz. During every demonstration without doubt jaws dropped and commentaries usually involved the words “What? How?” or “Surely he’s not human!” I was blown away by how simple yet accurate Richo gave his explanations. For us this reinforced the importance of a quality explanation. It definitely
allowed everyone in the group to teach a better lesson the following week. Detailed and lengthy explanations will have people daydreaming and more importantly not skiing enough. I remember an Einstein quote, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”. I suppose that because Richo can explain complex concepts simply, then he must understand skiing well. Is he maybe the Einstein of modern alpine skiing? My week with Paul involved some extremely challenging exercises and progressions I had never even heard of. He pushed our skiing and challenged us to ski at a level we thought we could not. It is definitely a great tactic to improve skills. I thought I knew adrenaline and I thought I’d been there. I’ve been skydiving, rally driving, bungee jumping and we’ve all skied steeps and jumped off things. But every skier in the group got a serious dose of adrenaline thanks to the training and tasks we were assigned. Paul taught us what we had to do to bend a ski properly causing us to accelerate sideways across the hill as the ski released energy. We had a serious amount of fun! On the last day of the course Paul said to me “you’ve got to remember people don’t usually ski their best on exam day”. This resonated with me and made me think about how the mental component is just as important as the physical. I definitely agree with Paul however I feel there are things we can do to get ourselves as close as possible to “our best” on exam day. Throughout the season I often tried to create a situation where I felt like I was under pressure. I would ask friends and colleagues to watch me ski.
Sodergren Scholarship
The two weeklong pre-courses left me with a long list of feedback. As my knowledge grew I could understand the cause and effects within the list and identify the common themes. I didn’t need more feedback I just needed to practice. Any opportunity I got - early mornings, demonstrations while teaching, night skiing, quiet afternoons (minus a few rainy days) - I was out there practicing. Alongside all the practice I needed to figure out if I was getting it or not. I couldn’t have done that without a good training buddy, a video camera and figuring out how to give myself internal feedback. Besides the on-
snow training I took any opportunity I could to have discussions with fellow ski enthusiasts to further my technical knowledge and reasoning. Training for any exam requires hours of training and there is nothing more frustrating than being fatigued and not being able to ski well. I am grateful that I worked hard pre-season to build up my strength and power and maintained it throughout the season. I believe a high level of fitness is incredibility important and I have never regretted getting fit before a ski season! Thinking back ten years to when I was a rookie, becoming a Level 4 seemed unachievable. But over the seasons I have realized that it is not about natural ability and luck. It is about determination and commitment to the journey. These can be glazed over as typical buzzwords but no one will achieve great things without them. You need to commit yourself to understanding new concepts, practicing more than you think you need to and preparing your body physically and mentally. I am looking forward to getting back to Niseko, Japan and training for the final component of the exam before coming back to Jindabyne next season.
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Not for feedback but to practice keeping a single technical focus whilst being watched. I would ski a little harder and faster if someone I found intimidating were watching. I would challenge myself to maintain good form under pressure. When starting out I would have one or two quality warm-up runs, and then convince myself the next run is it and perform at 100%, to mimic exams conditions. The ability to push anxiety out of the mind and regain a technical focus whilst performing is an extremely useful skill and I will admit it takes a lot of practice. I also don’t underestimate the effectiveness of mental imagery techniques. In my view, mental training is an extremely powerful tool and is just as important as the physical training.
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Sodergren Scholarship Why All Alpine Instructors Should Telemark
November 2016
Trevor Greenwood – Telemark Sodergren Scholarship Recipient
At a quick glance the differences between Alpine and Telemark skiing seem massive. Telemarkers stand and balance on their skis differently. And at some point in the turn their feet switch lead. Seeeeesh!!! Learning to Telemark must be like learning to ski all over again. Yes the first few days may feel like that as you try to get your head around these 2 key changes, but then…… you’re there skiing round
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the hill trying to employ all those things you
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do in your Alpine skiing, in Tele. Now you’re probably at that bullshit moment, of it can’t be that easy, they are way more different. But let’s take a more detailed look. What is the same? We have 2 skis, poles and boots. There is no difference in the skis. More and more we see
Telemarkers putting tele bindings on Alpine skis. Obviously though the binding and therefore the boot are different. But not so much that you can’t alpine in Tele gear, just Alpine gear won’t let you tele. (We’re quite and inclusive bunch). Once we get past the gear we get even more crossover. Our skis perform the same, they’re the same skis after all. So to get them to work there must be some sort of rotary force. And for the same reasons as Alpine, that force preferably comes from the legs. We still need to edge the skis, and that still ideally comes from a combination of angulation and inclination. And we still need to manage the pressure in the turn, which can only be done by changing the length of our legs. To allow us to do all this we must be standing on our skis. So the skills in Telemark and Alpine are the same and 3 of the 4 are performed
With the skills being the same and most of them performed very similarly a lot of the concepts that assist or back the skills end up being the same as well, like how we transition. In Telemark as with Alpine we use a rise to re-centre to assist turn initiation of slow speed turns, moving to a crossover as the performance and speed increase and active crossover at the highest speeds and performance. These similarities continue through most skiing concepts resulting in a huge crossover between Alpine and Telemark. But your probably still thinking that’s all well and good but I have enough trouble with Alpine, why would I try Telemark too. Or I’m interested but I might leave that till I complete my levels. Which is fair enough, but there are a few reasons to Telemark now. While the skills are all the same, how we explain them and go about achieving them sometimes varies slightly because of the change in stance. Does this mean that these new methods and movements are wrong for Alpine? No. So not only do you have an opportunity to add to your teaching bag of tricks, but you may get to feel a concept or movement in a different way that could help with your teaching and/ or your Alpine skiing.
Similarly as you learn to Telemark you need to learn to adapt the other skills and their related concepts to your new stance (Telemark Movement). This process can help break preconceptions, restrictions and rigidity in your movement patterns. For example the concept of constant movement is used in all our skills and to assist our skills is further extended to the lead change (resulting from our Telemark Movement) in Telemark. While this may be difficult to master, the concept is quite simple to understand, get some feeling of, and positive internal feedback from; which our subconscious self, being much smarter than our conscious self, should extend to the other skills. The upshot of this breaking of preconceptions, restrictions and rigidity in your movement patterns is that you may progress sooner, faster and/or further with your Alpine skiing. Beyond all the potential benefits to you as an instructor through improving your skiing and teaching, the biggest and most important reason to Telemark is it’s really, really FUN!!! Figure 1 – Telemark Movement
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with the same mechanics. Our one difference is the stance. In Alpine we perform these skills in a squat. In Telemark we do it in an alternating lunge, which we call the Telemark Movement (Figure 1).
Snowboard Sodergren Scholarship Recipient First of all I’d like to extend a massive thank
involved. Without personally knowing Mike and
you to everyone throughout the season who
Mim, I hope I can be another recipient that does
has been there to help me out. From attainting
the Sodergren Scholarship proud.
the scholarship, to friends helping me out with some floor space or a bed to sleep in and of course my trainers, who have been instrumental to getting me to where I am. Fair to say it’s been another busy winter and I am so appreciative for the support from everyone who has been
So there were a few consistencies with the season this year, the main ones being travel and less than ideal weather conditions. This being the Australian winter, one of the important things I try to think about is preparation. As we all know the weather and conditions can change in a heartbeat, either when
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Jon Steel
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Sodergren Scholarship
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November 2016
we’re on the road, or on the hill. Having spent a good amount of time travelling over the past two southern winters, it gives me a much greater appreciation for what the APSI trainers and examiners have to do.
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In terms of weather in Victoria, at least at Hotham, the things that seemed to be consistent were cloudy, low light conditions, and lots of wind. Having a good state of mind in adverse weather conditions is so important when it comes to training and exams. As is our own personal preparation. I’m sure we all would have heard our trainers at one point say: “It could always be like this on exam day”, and it couldn’t be more accurate. The early season resit at Thredbo was one of the iciest mornings I’ve had in a long time. With the snow being bulletproof until midday, then the weather changing into torrential rain for the afternoon. We have to be as prepared and ready for it as we can because, chances are, it’s going to happen on exam day. The snow at Perisher for the race component was incredibly sticky, and the visibility was super low. But with these conditions it gives us the opportunity to prepare and have a good state of mind to deal with it. From having clean and tuned edges, to having the most ideal wax for the snow temp and consistency. Having good preparation compliments our state of mind immensely.
I was told a while ago from an old snowsports director that he didn’t believe in ‘practice makes perfect’.
His training formula was ‘perfect practice makes perfect’, which always stuck in my head. We can put as much effort as we can into training, but if we’re training inconsistencies then all we’re doing is stagnating progression. I feel that utilising many different training sources is ideal to efficient preparation. The use of video analysis is something that remains crucial, whatever level you’re training for. Plus it also nice to see how much your riding changes and progresses over the years. As it was getting closer to the end of the season I had the freestyle and race course during the week then the exam components to go at the weekend. Leading straight into a week of coaching and national competitions, then into the teach and demos exam. Trying to focus on my own success and also making sure that my athletes are as prepared and ready for their competitions and success can be tricky one mentally. Knowing that there is no time to switch off after my race and freestyle exams are done and changing my outlook to catering for their preparation takes experience and patience. That all being said, due to efficient preparation, both myself and my athletes achieved great success over the course of the season. Knowing how high the standard is at Level 4 made me set achievable goals. Getting all components ticked off besides demos was a big achievement for me. Allowing time for more focused training on my demos was exactly where I wanted to be at for the end of the season. Now onto another winter in Japan, taking all the experiences from the 2016 season with me. I’m looking forward to getting out in some great conditions again and hoping that the snow delivers for the 2017 season. Another big thank you to the APSI for selecting me for the scholarship and to my trainers though the season. The information and experience has been essential in making me a more versatile instructor.
Rookie Articles
Danielle Brooke
make a great instructor? Other words used to describe “great” include impressive, remarkable, talented, skilful, fantastic, terrific and cool. For a guest to describe an instructor with these words I believe the instructor would need to display the following attributes: The first quality is “friendliness” by being genuinely open in a professional way. At the outset a positive first impression by smiling, verbal greetings, eye contact, a solid handshake or a high five for a child at their level. After a positive first impression making an effort to remember the guest’s name, conveys that you are paying attention and makes further conversation more personal. Next politely asking simply worded appropriate open questions combined with active listening can assist in finding goals and some common ground, where trust can begin to grow and develop a connection between the instructor and guest. I think it is these initial interchanges between the instructor and guest through friendliness, which are crucial to making this connection and once it is established it can then begin to grow and facilitate the guest’s ability to learn and have fun. The second attribute is being “adaptable” to tailor the experience for each guest individually. Every guest we interact with is unique. Not only is their sociodemographic broad, they also have their own distinctive physiological and psychological requirements, which a great instructor is able to recognise and consider in their delivery of a lesson. Therefore, we need to adapt our communication, analysis, demonstrations, terrain selection and utilisation of teaching methods to best meet our
patience and empathetic understanding of guests needs, which could be described as an instructors “bag of tricks”. Finally, the third quality is being “passionate” through enthusiasm for what we actually do. Teaching Snowsports requires great drive, focus and enthusiasm, if we possess a strong love for the mountains and Snowsports, truly enjoying our work it stops feeling like work and becomes fun, enabling us to deliver great experiences to our guests. It also gives us the motivation to personally develop our skills further.
November 2016
instructors, what are your three core beliefs that
guest’s individual needs. This is no easy task and possibly the most difficult role of an instructor to perform because of the variability of what can be encountered in any given day. To be adaptable a comprehensive knowledge of teaching concepts, technical concepts, progressions and general knowledge is needed. In addition, a good dose of
A great instructor will communicate their passion though non-verbal and verbal communication while delivering the lesson for example smiling, playing games with children, pointing out the highest peaks, making the entire experience enjoyable for the guest. I strongly believe we are giving the guest a gift of the experience, to enjoy Snowsports and the environment just as much as we do and return.
Being passionate is the quality that transcends an instructor from just being great to being exceptional.
apsi snowpro
When passing on information to a group of new
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Sodergren Scholarship Robert Benjamin As I approach rookie selection for the APSI I’m made to think, “What makes a great instructor?” I believe when passing on information to a group of new instructors, I will need to possess three vital skills; communication, approachability and professionalism. These three skills are also vital to the new prospective instructors, as they
apsi snowpro
November 2016
aspire to become great instructors.
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Communication is fundamental to an instructors’ purpose. An instructor has to communicate their wealth of knowledge and experience in a comprehensive way in order for their students to gain the most from their time together. Communication is important to an instructor throughout a lesson from the introduction to the summary. A good communicator is clear, concise, and engages their target audience. They pass on the necessary information in a way that is manageable for their students, not overwhelming them with technical information which is of no use to them. I also belief a great instructor should be approachable. An instructors’ job is to help facilitate the learning of their students. The most effective learning is a two-way process; an instructor needs to be approachable so that a student can question their understanding and clarify what they
have learnt. Being approachable helps to build a relationship with your students. Students who feel they are learning in a safe and comfortable environment will often seize more of their potential. Being professional in a role as an instructor is a core belief of mine. If an instructor is not professional, they will find it hard to gain the respect and trust of their students. If an instructor takes pride in their work, appearance, and cause they will often become an instructor whom people want to learn from. An instructor is an ambassador for the company they work for. It is important that they act in a professional manner and up hold the company’s core values and morals. As an instructor passing on information to a new group of instructors, it is important to be professional as you are acting as the role model for what a great instructor should be. As I strive to be a great instructor, I will need to encompass all three of these beliefs. There are many more important attributes that make a good instructor, however without good communication I will struggle to pass on information to a new group of instructors. If I am not approachable it will be hard for them to discuss the knowledge being communicated and therefore hinder their own interpretation. Finally acting in a professional manner will help me to attain the respect and trust of the new group of instructors and set a clear image for how they might act in their future roles as instructors.
Josh Laney
TJ Burke from Aspen Extreme, “Skiing is the easy part.” I truly believe that skiing ability is an important skill for ski instruction, but I do not believe it is the most important, in fact do not even think it is one of the top 3 qualities that make a good instructor. I believe those are a passion for skiing and the snow experience, the ability to connect with others and share information well, and a solid grasp of the technical aspects of contemporary skiing. As a new instructor, hopefully you have some passion for the sport and the snow in general, otherwise why choose this job? Instructors who have a passion for the sport deliver a great lesson. This is true for new level one instructors and for seasoned fully qualified instructors. Passion is not a substitute for knowledge and experience, but conversely, experience and knowledge with no enthusiasm rarely makes a great instructor. Being passionate about your lesson and invested in the experience of your guests is essential to the delivering a good product. Passionate instructors seek out more information on how to deliver better lessons and how to improve their own skiing. The Alpine manual has lots of information on connecting with your guests. In fact, all of chapter 2 is dedicated to teaching. Recognizing learning preferences and tailoring the way you present information is important, but working with your guests to determine their goals and planning your lesson accordingly is also essential. Checking with your guests to ensure they understand what technique or skill is developed while watching for nonverbal cues as well. Some people are gifted with the natural ability to connect and share information, but most of us need some help. New instructors should spend a lot of time studying the teaching philosophy described
in the Alpine Manual. Not just the Nine Lesson Essentials, but eventually mastering many other teaching concepts to complement them. I mentioned that an entire chapter of the Alpine Manual is dedicated to sharing information with guests, but what I did not mention is that 2 chapters are about technical concepts. Chapters 2 covers the “how”, but chapters 3 and 5 cover the “why” and “what.” A new instructor can be the most engaging, passionate person on the snow but if he or she doesn’t have a grasp of proper contemporary ski technique and how to develop it the guests will have had a great experience but might not have actually learned anything useful; in fact, their skiing might have even been made worse by well delivered bad information. Instructors should attend clinics, read the manual, chat with more experienced instructors and actively seek to better their understanding of modern dynamic skiing and how to develop it. As new instructors, your lessons will all be in the steered realm, but trust in the progressions that a solid steered wedge turn should eventually develop into a carved parallel turn which should then lead to strong pure carved GS turn. Learning the mechanics of skiing and why we teach using the performance model will ensure your lessons are excellent. Studying the progressions and recognizing how they build on each other to create a good skiing experience is also very important.
November 2016
a ski instructor I remember Karl Stall’s line to
Basically, a passionate instructor who can connect with their guests to share their understanding of ski mechanics is an excellent ski instructor. Hopefully this will also create an excellent skier. I believe that becoming an excellent skier by becoming an excellent instructor is much easier than trying to become an excellent instructor by becoming an excellent skier. Remember, after TJ became the best instructor at Aspen he was able to say
“Skiing is the easy part, Karl.”
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Whenever someone asks me about becoming
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interschools
This year, the APSI offered a new scholarship to students participating in the interschools program. The winners of the scholarship were awarded the opportunity to attend a level one course and exam in 2017, free of charge. We received lots of applications from students eager to pursue a future career in snowsport instructions. However, ultimately two recipients were chosen, one from ACT/NSW/
Congratulations to DAN WALKER from Mansfield Secondary and MAISIE PHILLIPS from Snowy Mountains Grammar School.
QLD and one from VIC/SA/TAS.
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November 2016
We have included Maisie’s application for you to read:
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My love of the Mountains knows no end
When I was young and just a tot
And sharing that is a gift I’d send
I stumbled in the snow a lot
To all my students, near and far
The ones who picked me off the ground
On Continents from here to thar
And always seemed to be around
The sport I know to be a cure
Were teachers of this brilliant sport
For all the ills that you endure
From every country, every port
The fresh snow buzz that can’t be beat
They made me feel so safe and strong
Is better when you’re on your feet!
and they have taught me all along
I’ll teach them here, I’ll teach them there
They’re my instructors, they’re my mates
But always with my crazy flair
and when I’m waiting in the gates
To mix with people, tall or short
to start a race and run a course
No matter what their previous sport
they always are the primary source
I’ll win them over, every time
of confidence and will to win
Not to snowboard? now that’s a crime
They make me brave, they make me grin
Their smiles will speak a thousand words
I want to follow in their shoes
They’ll tell their friends, they’ll come in herds!
To teach away those ‘I can’t’ blues
This is a plea to help me out
To be the one who lights the fire
I’ll make you proud, so that you’ll shout –
in all those riders who aspire
There’s the girl to whom we gave the prize
to ride the very best they can
A decision that was very wise!!
be it woman, child or man
results LEVEL 4 ALPINE Coen Bennie-Faull Sebastian Freihofner
Nicholas Jones Mari Kuramochi Daekeun Kwak
Angela Pope Nicholas Rankin Ashley Thomas
Tristram Todd Jake Woods
TELEMARK Trevor Greenwood
NORDIC Daniel Monaghan
LEVEL 3 Ryan Barkley Tyler Blamey Tess Boller Courtney Finn Burrow Ryan Cockburn Austin Crowe Stuart Denyer Duane Dinham
Scott Ferguson Rouchelle Gilmore Isabella Hackworth Charlee Kelly David Kullen Hannah Lake Jonathon McSpedden-Brown Daniel Monaghan Jeremy Murphy
Simon Neame Jeremy O’Sullivan Gareth Parry Katherine Purvis Elliott Russell Miyuki Sakurai Victoria Schmidt Jenna Shaw Thomas Simons
Sam Smith Roberson Eva Stockdale Joshua Terry Miles Thursby Haruka Uozumi Mark Watson Benny Zhang
November 2016
ALPINE
SNOWBOARD Mougli Borderie-Portet Scott Cairney
Chloe Gaffey Eleanor Harker
Jackson Holtham Daniel Jurd
Andrea Rogers
NORDIC Barbara Jeserzek Jane Scheer
Richard Snowdon
LEVEL 2 ALPINE Alex Abrahams Ashleigh Adamek Josh Armstead Tristan Armstrong Niall Bluer Laurence Bonenfant-Lingat Lana Brajdic
Brigitte Brice Aly Butchers Jonathan Carlyle Bruce Clark Jo Cole Michael Corbett Alex Craig
Katherine Dunn Silvia Erbini Lara Falk Rebecca Fleming Melissa Ford Gaurav Ganesh Juliane Garland
Rouchelle Gilmore Tom Gilmour Tom Glancey Nic Greentree Myriam Guay Renata Hercok Renata Hercok
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Friedrich Bartsch Lucy Glanville
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results
Susan Hill Joshua Himbury Amelia Hodgson Tim Hoover Alyssa Horsfield Emma Ireland Jorge Jackson Alexander Jak SangWon Jeong Oscar Johnstone Adele Lamb
Duncan Lendrum Sam Lines Sophie Lumley Adam Lutton Lachlan MacMahon Holly Macris Nikita McBryde Thomas McGilp Briar Milford Julian Muller Madelaine Muller
Benje Munce Oscar Neighbour Weixin Niu Stuart Noakes Madeline Smith Frank Stajnko Jamie Stevens Kerstin Stokoe Charlotte Thornton James Thorpe Olivia Turnbull
David Walker Mark Weaver Mikaela White Chaz Whiteley Kiean Wicks Greer Williams Caitlin Wilson Alexander Wilson Lucie Winkler
SNOWBOARD
November 2016
Fenn Anderson Lachlan Barrett Jack Daskey Stuart Denyer
Jeremy Golden James Grebert Cameron Hardy Laura Henry
Jake Martin Jessica McCoach Thomas McGlip Alexandra Parsons
Kobi Rogers Ryan Sykes Oscar Tootell Timothy Wallace-Smith
TELEMARK Sean Andrews
LEVEL 1
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ALPINE
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Scott Aikman Elisabeth Andrew Jakara Anthony Matthew Anthony Lysander Antippa Albert Archwamety Victoria Arter Jannaya Ashelford Ryan Ayala Genevieve Baird Robert Barnaby Callum Barnard Daniel Bayley Will Beamish Tarika Benson Maria Bezbradica Susie Bishop Samuel Bolton
Keeley Bottoms Tristan Bouillaut Harry Boyle April Brassey Christi Brassey Sam Brockie Jessica Burke Georgia Burns Bradley Bussing Stephen Bygrave Karen Byron Scott Cairney Lucas Canavan Vanessa Carlin Jonathan Carlyle Amelia Cash Wendy Cashmore Dale Chamberlain
Meng Chun Chen Yun Ju Chen Jeremy Chow Janella Christie Richard (Mark) Clancy Alexander Clark Daisy Cobcroft Andre Cogin Jo Cole Tristan Corker Fiona Cragg Shaun Creagh Zoe Cree Hannah Crome Paul Crook Stephanie Cruikshank Justine Curnow Sophie Darling
Jackson Daskey Melissa Davie Sam Dawson Ernesto De Lima Stefano De Lima Leonardo De Lima Jack Dexter Jennifer Douglas Katherine Dunn Cameron Earle Lachlan Earp Grace Ella Amanda Elliott Jonathan Face Lara Falk Jack Fergus Lachlan Ferguson Gavin Folden
Deborah Keating Graeme Keogh Brian Kerr Tayla Kneebone William Knight Harrison Korte Martin Kudnig Aaron Lafferty Cheng Hsueh Lai Jamie Laurie James Lawira-Fernandez Claudia Leggett James Leung Chia chen Li Cheng-wei Liao Patrick Lin Yen Hsiu Lin Sam Lines Gidget Lun Anna Luscombe James MacDonald Lachlan MacMahon Bridget Malouf Sammy Marwood Hayley May Jessica May Gaelle Mazouer Ann McAllister Sophie McAllister Nikita McBryde James McCall Lukas McCammon Zachary McCarrey Lillian McConnell Elsie McCormack Taylor Mcdonald Georgia McDonald Dana McKimmie Gemma McMillan Anna McNee Bruce McPhate Michelle Mealing Maria Morabito Noel Mungovan Charlotte Murphy Courtney Neale Oscar Neighbour
Lucy Neill Ned Neill Hugh Newall Sally Ng Kar Yee Jade Ng Ho Wah (Tommy) Ng Leah Nye Xavier O’Brien Juliette Oddoux Maxim Oddoux Astunori Okahashi Tony Ou YinFu Pan Tea-Rose Passon Nick Payne David Pearson Jasper Penfold-Low Sophie Permezel Nicole Pettigrew Lachlan Philips Verity Plimsoll-Kanakova Nash Popp Meg Popp Mitchell Pratt Lauren Priest Alexandra Punch Tina Quinn Pauline Rechu Mireille Regan Gomm Daniel Renehan Phoebe Rennie Ruby Rey Jessie Richardson Ross Richter Hannah Robison Lawrence (Laurie) Rose James Sallabank Simon Schifferle Jeanette Schwarz Adam Searles Jackson Senes Fraser Simpson Tatiana Skwarko Mark Sorrell Mattieu Speirs Melita Speirs Jamie Stevens
Lucia Stockdale Jake Stones Samuel Sykes Alexandra Taylor Adelaide Thompson Ryan Trickey Amber Turner Tamsyn Turner Ben Tyler Cameron Utiger Izabela Van der Heiden Isobel Van der Waerden Billy Van Duin Teunis Van Zanten Hannah Vanderzee Jemma Vaughan Lucas Veneman EmilyJo Venters EmilyJo Venters Tilly Vickers-Willis Jerome Villegas Emma Wales Jesse Walker Napier Waller Milly Waller Xai Wei Wang Tiff Watson Mark Weaver Manon Webber Angus White Chaz Whitley Ashley Wilkinson Ashley Wilkinson Jessica Willemse Greer Williams Conor Wilson Alexander Wilson Ian Wolf Samantha Wood Sophie Worsfold Aidan Wynne Thomas Yan Roger Yang Don Yeo Rebecca Yih
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Xavier Fox Ruth Fryer Lesley Gardner Ryan Garner Justin Garret Matthew Garrett Zachery Gerasimou Tom Gilmour Tom Glancey Indiana Gosson Kara Gough Michelle Goy Georgia Gray James Grebert Sophie Grove Myriam Guay David Hagel Chenade Hall Sam Halsted Caitlin Halsted Cameron Hardy Peter Hartshorn Jasmina Haukka Christopher Hebbard Renata Hercok Helen Hesse-Patching Monica Hickey Nick Hill Luc Hilton-Wood Regan Ho Lily Hoffmann Christopher Horsley Arabella Houghton Jack Howlin Danny Huang Kristina Hutchinson Brittany Iliffe Stephanie Ireland Jorge Jackson Monica Jagger Alexander Jak Roshan Jayasekera Patrick Jelinek Sangwon Jeong Charis Jones Kai Joye Rowan Kaye
November 2016
results
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results
SNOWBOARD Thomas Allport Fenn Anderson Lauren Anderson Santiago Andres Llanpart Eliza Ashton Lachlan Barrett Nicholas Bird Jake Blackshaw Warrick Boustred Ruby Brookes Elliot Brown Jungho Cha Nathan Chessell Clare Corcoran Annie Davidson Robbie Davison Lorna Dawe Patrick De Silva Jack Della Marta Stuart Denyer
Natalie Duits Brendan Du-Shane Nicholas Ellerby Emma Fish Alexandra Fitch Gemma Fitzpatrick Darren Fritsch Jackson Gillett Rex Gillian Dylan Hann Toban Harris Jack Harrison Bel Holdsworth Jack Hudson Brad Jasper Kathryn Keane Alexandra Kessanis Dan King Peri Kitchen Adam Kneebone
Mari Kuramochi Eliza Larard Ineka Little John Lusk Max Mandl Brandon Mannah Blake Marlow Luke McAulay Ashley McCaughan Morgan McDougall Scott McIlvenie Amber Mckellar-Bartlett Briar Milford Elizabeth Milross Tom Moir Jake Morgan Simon Neame Oscar Neighbour Lauren Nicholson-Reid Maxim Oddoux
Juliette Oddoux Joey Orme Mark Parfuss Michael Parker Gareth Parry Izzy Pike Tahnee Pinches Thomas Purden Rahel Ramsey Jonathan Rees Jonathan Repse Emma Rhys Ross Richter Daniel Robinson Lee Rogers Kobi Rogers Blake Sandery Jake Sands Simon Schifferle Sherri Shannon
Indira Shinn Rees Harinat Siriwan Georgie Smedley Steven Smith Edward Smith Miles Thursby Oscar Tootell Stevie Trembath Danny van Vliet Dean Vardy Peta Venetsanos Emily Waters Tristan Wilkins Jarryd Williams Robert Williams Zoe Wilson James Wise Mina Yan SangWon Yeong Yunfei Zhang
NORDIC Rob Bath Sam Beaver Sion Bingham Hugo Brown Dive Burton Alexandra Christiansen Morgan Clark Daniel Cross
Rebecca Fleming Tim Hart Nicholas Heggie Michael Herzer Clark Hillsley Brooke Hudson Melanie Judd Sonia Kent
Alexandra Kent Noel Myers Claudia Richardson Gill Richardson Tom Robb Kirsty Saleeba Mark Scotland Sarah Steven
Michael Stevens Bryan Taylor Kheng Chiang Teo Heath Wallace Chao Wang Thomas Wright
TELEMARK Sean Andrews Gary Carter Simon Conroy Paul Daniel
Mark Frost Michael Garrett Theo Hooey Alison Learmonth
Jonathan McSpedden-Brown Diana Rivera Garcia Greg Robinson Jane Scheer
Frank Stajnko Nicholas Wells Zac Zaharias
ADAPTIVE Jennifer Carey Leanne Christie Michael Corbett Callum Ferguson Sophie Hall Stacey Harris
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Laura Heath Alex Jak Alex Jereb Tamasin Jones David Kullen Iona MacKay
Lachlan MacMahon Madison McLellan Josh McMahon Simon Neam Sarah Personne Courtney Pyle
Nicholas Rankin Karen Sherry Thomas Simons Esther Stegehuis Charlotte Thornton Robert Williams
2016/ 2017 Japan Training Calendar
ALPINE Event
Resort
Date
Cost (inc. GST)
Niseko
13 - 16 Feb 2017
$945*
Course
Niseko
13 - 15 Feb 2017
$385
Full Exam
Niseko
20 - 21 Feb 2017
$465
Resit Exam
Niseko
20 - 21 Feb 2017
$115 per unit
Course
Niseko
6 - 10 Feb 2017
$465
Full Exam
Niseko
22 - 23 Feb 2017
$465
Resit Exam
Niseko
22 - 23 Feb 2017
$115 per unit
Prep Day
Niseko
17 Feb 2017
$145
Resit Exam
Niseko
25 - 25 Feb 2017
$115 per unit
Resit Exam
Niseko
22 - 23 Feb 2017
$115 per unit
LEVEL 1 Course & Exam
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 4
SNOWBOARD Event
Resort
Date
Cost (inc. GST)
Niseko
TBC
$945*
LEVEL 1 Course & Exam
TELEMARK Event
Resort
Date
Cost (inc. GST)
Niseko
23 - 24 Jan 2017
$945*
Niseko
13 - 16 Feb 2017
$515
LEVEL 1 Course & Exam
LEVEL 2 Course
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APSI membership is a requirement to attend courses and exams.
November 2016
APSI membership is a requirement to attend courses and exams. Annual membership to the association is based on a calendar year from 01 January to 31 December. Your membership fees go directly to supporting the administration costs of the association. In return, the Board of Management works to provide you with access to the best information about instruction and snowsports in the world! It allows you access to all parts of the web site, the APSI office and full voting rights at our annual general meeting. Members have the option of joining as either an associate or full member. The benefits of each level of membership are: MEMBER LEVEL MEMBER BENEFIT
ASSOCIATE
FULL
Course & Exams Certification Updates Member Services ISIA Samp (if Eleigable) Scholarship Fund Member’s Logo App Access SnoPro Magazine Newsletters
apsi snowpro
Voting Rights Member Card
without certification listed
with certification listed
Spring Sessions
training only
training or update
Members Pricing
Selected products
all products
ProDeals
selected ProDeals
all products
2017 Membership Pricing: Full Membership (3 years): $280 Full Membership (1 year): $125 $100 before 31.12.16 Associate Membership (1 year): $50
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apsi Interski team announcement Introducing the next APSI National Demonstration Team. This team will represent Australia at Interski 2019, Bulgaria. Congratulations to the team members that were chosen after a tough, two-day selection process at Falls Creek this August. Your new team pictured above are: Back Row: Richard Jameson (Alpine), Andrew Rae (Alpine), Shauna Rigby (Alpine), Adam Rigby (Snowboard), Tom Hodges (Adaptive), Oscar Alston (Snowboard), Michaela Patton (Alpine), Adam Federico (Snowboard), Tom Langtry (Alpine), Chris Allen (Alpine), Kylie Dwyer (Snowboard)
sodergen SCHOLARSHIP The APSI offers a scholarship fund in recognition of the rising potential of snowsports instruction within our resorts; it is called the Sodergren Scholarship.
November 2016
Front Row: Ben Jackson (Telemark), Richard Hocking (Telemark), Paul Lorenz (Alpine), Ant Hill (Alpine), Nick Rankin (Alpine)
In 1997, the APSI Board of Management established the Sodergren Scholarships in memory of Mike and Mim Sodergren, very well respected trainers/examiners that were tragically taken from our association as a direct result of the Thredbo landslide. One scholarship will be offered in each of the following disciplines:
The scholarship recipients will have all their course and exam fees covered by APSI for one season (in their chosen discipline only). The APSI Board of Management have reviewed the selection criterion and application process for the 2017 Sodergren Scholarships. Applications will be assessed on the following criterion: 1. Commitment to education, training and accreditation 2. Professionalism 3. Contribution and service provided to the industry 4. Future direction and commitment to the industry The APSI understands that the traditional written application process, while great for many, does not showcase everyone’s true talents and abilities. While we still accept written applications we will now also accept video applications for applicants to show why they should be awarded a scholarship and how they will use this opportunity to further their snowsports career.
apsi snowpro
1. Alpine 2. Snowboard 3. Other (Nordic, Telemark, Adaptive)
Applications for the 2017 Sodergren Scholarship Fund are open now until April 30 2017. Go to http://apsi.net.au/members-services/sodergren.aspx for more information or to apply!
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Demo tryouts November 2016
OSCAR ALSTON Once again the opportunity for Demo Team tryouts has come along. Having never really talked with anyone about what to expect over the 2 days I was looking forward to an opportunity to ride and hang out with a bunch of peers and colleagues mixed with a bit of the unknown. In preparation for the event I gathered together some of the guys who would be interested to come along and put their hat in the ring. Together we knocked up a checklist for the trip down to Falls Creek: • Car (fuel, chains, music playlist)
apsi snowpro
• Accom (Thanks to Helen and Jeff at Snowski Apartments for a great deal on accom) • Riding gear (boards, boots, gloves, goggles, outerwear, beanie, neckwarmer) • Essentials (food, beer, jeans, hoodies)
After all of our planning one of the guys still managed to leave his boots at home. When we arrived first call was to check in then down to the pub for some last minute preparation and some dinner. The format for the two days started with an indoor meeting to discus the plan and what was expected of us. After this we all headed out for some on snow riding/skiing tasks. It was a great atmosphere
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with bluebird firm conditions and a great sense of comradery throughout all disciplines attending. We were given a few different tasks to perform down a section of hill to the best of our ability. We started with long carves followed by short turns. Going in alphabetical order put myself going first for the snowboarders. Standing at the top waiting to drop looking at the panel of selectors had the butterflies going. After everyone had completed their runs the stoke was high and we headed off to do some on snow presentations. It was a great opportunity to see the different presentation styles and content from the different disciplines together. Thinking about how different concepts could be adapted to snowboarding from telemarking, sit ski or skiing helped grow knowledge and have a different viewpoint. The second day brought some bad weather so we focused on indoor presentations and interviews with the panel. The impromptu presentations were 3-5 minutes on a question that was based around something you might get asked in a resort or someone in the industry. Once again some varied talking styles by everyone and some great input on some tough questions.
Demo tryouts The interviews were tailored for each individual and aimed toward our goals or view for the upcoming years of how we could help shape the way we work within the industry. Was a good chance to chat with some people who have been leaders in their disciplines. Overall the two days were an awesome experience and gave the opportunity to learn from a great collective of people who are at the top echelon of the industry. I recommend anyone who is passionate
about the snowsports industry to attend, as it is a great learning tool and an insight into the future of the sports. I personally learnt a lot from the experience and I feel everyone who came along did so as well. Big congratulations to all who attended and those who made the APSI Demo Team. Hopefully be seeing a lot more faces during the next tryouts.
Demo tryouts
snowsports instructors in the country gathered at Falls Creek, Victoria. In a season with plenty of snow, rain, fog and wild weather, Falls Creek turned on a bluebird day for these professionals to display their skiing, riding, training and presentation skills to a panel of selectors for inclusion in the 2019 Interski APSI Demo Team. This was my first time at Interski tryouts, and I was unsure what to expect when we arrived the first morning. However, having already submitted an article on what makes the APSI unique and prepared an on-snow presentation to deliver to the group, it was clear that the selection panel was looking to send a well-rounded team of instructors to Pamporovo, Bulgaria in 2019. After introductions and the obligatory coffee ritual at The Pass, the group of around 30 brightly coloured skiers, snowboarders, telemarker and sitskier started the day demonstrating their on-snow skills down the corduroy on Scott Chair in Sun Valley. And what a
show it was! Short turns, longs, switch, synchro and rhythm changes turned the heads of many a guest who happened to be riding by. Special thanks should go to the Falls Creek Snowsports School and Race & Events Department for securing the hill space to allow for a safe run for all participants to lay over their skis and boards. While the skiers stayed a little longer on Scott chair, the boarders headed to the Ruined Castle Terrain Park to demo their freestyle skills. With more emphasis on freestyle demonstrations at the previous Interski conference in Argentina, the snowboard candidates threw some spins and inversions that proved that the APSI would be able to show the rest of the world what this team can do in Bulgaria in 2019. Fast and aggressive freeskiing and riding were tested on St Elmo’s Slide under Ruined Castle Chair, with candidates bringing a mix of longs, shorts, switch riding and rock jibs to the table. Technical ability was then tested with a range of Basic Christies, switch carve turns, basic tele and steered monoski turns on the flat.
apsi snowpro
On 18 August 2016, a group of the best
November 2016
Michaela Patton
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professionalism in snowsports, and the use of language to prompt movement on snow.
apsi snowpro
November 2016
Given our geographical barriers and time constraints during the relatively short Australian winter, it isn’t very often that we as senior instructors, trainers and examiners are able to get together and share ideas.
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Arguably one of the hardest parts of being an instructor, coach or a trainer is that it’s not very often that we get to go skiing or riding for ourselves. Even rarer still is to head out on the hill with such a skilled group of professionals, and watch them rip. I would say that the first morning of the selection process certainly made the trip to Falls Creek worth it for those trying out, regardless of whether it was their first time, or their fifth. The afternoon continued with a different focus, with each candidate asked to present an on-snow clinic to other participants on a core APSI value shown in our technique, teaching or training. We split into three groups, each with a mix of the four disciplines, and shared our philosophies on the APSI. The best way to describe the session is a “mini-Interski”, and I think everyone enjoyed being able to listen to ideas and theories that others are applying to their skiing, riding, teaching and training. My group workshopped the different types of leg rotation, how to use the foot to help guests learn the four skills, anticipation and the open/closed shoulder in snowboarding, approaching beginner ski lessons with splits, where and when to look at the body and the board while analysing snowboarding, approaching ability in the sit-ski progression,
In fact, the workshop format was so interesting that it has inspired me to try and organise something similar among Falls Creek Snowsports School instructors next year. Stay tuned! The next task was an impromptu presentation on a number of topics specific to the APSI, and on skiing and snowboarding technique. With only a few minutes to prepare, candidates had to present to the group as if they had been asked a question about the APSI at an Interski conference. I really admired the courage that every participant showed to stand up in front of their peers, who perhaps know more about the APSI than almost anyone else in Australia, and give their opinions on a variety of topics. With such little preparation, the cohort provided some great opinions and discussion points that were well thought out and presented professionally. It left me thinking that our Association is in good hands both now and in the years to come. Weather-wise, the second day of the selections could perhaps be described as the polar opposite of the first. An entire day of windhold and some horizontal rain made us grateful for the selection panel’s organisation and decision to complete the on-snow components the day before. After finishing the snowboard, telemark and adaptive impromptu presentations, each candidate was given
Demo tryouts
the opportunity to interview with the selection panel and answer some questions about Interski and the direction of the APSI. After this was the nervous wait while the selectors came to a decision on who would be representing the APSI at the next Interski.
developing our association in the coming years, both with members of the new Interski team and those who attended the selection.
I want to thank everyone involved in organising the tryouts, including Andrew Rae and the Technical Directors of the various disciplines, Richard Jameson, Adam Federico, Tom Hodges, Richard Hocking and Warren Feakes. I also would like to thank the additional members of the selection panel, Adam Hosie and Tom Gellie, for making the trip to Falls Creek to assist in the process.
1. Train for it. We all know that improvements in skiing, riding, teaching and training don’t happen overnight. Work by yourselves, with peers and mentors to achieve your goals.
Finally, I would like to congratulate and thank everyone who participated in the try-outs. With such a high calibre group of professionals, I can’t imagine how difficult the selection process must have been for the panel. Despite the nerves and the desire to ski and ride our best, everyone shared their skills whilst encouraging their peers, making the two days thoroughly enjoyable. I learned a lot from the workshops and presentations, and look forward to
My three pieces of advice for those people who are considering trying out for the 2023 Interski team:
2. Have fun. Train hard, but don’t lose sight of why you started skiing or snowboarding in the first place. If you love it, it definitely shows. 3. If in doubt, do it. Interski only happens once every four years. This is your opportunity to place yourself amongst the best skiers and riders in Australia. Trust me, you won’t regret the experience.
To all the members of the APSI, all the best for the summer or northern hemisphere winter. Ride safely, and I look forward to giving you more Interski updates in 2017. Cheers, Michaela Patton
Thanks to XTM for their continued support of the APSI National Demonstration Team! Check out the shop for members deals on APSI branded merchandise ...
STUFF-IT REVERSIBLE PUFFER JACKET FABRIC: Durable nylon shell INSULATION: 90% Duck down / 10% Feather COLOUR: Grey/Yellow
STUFF-IT VEST FABRIC: Durable nylon shell INSULATION: 90% Duck down / 10% Feather COLOUR: Black/Orange
Members Price: $120
Members Price: $110
shop.apsi.net.au/clothing
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PRO-DEALS view the full range at view the full range at
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More info & how to order from More info & how to order from
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2016 PRO DEALS
124-68-108
11.5m @ 160
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16.1m @ 170
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SUPER JOY
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JOY 11 SLR 127-75-107
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11.7m @ 158
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full stocklist available at www.skidepot.com.au please contact rosbert@rosbert.com.au to obtain your Pro Deals username and password
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