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#1
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Beginning instructor training
Hi,
I'm a computer developer in my early 30's and have become a keen skier over the last few years. I read about the BASI GAP course a year or two ago and became very interested in it. I've recently returned from a week in Soldeau and had a chat with my instructor about the course, which he strongly recommended, albeit he thought it was an expensive option! The entry conditions specify having 16 weeks of previous skiing experience - I would find it hard to accumulate this! I've been skiing one week a year for about the last 6 or 7 years, mainly in Andorra. Also, I'm only aware of one dry slope in Ireland - which I'm dubious about the use of at my level. I usually take a week long ski school and have been in the Level 4 classes in Arinsal and Soldeau for the last couple of years. I can confidently ski reds and manage blacks (in Andorra, don't know how these compare with Alps, etc.) - I say manage because my linked short turns are very skidded and not very rythmic (more linked hockey stops - effective but not too pretty). I appreciate I've rambled a bit here and you can't really judge someone's standard without actually seeing them on snow but I'd really appreciate some feedback from people who've done this kind of thing and their general standard when starting.Doing the 10 week course would probably mean giving up a well paid job. Does anybody have any opinions on this i.e. other courses they'd recommend, etc. Thanks, A. |
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#2
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Beginning instructor training
A. wrote:
I appreciate I've rambled a bit here and you can't really judge someone's standard without actually seeing them on snow but I'd really appreciate some feedback from people who've done this kind of thing and their general standard when starting.Doing the 10 week course would probably mean giving up a well paid job. Does anybody have any opinions on this i.e. other courses they'd recommend, etc. Get an expert opinion :-) Go ski with a trainer. There's links on the Basi web site but http://www.theskicompany.co.uk/trainers/trainers.htm come well recommended. There's individual trainers listed (I think) on the Basi site. You can read on the Basi site how it works but I'd have thought you want to get out with a trainer, reassure yourself you're at a the right standard and book in on the foundation course (as per the Basi site). It's not a pass or fail course but you'd probably want to be at or near a reasonable standard. If you call Basi up you can order their manual although it's free when you book a course anyway. Probably worth having in advance though. Ian |
#3
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Beginning instructor training
On 2 Feb 2004 06:49:28 -0800, (A.) wrote:
I appreciate I've rambled a bit here and you can't really judge someone's standard without actually seeing them on snow but I'd really appreciate some feedback from people who've done this kind of thing and their general standard when starting.Doing the 10 week course would probably mean giving up a well paid job. Does anybody have any opinions on this i.e. other courses they'd recommend, etc. As you seem to be unsure about the level, it might be worth your while first going on a one-week public course run by the BASI trainers, so they can give you absolute feedback about this. I'd recommend www.inspiredtoski.com or www.improveyourskiing.com. They use to be a single company (The Ski Company) but split last year, with one (Phil Smith, with Emma Carrick- Anderson) doing more specialised stuff (race clinics, off-piste. etc.) and the other (Sally Chapman, etc.) concentrating on 'all-mountain performance clinics'. You'll notice that many of the instructors used do work with both companies, as it's basically all the BASI trainers floating between them and several other british teaching companies in the Alps. Many aspiring and improving BASI instructors use them and their teaching is very much geared towards this. As for gap-year courses, I understand that these are quite popular in Canada and down-under - a quick web search for 'gap year ski instructor' picks up quite a few. -- Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom) Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club. |
#4
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Beginning instructor training
On Mon, 02 Feb 2004 16:13:27 +0100, Ian Spare
wrote: A. wrote: I appreciate I've rambled a bit here and you can't really judge someone's standard without actually seeing them on snow but I'd really appreciate some feedback from people who've done this kind of thing and their general standard when starting.Doing the 10 week course would probably mean giving up a well paid job. Does anybody have any opinions on this i.e. other courses they'd recommend, etc. Get an expert opinion :-) Go ski with a trainer. There's links on the Basi web site but http://www.theskicompany.co.uk/trainers/trainers.htm come well recommended. There's individual trainers listed (I think) on the Basi site. That link (and the rest of the contents of the website) is now out-of-date, although I see they've finally updated the main page http://www.theskicompany.co.uk to point to the two new ones (see my other post). -- Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom) Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club. |
#5
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Beginning instructor training
Thanks for the feedback everyone!
A. |
#6
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Beginning instructor training
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#7
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Beginning instructor training
Why not take a private lesson and get the instructor to
demonstrate to you what level ability you need to pass the course. I did this and found out my ability to carve and not skid a turn at low speed let me down. It was a valuable lesson and far cheaper than doing a course and being told the same thing. I think we as recreational skiers are limited in our ability to acheive "instructor level skiing ability"due to the low number of days we have available in a season Peter "Mark" wrote in message om... (A.) wrote in message . com... Thanks for the feedback everyone! A. If you are based in Ireland, you could also use IASI, the Irish version of BASI. Same standards expected, same trainers as BASI etc. Leads to the International license and beyond. You could also do a beginner instructor course with the Austrians in November and teach for the season there. I'm also involved in computers and thats what I did for a season. Email me if you want any more information about IASI or anything else. |
#8
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Beginning instructor training
peter.creagh wrote:
Why not take a private lesson and get the instructor to demonstrate to you what level ability you need to pass the course. I did this and found out my ability to carve and not skid a turn at low speed let me down. It was a valuable lesson and far cheaper than doing a course and being told the same thing. I think we as recreational skiers are limited in our ability to acheive "instructor level skiing ability"due to the low number of days we have available in a season Good points. I do ski with trainer sometimes, I did 10-15 days last year with a trainer and so far this season I've skied about 30 days in total I think. The number of days required to turn the sort of things they tell you into second nature on any slope or in any conditions is pretty high. For me the two barriers have been years of skiing badly and fitness, even someone skiing way less than I do could avoid either of those traps :-) With hindsight I really, really wish I'd had more lessons over the years. Anyone that has the option and wants to ski well should move somewhere they can do more and get high standard training :-) Even if you're not aiming for a BASI level then I can't personally speak high of the returns on good training, it's increased my skiing enjoyment hugely and I was having a good time before. For the money spent the returns on lessons are way better than this years skis or boots :-) Ian |
#9
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Beginning instructor training
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