Here are some highlights from the team, but to request a
full run down on what happened in St Anton please contact APSI to
download the new Snowpro 'Interski special' edition.
The major benefits of attending the Interski
include the interchange of ideas and skills that then find their
way into the APSI Manual and onto the slopes of our resorts which
benefits visiting guests when they are taught by APSI qualified
instructors.
Andrew Rae
Interski is no longer exclusively about technique
"I have returned with a renewed focus on beginners.as well as
focusing on meeting the needs of multiple generations at once."
This excitement will translate to an
update for this winter in the way we view the guest experience. It
needs to be an individual experience - whether they are beginner
kids, a mixed age and ability group or a new level one APSI
group.
I have seen the same excitement in my
fellow team members who are equally thrilled to share the new
information they have gained with their snow sports schools in
Australia. During our stay in St Anton the Australian theme
was:
Building great instructors
-
'The first step in delivering exceptional guest experiences is by
training exceptional instructors'.
We wanted to show that the Australian
alpine environment is unique to the world of
snowsports and our resorts all have one thing in common;
'Guests'
These guests are introduced to this
unique environment by snowsports instructors who are trained by the
APSI.
Jason Clauscen
"Inter-ski is an invaluable resource that Australia has
access to, not to attend would be a great loss not only to the APSI
but also in the Snow Sports industry in Australia. For me,
Inter-ski started well before the actual travel adventure to St
Anton, Austria."
"There were 44 people from around the world ready to attend our
workshop. With only 3 team members we ran a fast moving and
informative program, which showcased Australian riding and
communication skills. Australia ended up having the largest groups
of the week, and it was commented on by a number of countries that
they were impressed with how we dealt with such large groups."
Watch Jason preform a task for the NZ team
Tele Tom
Interski is an amazing event and offers unique
opportunities for learning. It is one of the highlights of my
career and I was very thankful to share the experience with a great
team from Australia.
From my experience at Interski 2011 I believe that the APSI system
has a very strong and functional approach to training
instructors.
The whole event was a great eye opener for a first timer to
Interski. I have gained some good ideas to take back and hopefully
incorporate into our training but also have seen what I do not want
to incorporate.
Watch Tom's movie of the Canadian workshop
Warren Feakes
By far the major focus of INTERSKI is Alpine skiing and
Snowboarding with a fairly major program on Telemark this year.
Many of the large presentations on skiing generally are
applicable to Cross Country Ski Instruction as they covered not
only the individual technical platforms but also the 'philosophies'
of ski instruction. As well, it is notable that over the last
4 or 5 years, there has been a crystallisation of skill blocks so
that they are generic enough to be applied to all skiing and riding
snow disciplines.
I will be running practical workshops on what I have learnt at
the beginning of season 2011 as well as expanding on the workshops
at Trainers Coordination 2011.
Richard Jameson
Germany on-snow clinic: 8 Traits to dynamic
skiing
One of the more enjoyable clinics I was able to attend
this Interski was this one from Germany. The workshops
simplicity and logical structure gave me a good insight into what
Germany holds important on their technical thoughts of "perfect"
skiing, as our clinic leader Frank put it. 
Some of the exercises were good ones that I have never seen or
even heard of before. It's not to say that all of this
information above is the way we should move forward, it is however,
food for thought and some of the ideas blended with ours can
only make our skiing and thoughts of skiing that much stronger.
Paul Lorenz
Korea
"The Koreans were the standout skiers at Interski in my
opinion. The combination of speed and performance at all radiuses,
on any terrain was outstanding. I was fortunate enough to not only
ski with the best Korean skiers and competition winners during
their workshop, but I also had a chance to sit and talk with the
Korean head coach Ray Yang".
I think it is important to note that while their beliefs on
high-end technique may seem strange and different, they do however
have a very similar strategy to the APSI for progressing beginners
to low intermediate skiers.
Apparently; to progress a student they teach 3 different
positions: Tall, Middle and Low. They believe tall is easier for
beginners as it is less stress on the body and allows for a flatter
ski. As the skier's ability increases they are encouraged to flex
more and more to allow for more edge and pressure control movements
(extension/retraction).
It is great to see a country that is open minded enough to try
something out of the norm to achieve what they believe is stronger
technique based on performance over form.
Marty Firle
Czech Republic indoor lecture
"Children's Ski Park in a Bag"
The ski park consists of three bags which have in them all that
are needed to create their own fenced off area to teach the
kids.
Avalanche risk in Germany
"Check your risk"
In 2006 two young German free riders died in an avalanche in the
Alps. Following this tragedy, Germany decided they needed to find a
way to educate young skiers and riders of the dangers of
avalanches.
Slovenia on snow workshop
Slovenia's clinic was on how Demo team members have been
helping world cup racers in their training.
USA on snow workshop
"Teaching for Rocker skis" USA's workshop was on how to
adapt teaching to suit the new rocker skis.
Andy Dean
BASI on snow workshop
The BASI on snow workshop focused on BASI's three phases of
learning and more importantly the instructor's role within these
phases: Cognitive, Associate and Autonomous.
After lunch and the formal portion of the clinic was concluded,
we got the opportunity to ski with all the BASI team members
present including Alain Baxter, Andy Freshwater and Amanda Pirie
all of whom have world cup experience which was excellent.
Swedish indoor lecture
Predefined progression is Stone Age!
Creating passionate and high performing ski/ride
experiences through the Will-Skill-Hill
approach
The question posed in the indoor lecture was "what differs the
best instructors from the good? With the answer proffered being
"the ability to create and sustain skiing/boarding passion".
James Lloyd
It started off quite interesting when I had to have my
flights redirected because Atlanta Airport was experiencing a heavy
snowstorm. This issue turned out to be a
blessing in disguise as I was upgraded to business
class direct to Paris. Hayden was not so lucky.
HOLLAND WORKSHOP- "TEA CONCEPT"
On the final day of the workshops I attended the Dutch
workshop where they introduced the T.E.A. concept. The T.E.A.
concept is broken down into three sections.
T - Try
E - Exercise (Task)
A - Apply
NEW ZEALAND FREESTYLE WORKSHOP
The Freestyle Level 1 Accreditation is designed for
instructors who want to get involved with teaching freestyle in and
out of the terrain park.
The Freestyle Level 2 Accreditation is designed for riders /
Instructors with a strong skill level and understanding of Park and
Pipe, looking to progress their freestyle riding and teaching
ability, with a goal to increase their knowledge and
ability.
Demelza Clay
Demark on-snow: "Ride Free!"
I liked the way the Danes have stepped back from the
traditional structured lesson format and used high-end teaching and
analysis skills to provide a positive and engaging experience in
the mountains for clients learning to ski. The connection between
this experience and the now popular topic of 'emotion' in
snowsports is, I feel, a new key focus to encourage further
participation in our industry.