Did you know you can contact Tony Keeble at tonytele@hotmail.com ?

Telemark News for 2002 Ski Season.

What a year!

Half way through the season Megan and I had our first addition to our family. Acacia Minjana Dianne Benne Keeble was born on the 8th of August, the day before my birthday! So if you were searching for me over that period, I am sorry I did not respond to your calls. There were other more important things to be doing, like changing and cleaning nappies and bonding etc. So thank you to those people who gave me my space. I eventually got back to everyone, I hope!

2002 saw the running of three Level 1 telemark courses. This is a record for one season! I’d like to thank all those committed telemarkers for putting their money on the table and showing up to courses. We ran two courses at Perisher Blue and one course at Mt.Buller. I’d personally like to thank the Don McInnes and his staff at Perisher Blue for accommodating our telemark courses and exams this year. Thankyou for the rooms to run indoor sessions and thank - you for looking after the trainers (It was a bonus to be able to use the Ski Tube at the end of the Perisher exams as it meant Dan and I had less driving time which helps to keep us safer on the roads after a long day’s work). Also, thankyou to the staff at Mt.Buller who helped Dan out.

This season, APSI gave away 4 X $100 discounts to current APSI members who wanted to gain a second snow sport discipline. It has been decided that we will offer the same deal for the 2003 season. So make sure you get in quick, as the discounts did not last long this season.

Unfortunately we did not have the minimum numbers of 4 to run a level 2 telemark course this year. However numbers are looking good for next year. So if you want a full certification in telemark then make sure you pay your money and come along to a level 2 course. You are guaranteed to be challenged.

2002 Exam Results.

This year’s exams were held at Perisher Blue. We had 14 candidates. Ten vying for Level 1 and four for Level 2. The exam took all day and I would like to thank the candidates for their time and patience. I was very impressed with the skill level of candidates for this year’s Level 1. It is obvious to me that with the introduction of plastic boats and shape telemark skis, candidate learning curves are steeper. No longer do we need to spend time on refining candidates’ skiing skills at Level 1, instead we need to make sure candidates can de-tune their skiing so that the clients can see what you are doing. Perhaps the weakest part of the exams is the teaching criteria. However saying this, there were certainly some candidates who showed that they are excellent teachers.

So the results for Level 1 exams this year are:

Jacqui Stevens scored the highest mark for teaching.

Nic McHutchison scored the highest mark for Demonstrations and Free Ride.

Congratulations to you both.

Other candidates who passed included Anne Ford, Pete Sheridan, Byron Evans, Phillip Hannam, Keiran O’leary and Kaj Scholte.

There were four Level 2 candidates, all were resitting. Two were resitting their teach and two their free ride. Level 2 is full certification in Australia and is a big step from Level 1 to 2. However I am happy to announce that 2 candidates were successful in gaining their full certification. Congratulations to Bruce Easton for passing his free ride and to Peter Rae for passing his teaching. It is good to have more Level 2 instructors as this will help in spreading the work load, I hope.

Both Carl Drury and Glen Eldridge performed well but did not gain enough points to pass. I am looking forward to seeing them next year at the resists and encourage them to get plenty of training in over the Northern Winter.

On a special note I would like to thank two people who helped with the smooth running of courses this year. Firstly I would like to thank Dan Monaghan for running a very professional Level 1 course at Mt.Buller and for helping me out at the exams. Keep doing what you do Dan! Also I would like to acknowledge the support of Bruce Easton who delivered the goods this year. Not only did Bruce start up a Telemark and Nordic School at Perisher Blue, he also convinced enough people to pay their money so we could run courses at Perisher Blue this season. And he also ran a Level 1 telemark course at Perisher after being a rookie trainer at the start of the season for me on a Level 1 course. Then he also passed his Level 2. Well done Bruce. I hope you had time to run your business in Jindy as well as spend time with the family. Keep doing what you are doing!

Please be sure to read the first SnowPro next year to check out dates for the telemark course. Come and free the heel!

Have a great summer and/or Northern Winter.

Tony