Alpine Report
	Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) National Academy 2008   Introduction   The aim of this report is to give you the reader an overview of the PSIA academy 2008.   It will include some information on the location, the event itself, my participation, a few of the highlights and some possible recommendations on a similar event planned for the APSI, in Australia for this season.   Shortened terms used in this report; APSI (Australian Professional Snowsports Instructors) PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) NZSIA (New Zealand Ski Instructors Alliance) CSIA (Canadian ski instructors alliance) BASI (British Association of ski instructors) ADIDES (Argentinean ski instructors association) ISIA (International Ski Instructors Association) BP (Basic Position, from the alpine teaching manual)   It’s location Although the National academy has been held at various locations from year to year, Snowbird ski resort, Utah-USA, has become a favourite location.  Snowbird ski resort consists of 3 vast interconnecting areas; Gad valley, Peruvian gulch & mineral basin. The 12 main lifts service a wide variety of terrain, although it consists of mostly black & double black, off-piste fun. The scenic views & gondola (Tram) make you feel as though the resort is a cross between Colorado and France.   During my stay in Snowbird the PSIA put me up in the Cliff lodge, a seemingly avalanche proof concrete 10 storey megastructure, where all indoor events would also be held. The accommodation was very comfortable & my room mate (Richard Jameson) was able to pass throughout the building in the comfort of thongs in good Aussie tradition.   Many of our main meals were buffet style and provided as a part of the event. This allowed us to socialise with the participants and mingle with other demo team representatives alike.     The Academy itself   The Academy was held from the 18th to the 24th of April 2008.   The PSIA Academy has been running for over 30 years although it has evolved over that time the concept still remains the same. It is a National event where PSIA members can come together to attend educational clinics that are not qualification based and all clinic leaders are demo team members (including past & & current to meet demand).   I was invited to attend the PSIA event where I worked, learnt, exchanged training concepts, networked, built interest for Australia and absorbed ideas for a future event at home for the direct benefit of all APSI members.    Academy Program: The events festivities ran for 5 days with a basic formula of; ·         6:30am Yoga sessions ·         7-8:30am breakfast in the Cliff lodge ·         8:45-12:30, your standard skier improvement groups ·         1:30-3:30, elective sessions ·         5-6pm, International Key note lectures ·         7pm-dinner provided 4 of the 6 nights.   Skier improvement groups: These sessions were not unlike general high end group lessons, where the group took a self assessment and hopefully put themselves in the correct standard. These groups then kept the same clinic leader for the whole week and worked on whatever skiing they wanted.   My group were introduced to the Aussie ‘BP’ & some tough love (MA on video).   Elective sessions: The elective sessions had to be pre-booked and were varied, educational, job specific and the choices were run both in and outdoors. Some of the many interesting choices including; ·         Ski with an International Demo Team member ·         Video sessions ·         Park & pipe ·         Carving ·         Women’s ski group ·         Powder/crud ·         Rae coaching ·         Boot fitting ·         Backcountry/Avalanche ·         Basic movements for children ·         Plan your exam   Facilities: All indoor activities were held at the Cliff Lodge, utilising the numerous eateries, meeting rooms, swimming pools and views of the mountain.   All keynote presentations included the use of a data projector to show slides, movies or PowerPoint with varying aptitude in the use of this technology. All were well presented (all be it with numerous excuses of lack of computer knowledge, especially considering the other ball room was home to a ‘Nano science’ convention. A group of people with similar intellect as most snowsports instructors).   The hill was exceptional; it provided a variety of challenges for this type of event. Snow conditions were great considering the time of year and as expected it snowed another 70cm the day I left the country.   My participation   “Experience Australia, experience the difference”; Over the week Richard & I were able to further promote the theme presented at Interski 2007, an event that the PSIA were unable to attend. This theme allowed us to reveal; our country, our culture, how our teaching has evolved, our philosophy, our mechanics and what it is that makes snowsports in Australia so unique.   We were both expected to work on the event so as a result we had our own groups in the mornings, took the international clinics in the afternoon & presented at the Key-note lecture on the Tuesday night.   The presentation encompassed this theme, utilizing some of the lecture slides presented at Interski with some additional information to try & attract people to work in Australia & hopefully participate in APSI events in the future.   We were also able to represent Australian culture to its fullest by wearing board shorts & thongs.     Night life; Being only two Aussies as opposed to whole team making a mark on Utah night life was a little difficult, if you know what the liquor rules are like over there. After I was refused service for not having ID by a much younger bar man, we had to be content with climbing a snow wall in thongs to enjoy the hot tub….presumably after hours.   Additional participation; During the week I was able to spend some time with Kim Seevers; Educational director of PSIA National (a job similar to mine). This was extremely useful as it allowed me to discuss future educational plans, income streams and issues common to both associations.   I was also invited to sit in on a meeting between Kim, Katie Fry (Demo team manager) & Rob Sogard (Demo team coach). Regarding the PSIA demo team selection scheduled for the week after I was in the US. This gave me a few ideas that could be molded to suit this season’s selection process for our own team.   The highlights   The highlights listed here are points of interest that not only made participating in the PSIA academy beneficial but also added to our success, rapport & enjoyment of having the opportunity to exchange ideas directly with another association.   ·         Assessing the feasibility of running a similar event in Australia for APSI & the useful ideas that have come from seeing it first hand ·         PSIA National Demo Team selection meeting ·         Freeskiing as a group with PSIA & international Demo Team members ·         Catching up with old friends from other teams (great for networking) ·          I learnt more about some of the international countries that I had at Interski, including; o    CSIA uses a similar teaching philosophy as ours-for elite athletes & they are looking at adopting their Level 1 to becoming similar to the CC o    BASI estimated costs to become a full qualified instructor are around AUS$50,000.00 o    NZSIA was originally influenced by CSIA o    ADIDES training system is scientifically based (which is why at first glance it seems confusing) because they felt they had NO Argentine athletes to emulate ski movements so instead they consulted the science community o    PSIA have similar income streams as APSI (all be it much larger) & are faced with similar issues that any educational/certification body are faced with ·         Discussing the political structure of the PSIA with various board members ·         Skiing Snowbird for the first time ·         Walking through the hotel with a large blow-up shark, named Bruce   Thank you:   Attending the PSIA academy would not have been possible without all the support that I received. Some people helped financially while others simply assisted via encouragement of having the ‘NTC’ attend an international event for the betterment of the APSI. To all; no matter how you helped I thank you & those I have possibly forgotten, my mistake, but you know that I am grateful.   ·         Kim Seevers for pushing for my attendance ·         PSIA-For allowing this exchange of ideas & financial assistance ·         APSI board of management for their commitment to the event ·         Richard Jameson for all he has done ·         Warren for his support ·         Rebecca Rae ·         Olivia Texier at ‘Flight centre Byron Bay’ for the low prices on flights & insurance ·         Contact & Clarendon printing for our ‘Brochure’ ·         Chris Allen ·         Michael Rogan (who came to Australia in 2007) & had the forethought to keep up the relations between APSI & PSIA   ‘Mike & Mim Sodergren would have loved the concept of this visit’