Interski report
	Slovenian report by Tim Robertson The Slovenians were an interesting bunch of guys. Quite cocky really! They had stuck posters around the resort of Yong Pyong of themselves naked with only their skis covering their private parts! Didn’t work for me but Shelly knew which abs belonged to which guy. Go Shelly!  The Slovenians theme for Interski was "Skiing for a Day" .The indoor lecture was what I would say the equivalent to a command style ski lesson. Needless to say I was looking forward to the "on snow workshop". The Slovenians use 90 cm to 125 cm skis when teaching new skiers. They call it "The system of gradually lengthening skis.  Beginners start on 90 cm skis then move onto 125 cm skis and then onto there regular skis in a day. The reason for using this system is the occurrence of shaped skis.  You may have heard of a system used in the USA called the GLM system (Graduated Learning Method) invented by an American guy named Cliff Taylor in the 1970's . He may have been ahead of his time. He started beginners on 50 cm to 160 cm skis. The system did not survive though, because the technique he used to teach beginners on the short skis did not follow through to 190 cm to 205 cm length skis which were the norm in those days. The Slovenians proclaim the technique to teach beginners on shaped 90 cm skis does not change when they graduated to longer shaped skis. "There is no need to introduce different teaching methods for students of different levels. The only things that change are speed, terrain and equipment”.  Students are taught to ski in a parallel position. The only time they use a snowplough is when they need to stop. Carving is the focus with little attention to steering. As you can imagine, speed control could be an issue, especially on steeper terrain. The following are what the Slovenians call "the basic present day skiing technique". Open stance. Hip width apart Centered position, to exert the best ski response. Lower centre of mass. Swift ankle and knee movements in the direction of the new turn. Less vertical and more lateral movements. More leaning during a turn. Carving turns on both skis to an individuals skiers' limits dependant on hisher knowledge, terrain and equipment. Maintaining shoulders and hips in the direction of travel. This position enables to easily overcome greater loads in the turn. (This comment could be open for discussion) Counter and angulation is not mentioned.  At higher speeds the pole plant is only indicated; it no longer initiates a vertical movement. Even   at lower speeds the pole plant is redundant. (More discussion) The Slovenians say that the short ski "forces" the skier to - 1. Keep skis in an open stance 2. Lower the basic position for better balance 3. Better centered position for fore and aft balance 4. Keep the body following the skis, rotation results in ski wobble 5. Overturn (tip) the ankles (only way to keep the skis still) 6. Increase lateral movements The exercises they used on "flat terrain" were similar to what we would teach beginners, but once the lesson moved to medium terrain the Slovenians introduced interesting names for individual carving turns uphill .ie. Pole man - pushing with poles. Straight Jacket - touching inside hip with outside arm. Superman - stretching outside arm in direction of travel. Happy man - arms on hips Rope Walker - holding poles across body Waterman - holding poles in middle and parallel to skis Expert - hold poles normally As soon as the students get the hang of the above exercises the Slovenians link them in a garland which they call "Composed turns". Then the next step is to link the exercises down the fall-line. Once the students have graduated from 90 cm to 125 cm skis doing the above exercises, they are then ready to upgrade to their normal skis. This is where the Slovenians start talking about leg turning and blending it with tipping of the ankles. Plus increased leaning in and “Yeh baby ", angulation! (I thought we had to be square?) Then we go skiing in wide (long turns), mid-wide (medium turns) and narrow corridors (short turns), experimenting with carving and pure carving technique. It was an interesting experience, and I quite like the idea of starting on short shaped skis and graduating to longer lengths as they work through the exercises. It would be cool to blend some of the Slovenian concepts with some Australian teaching methods to our suit our students and environment. Keeping an open mind and observing different methodologies and techniques is what Interski is all about, and as Neal Tanner (CSIA chairman) said "ski teaching is becoming a global concept”. For more reports click here.