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Tim
The anxiety levels rose as we sat on the tarmac in Denver waiting for the fog to clear in San Francisco. With over half the Australian Demonstration Team on board, we all pondered the implications of missing our connecting flight to Seoul, South Korea. With a quick sprint to the boarding gate and an upgrade to business class, the anxiety dissipated with my first sip of champagne. Those of us lucky enough to get an upgrade giggled all the way while listening to Trent curse from economy.
Upon our arrival the giggling continued as we checked into our rooms and found there were no beds. We all thought it was a joke until we looked in cupboards and saw our bedding. The culture shock kick started a week of excitement, exhilaration and exhaustion.
Resplendent in our gum leaf green uniforms we strode proudly into the opening ceremony to the applause of the welcoming Koreans and Interski 2007 was on! The biggest thrill for me was riding with the Aussie team in our night time demonstrations. The skill level and professionalism made me proud to represent Australian snowsports.
As the week progressed I attended many workshops in the mornings and lots of lectures in the afternoons. After dinner the team participated whole heartedly in the scheduled activities, be they demonstrations or drinking or both.
The nuts and bolts of Interski are that we all slide on snow no matter what the Equipment. It provides a forum for all nations to display their skills and teaching methods in a dynamic environment with open discussion on methodology and philosophy.
Some general observations for me were stance width and stance angles. Most of the European associations were riding positive angles with narrow to medium widths.
The exception was the Brits and the Spaniards who were riding wide and duck. (The BASI TD was riding +18 ff / -15 bf and focusing on the intrinsic feeling of “Becoming one with the board”).
The rest of the snowboard demonstrators were an even mix of angles and widths depending on age and riding style. I think the stance cycle is leaning toward wide and duck with the focus on freestyle at the expense of board performance.
Our Technical Director, Jason Clauscen addressed this issue in the Australian workshop. Our workshop was well attended and managed to raise some eyebrows and create discussion within the groups. A point of interest for me was the formula being used by the Italians to determine stance width. They measure the riders height and divide it by 3.144 (pie) with +/- 2 cm.
Try it, it works.
I saw many different interpretations of edging the board. Some nations focused on inclinating into the turn, others used a tilting method while some just pushed against their highbacks. Some degree of angulation was present in all methods.
One of the buzz words for many associations was “twist”. A lot of focus is being placed on torsionally twisting the board to initiate turns. There was a massive range of theories and technique when rotary was discussed and demonstrated in various workshops.
The Euros were open in their stance which caused some breaking at the waist on the heelside. The Canadians had full body rotation, the Kiwis had minimal rotation and the Brits had NO rotary at all. It was interesting to see the effects, both positive and negative, the different theories had on the demonstrators’ riding.
Pressure control or pressure management as seems to be the new catch phrase, created much deliberation between the demonstrators. A complete range from downweighted at all times, (BASI “Why would you release pressure once you have created it?”), to full flexion/extension with a building and releasing of pressure was demonstrated.
Most nations agreed as the skill level increased so did the amount of time spent in a downweighted position.
Anticipation in the direction of travel also elicited a wide range of responses. I saw zero anticipation (BASI), to completely open and completely closed (CASI).
The diversity of workshops and presentations stimulated the thought process and discussion constantly. I found the technical models and graphic representations of the Germans and the Swiss informative, simple and useful. The Canadians “twist the disc” method worked well in initiating turns. The Italians methodology of not having a preferred stance was insightful. The Slovenians scientific approach to speed and the use of park features was exceptional. They used a speed measurement and display device that provided instant feedback and took the guess work out of speed judgment. The anti ski sentiment of the Dutch provoked heated discussion only quelled by the free Heineken.
I saw and heard so many new and different ideas it would be impossible to collate them all into this report. I did not agree with much of the material presented but in the spirit of Interski I participated and focused on the positives.
Perhaps the biggest eye opener for me was the business and membership aspect of the associations. The math was not hard to work out that the more members, the bigger the budget, the bigger the team. When I investigated this concept further I found that most of these associations offered an “Introduction to Instruction” course. This in turn boosted their membership and grew the number of active instructors in their associations.
As a technical committee member, trainer and examiner, you put in countless hours for the love of the sport. To represent Australia as a Demonstration Team member far outweighs the long meetings and rewriting of manuals. I want to thank the APSI, its members and its sponsors for the opportunity to further my professional development and represent our great nation.
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