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NIGEL MILLS People of APSI |
Certification/s and year achieved.
What was training with the APSI like when you achieved your certification and how would you compare it to current times?
The training back in those days was mostly given by the Austrians who came to Australia. My training was given by Paul Romagna at Mount Buller and Christian Pertle at Hotham. Other trainers were those who had obtained their Austrian Staatlicher like Don McGinnes, Brad Spalding and others. It was pretty much just skiing and teaching based with not as much customer service orientation as we have today. I think the American and Canadian influence which came later has given us a much more well rounded certification.
Which Australian Snowsports School did/do you work with?
Mount Buller from 1982 to 1988 then Hotham from 1989 until 2020
Did/do you also teach in the Northern Hemisphere and where?
I worked in Canada at Fortress Mountain in 1983 and 1984 then to Europe for a few seasons (St.Anton in 1986). I returned to Canada in 1987 at Whistler/Blackcomb where I worked for Ski Esprit (or ski debris as some called us).
In 1988 I got an exchange to Vail where I still work now. I managed to do 76 winter in a row. My knees hurt just thinking about this!
This lifestyle did allow me to get lots of surfing in during the off season however. I was also fortunate to marry a wonderful lady Andrea and raise three beautiful boys whilst maintaining this lifestyle.
What position/s did you hold in the APSI?
What made/makes you most proud of the APSI at that time?
As the SSD representative I think I brought some unity and a calming influence to the board during a stressful time during which the APSI had quite a sum of money stolen by an employee.
What important events happened during your time with the APSI?
See above but also during this time the Level 1 was added to the association making it a 3 level system.
With regard to your work with the APSI, what accomplishment/s are you most proud of?
I think during this time (where we had 3 different presidents) the board became quite much more unifiedand financially stable.
How did the above accomplishment/s change the APSI moving forward?
The APSI has become a much more stable association both financially and directionally
Describe how the APSI compared/s to international instructor organisations at that time?
The APSI was always well respected I think but now it is seen as a leader in the industry and our instructors are well regarded worldwide.
How did/do international organisations view the APSI? Was/is there much communication/sharing of information between organisations?
I think skiing associations have come a long way in the last 20 years and with our continued involvement in Interski the sharing of information is as good as it has ever been with the APSI now a major contributor to the way skiing is taught worldwide.
During your time with the APSI, who were some influential/inspiring people within the organisation?
Too many to mention but Paul Romagna had a huge influence on me as did people like Mike Porter, Peter, Reynolds, Andrew Rae and Paul Lorenz. Kerry Lee was always so passionate and driven to improve the APSI and was an inspiration also.
Nigel Mills and Paul Lorenz, Mt. Hotham 2014
Please share a funny or interesting APSI story from your time with the APSI.
In 1984 Paul Romagna suggested I was not ready for the Full Cert to be held in Perisher but I decided to attend anyway. Paul was correct as I managed to knock over an examiner during the Change of Rhythm demo. Paul was correct!