ERIK FLEKANDER My Experience at Interski 2023

By Erik Flekander

My Interski experience began back in 2020, when I first submitted my application to join the national team. Despite making it into the preliminary APSI national squad, I would ultimately fall short of that goal at the final team selection in Thredbo in August 2022. Regardless, I was still keen to attend interski as an APSI supporter and take in as much as I could from the event. I had already planned on a European winter season in Switzerland, so being already in Europe I thought why not! 

Attending Interski means you’re able to attend any clinic you wish, as well as any of the indoor lectures also. In short, you have all the benefits with none of the responsibility of presenting. Naturally, I made the most of this and filled almost every slot. With so many great presenters here it would be a shame not to. 

 

 

Day one of presentations took me to the Argentinian clinic in the morning, followed by the Czech clinic in the afternoon. Both were freestyle oriented. A brilliant experience to be able to meet, ride, and network with some big names in the snowsports industry. The Swiss presented their keynote speech later this afternoon, focused on year-round staff employment through the summer months, to not lose potential return staff year after year. This helps to make the industry a more viable career option, by providing year-round contracts to employees, and by providing the security of not needing to relocate for work multiple times each year to follow the seasons. 

Day two was a highlight for me. I started the day with the Austrian snowboard clinic, titled ‘body torsion carving’. It was all about manipulating your body position to get the greatest performance out of your board. This was easily the most fun I’ve had on snow for a long while. With cold temperatures, dreamy groomers, and grippy snow, you couldn’t ask for better conditions for this clinic. The afternoon saw a change of style with Argentina’s ‘fear, empathy, and snowboarding’ clinic. In other words, taking it back to basics, and remembering what your students are feeling. This was done firstly by placing a foam block in front of your highback, drastically shifting your lateral position on the board. Needless to say this makes riding more difficult, and even in the simplest of tasks it felt like we were brand new to the sport again. We also tried various combinations of one foot riding, sometimes in switch, to again mimic what our guests must feel early on in their snowboarding experience. 

I attended the US clinic in the terrain park on the morning of day 3. The weather was not our friend this time around, with poor visibility and windy conditions. The afternoon was already scheduled as an afternoon off (ie. no clinics running), and it was probably for the best with many lifts now on wind hold. What better way to spend it than with a long lunch inside followed by a Finnish sauna! This evening was the APSI team dinner, a short bus ride away from Levi. 

 

 

 

On Thursday morning I attended a great presentation from New Zealand on their ‘feedback toolbox’. I found this really interesting to rethink how we present feedback to guests and trainees, to achieve the best results given their current understanding and emotional state. Something I’d not considered before was asking your student questions before giving feedback, as this can give greater insight on where their understanding and emotions are at, and therefore you are able to give feedback appropriate to this state. The afternoon was another fun clinic, this time with Canada, on ‘keeping the stoke high’. We split into smaller groups, and with lots of ride time, and some fresh snow from the day before, everyone felt the stoke. 

Before you realize it, you’re on the last day. I take the morning off from clinics, and only attend the German clinic in the afternoon. Theirs was titled ‘the snowboard compass’, explaining how on any given run there are elements that can be used to train similar skills in other disciplines of snowboarding i.e. tree runs to simulate line choice through race gates, side hits to build towards the terrain park, and easy wide groomers to throw some switch carving in the mix. In other words, using the available terrain to its maximum potential. 

In the closing ceremony, all of the participating countries produce one last show run, thankfully this time it’s not the freezing temperatures we endured watching the opening ceremony. After this point, all of the hard work is done by the presenters and demonstrators, and all that is left is the closing party. This is where all of the national team attire is swapped and traded away. With the Australian team puffer in high demand I’m offered a full Dutch team outfit of jacket, pants, and gloves in exchange. I can’t say no to that! 

 

 

Overall, I’m incredibly glad I attended Interski in Levi 2023. I would recommend this experience to anyone who is serious about growing their knowledge in the snowsports industry. It’s also an incredible networking event allowing you to meet, ride, and even grab a beer with some of the best instructors from around the world. Now that I’ve had a taste of what the event is, and has to offer, it has only increased my motivation to try out for the team again in the future. Would I attend Interski again? Absolutely. Though hopefully as a national team member next time!