HOW DO YOU BECOME A SKI INSTRUCTOR?

My group gave the ski school race on Friday 20th March a real international flavour. Five countries were represented by my ten clients; England, Ireland, Portugal, New Zeeland and Malaysia. Like the Grand Slam on Saturday, the race was won by Ireland. In my class were three lovely ladies from SPICE. Well done girls! One of the men in the SPICE party asked me the question,”How do you become a ski instructor?” I thought that others may be interested, so here is how it is done.

I am qualified under the British Association of Snowsport Instructors (B.A.S.I.) and the Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance (C.S.I.A.), both hold training courses in Andorra and elsewhere in the world. However I shall only deal with the B.A.S.I. in this report.

Firstly, you have to be a good recreational skier. You must be able to make controlled parallel turns on a prepared piste. (You do not have to be instructor standard at he start of the course, it is the trainer’s job to get you to that level during the course)

The next stage is to book a level 1 course, this will be of one week’s duration. There will be modules on teaching and personal performance. You must pass BOTH modules. Pass or fail you will be given a written report highlighting your strengths and weaknesses and advice on your future training.

If you pas,you will receive your level one qualification ONLY AFTER you have attended a Child protection module. And hold a current first aid certificate. And obtain a Criminal Record Disclosure, under the Child Protection Act. And obtained 35 hours experience at a recognised dry slope or indoor snow dome.

Now having completed all the above and considered your trainer’s advice on when to take your level 2 course, you can now do the Level 2. This is a two week course and you will be tested on teaching skills and your technical skiing. If you pass one but not the other you may retake that module at a later date.

When you have passed both you will be issued with a licence to teach skiing in most but not all countries. PROVIDED that you hold a current first aid certificate, have an in date C.R.D. and have attend a BASI course or attended a refresher within the last three years.

After you have worked for at least 200 hours in a ski school, you can do two further courses (level 3 & 4) this will get you a better rate of pay.

Taking into account all the expenses, I think it will cost about £3,000 to become a level 2 instructor and legally work in the mountains. Now what to do with your new qualification?. Some people just want the personal satisfaction of qualifying and do not intend to work. Others may have a proper job and would like to work part time during the peak season. One company that will take qualified instructors for a couple of weeks each season is, INTERSKI from Mansfield.. They take school and college parties to Italy. .For those who want to work a full season, you must find a ski school who will offer you a contract.

France does not recognise foreign licences without a speed test. To pass this, you must complete a race within a percentage of a racer who has obtained a certain amount of F,I.S. points . This is like asking a driving instructor to complete a lap of a F.1 circuit a few seconds behind David Coultard or someone similar. Michael Schumaker is a brilliant driver, but is he the best person to teach Aunt Ethel to drive the Fiesta that she is getting for her 50th birthday? Personally I think patience is more important than speed when teaching.

Andorra. Before you can instruct here, you must attend an additional four day course. Other countries may have their own rules, you must find out before applying to go there.

The weather here is still great; we have plenty of snow left and very few skiers, so we are all enjoying great skiing.