TPS Archives

Reprints From The Professional Skier

Fall 1996 - "Do the New Skis Change the Way We Train, Test, and Certify?" by Johanna Hall

This article is reprinted from The Professional Skier. All copyrights apply. Please see our copyright and disclaimer notice page.

Much has been said about the advent and growing popularity of shaped skis in terms of skier performance. And several articles in this issue of The Professional Skier focus on shaped skis in the context of skiing and ski instruction.

Now let's twist that focus knob a bit tighter and explore how shaped skis affect the training and examination process for ski instructors.

Just a few years ago, most instructors wouldn't think about showing up at an exam on a shaped ski because they feared that examiners might view or score them differently. But now that almost everybody is skiing on shaped skis (including the examiners), it's wise to consider the ramifications of equipment innovations as they pertain to how PSIA trains, tests, and certifies instructors.

Teaching, Service Models

The Teaching Model and the Service Model---two cornerstones of the American Teaching System-outline philosophies and specific behaviors that affect our interactions with students. These models are valid regardless of the equipment instructors or students choose to place on their feet.

When working with ski school guests, instructors gain valuable job skills through their study and use of these models.

Training, testing, and certifying instructors in their knowledge and application of teaching and guest service skills will continue for all levels of certification across the country-no matter what type of ski the instructors use.

Center Line Skills Concept

The Center Line Model is broad in scope. The wedge, wedge-christie, parallel, and dynamic-parallel turns identified in the model will continue to be the developmental phases (i.e., milestones) that all students pass through as they increase their skiing skills. Instructors should continue to tram for mastery of the Center Line turns and maneuvers and expect to demonstrate this mastery during exams. Students must learn these fundamental turns, so instructors have to be proficient in them and understand the skill blending and specific mechanics needed to ski them efficiently.

Most divisions across the country now include in their exams a wide variety of exercises and movements that expand upon the Center Line concept. The Center Line now includes all the turns and maneuvers in skiing, from stem and step christies, to linked sideslips and hop turns. Each of these maneuvers represent viable movement patterns and skill blends that have specific application in skiing. Not only must instructors be proficient with the wedge, wedge-christie, parallel, and dynamic-parallel turn, they must also be able to skillfully perform all the fun and interesting types of turns used in skiing. This trend of expanding upon Center Line maneuvers and exploring other movement patterns will continue even as shaped skis make their appearance in the exam arena. So even though shaped skis might make one type of turn easier (i.e., a tight arc), instructors using shaped skis in exams must proficiently perform all types turns on them.

The skill blends used when skiing shaped ski may be a bit different than when skiing a conventional ski. For example, when using a shaped ski, the skier uses more edging and pressuring movements and less rotary movements than when, skiing a conventional ski. By virtue of the sidecut, the shaped ski makes turning easy as the tips and tails engage and the ski bends to enhance the turning arc. This influences how a skier blends his or her skills to produce a turn.

Suppose, for example, that two exam candidates are skiing a parallel turn. One skier performs the turn on a conventional ski, the other on a shaped ski. Both skiers must be able to ski a round arc with their feet in an open stance. The speed should be relatively slow and the arc should have some skidding. The candidate on the conventional ski may use more rotary movement and a bit ore up-movement at the turn initiation an the skier on the shaped ski due to design characteristics of the conventional ski. This skier will also have more of skidded arc than the other skier. (Because a conventional ski may not be on such a high edge angle, it is flatter and will skid sideways more.)

In contrast, the person on the shaped ski may show less up-movement a initiation of the turn. The edge more dramatic and critical ski, so the skier must use a more forward movement at the turn initiation to create the edge change. Once the skis are tipped on edge, the arc will be less skidded than with the conventional ski because the tips and tails engage and the middle flexes. However, both skiers, regardless of equipment, must understand and perform the parallel turn.

If the candidate on the shaped ski makes a high-performance turn with a narrow track and a 3-inch trench in the snow, this would not be an acceptable performance of a basic parallel turn at certification. After all, our students must learn the basic parallel turn before they learn how to carve an arc like a racer.

Shaped skis may shorten the time it takes students to achieve dynamic-parallel turns, since they will feel the sensation of carving at a slower speed, but instructors will still find that students must learn a parallel turn before a dynamic-parallel turn. Again, instructors must be able to demonstrate all types of turns, even if they use a different blend of that turn's critical skill elements. Examiners will continue to verify this ability at certification exams.

It is entirely possible that the wedge-christie phase in a student's skiing development may be shorter when skiing on a shaped ski than on a conventional ski. We may see some students going to parallel turns on the beginner slope directly following their straight run! But the wedge and wedge-christie turns are still important turns with valuable movement patterns that every skier should master. The shaped ski evolution may uncover some interesting shifts in time-on-task and the learning curve, but our Center Line Model is alive and well, and we will continue to utilize all aspects of the model as our equipment changes.

Ed/Cert Standards

PSIA's Education/Certification Standards list all the skills instructors should possess for each level of certification (See "Education/Certification Standards Revisited," Winter 1995). This list should help guide training programs at the ski schools and standardize what is validated at exams. The national education/certification committees have reviewed the standards and made only minor changes (e.g., incorporation of Service Model concepts and additional emphasis on edging) for the 1996-97 ski season. Trainers and examiners will use this important document to guide the professional development of their staff whether staff members ski on shaped or conventional skis.

Equipment And Performance

Every skier has many equipment choices, and instructors should be up-to-date and knowledgeable about the rapid changes in equipment. They should try a wide variety of skis and understand the advantages and disadvantages of each model, not only to enhance their own skiing enjoyment and performance but also to better address proper equipment selection for their students. What's right for one person may not be right for the next, and this holds particularly true for our students.

For ourselves, making the equipment choice should be a study in versatility. We know how we like to ski on our days off and we know what we are responsible for as professional ski instructors on the job. The skiing performance expected of us at certification is clear. It makes sense to choose equipment that allows us the freedom to ski all types of turns in all types of conditions. If you're on a ski that carves great on the ice but hooks and dives in deeper snow, you're asking for trouble. Make sure your equipment choice allows you to ski everything without any equipment-based excuses!

Examiners should know and understand the subtle difference in mechanics needed for each type of ski. They should expect to see exam candidates skiing on every kind of ski imaginable, using subtle ranges in skill blends and variations in strategies to accomplish the same task. Divisional training should cover this topic to ensure more consistent training and evaluation without bias.

Conclusion

The American Teaching System remains the solid foundation from which we study and learn about our jobs as professional ski instructors. Recent changes in ski equipment have helped prove the staying power of our system by stimulating a consideration of whether the philosophies, concepts, and models within ATS still apply. Clearly, they do. We must now study the subtle changes in teaching methodology, skill blending, and time-on-task requirements that the new shaped skis have introduced.

Every professional ski instructor in the country must know about differences in equipment and understand how different options enhance or inhibit skiing performance. Since the recent equipment innovations have direct impact on our jobs as professional ski instructors, our training programs and certification exams must reflect the subtle changes in knowledge and performance needed to fully utilize this new equipment.

These are exciting times. The better informed we are, the more we can help our students learn to ski with greater ease and enjoyment. And after all, isn't that what we're here for?

Johanna Hall is the former chair of the PSIA Alpine Education Committee, and is the ski school director at Washington's Mission Ridge.