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This blog debunks the Top 5 Myths about instructors to make the profession more accessible and transparent to a broader audience. If you’ve been thinking about doing an instructor season but are unsure if you’re up for it, this is a must-read.
Spend a day at a ski resort, and chances are you’ll run into instructors nonchalantly weaving their way down the slopes, bypassing lift lines and enjoying the best office in the world. Observing from a distance in civilian attire, you smile as the group of kids behind them ski in a perfect snake and wail in pure joy, poles to sky like bunny ears.
Your mind wanders, and the thought of you leading that group is swiftly overtaken by the devil on your shoulder: ‘You’re not good enough’ or ‘You’re too shy’. Read on as we dismantle some of the most commonly held beliefs about instructors lifting the veil to expose the truth – anyone can do it with the right attitude and help.
Contrary to public perception, instructors must meet minimum skiing and riding standards, but they definitely don’t need to be the best shredders on the mountain. Their role is to meet their students where they’re at and help them progress from there.
The student isn’t there to watch the instructor ski or ride (outside of occasional demonstrations). This is especially true for entry-level certifications such as the Level 1, where the end goal is to be proficient in teaching beginners.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and the resorts need Level 1 Instructors just as much or even more than they need high-level pros. Beginner lessons are the bread and butter business of any snow school. You don’t need to be great to start but you do need to start to be great.
The truth is, you don’t need to arrive and be the life of the party every single day. If you’re constantly teaching large groups of rowdy kids then you’ll quickly find a voice you didn’t even know you had. If you’re teaching adult or private lessons than it would just be weird if you didn’t adjust the volume and energy a touch.
Instructing is a great job to get you out of your shell and help you embrace who you are. If you’re naturally outgoing and energetic, then that is great, especially when teaching kids lessons. If you’re a little softer-spoken and meeting new people every day sounds scary then a little extra help from us could give you the push you need.
On a Winter Sports Company training program, you will gain confidence practice teaching, and find your voice well ahead of the exam, which squashes exam stress to almost nil. No matter who you are, you’ll find students and colleagues just like you and learn to communicate with people you’d otherwise never cross paths with.
Unless your signed up for an all-mountain freeriding or freestyle-specific course, instructors are generally focused entirely on form and will leave you to ‘send it’ on your own time. Those higher risk settings are generally the domain of experienced coaches rather than instructors.
In truth, and boring as it may sound, many technical exercises are better performed at slower speeds or even static, so there’s generally zero emphasis on speed, particularly with beginners and intermediates.
As the student level increases, that often correlates with teaching at greater speeds in harder terrain. When this happens, there is a corresponding increase in the risk, which needs to be managed or mitigated by the instructor. The instructor has a duty of care for your safety and aside from that, they themselves want to be injury-free so they can keep doing what they love.
Instructors generally won’t act as ‘guides’ and take you to the steepest, gnarliest line on the mountain. That’s not their job and they might not be insured should something go wrong. Most higher-level instructors generally have go-to ‘teaching terrain’, which is a suitable canvas for the task you’re working on.
The snow school department is quite possibly the most diverse mix of people on the ski hill. There are people from all over the world and the interns on our programs get to join the cast of some pretty compelling characters. Some are local part-timers with a family who do it for the love, some are seasonal workers who live locally and only a few are dedicated hardcore pros or true ‘ski bums’.
In the same row of lockers you might have a WSC intern, a local whitewater raft guide, a yoga teacher, a restauranteur and even an engineer or a lawyer. None of these people scream ‘hardcore’, and few would introduce themselves as an instructor at first instance in other settings.
Throw in a few semi-retired lifers, some dedicated trainers and the occasional racer kids or park rats, and you’ve got quite the eclectic mix. Of course, everyone’s there for the same reason and gets on like a house on fire. The only problem is figuring out who parties harder out of the Brits and the Aussies. We all know it’s not the Kiwis.
Unless you arrive fit and ready you’ll want rest days to be at your best while on a training program. Once you progress to teaching, you’ll quickly realize that you must earn your instructor stripes and hone your craft on the beginner slopes. Although it isn’t the most exciting terrain it’s probably the most rewarding place to teach.
As an instructor, you’ll get 100+ day seasons and an endless amount of freeriding, but your work days are just that. Sure it can get repetitive but the more you work, the closer you are to that next level of certification, which enables you to have the best of both worlds.
When you get to that point, your days off will probably be spent far away from chairlifts, recuperating in the hot tub and sauna. Either that or procrastinating about writing blogs from the couch for extra cash.
To become a ski instructor in Canada you must successfully pass the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance (CSIA) Level 1 instructor course as a minimum requirement. To increase your employability and work internationally, you need to obtain your CSIA Level 2 after further training. Similarly you can achieve a secondary pathway through the newly formed Professional Ski Instructors of Canada (PSIC). Both governing bodies’ qualifications and prior training programmes are available through the Winter Sports Company. Getting a ski instructor job in a resort will be achievable with these certifications and guidance.
This wouldn’t be easy to achieve without proper training and certification by a governing body or a ski instructor provider such as the Winter Sports Company. Internationally recognised ski schools will always employ people who have been professionally trained to a standard accepted by the governing body recognised in that country. Additionally, the resort or ski school will likely not allow an unqualified, uninsured person with zero experience to teach on the mountain. Fortunately The Winter Sports Company can teach complete beginners to become ski instructors in as little as 6 weeks.
If above 15, given the right attitude and ability, anyone can be a ski instructor. Training through a provider like the Winter Sports Company can ensure a speedy journey to becoming a ski instructor. Embarking on an intense training programme is a surefire way of learning the correct methods and, more importantly, understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses so that the student can improve through learning, practising and teaching the techniques and skills associated with a ski instructor.
With most governing bodies within the ISIA (International Ski Instructors Association) which has 38 nations conforming to an international standard, the accepted format of 4 Levels of skiing consists of the following. Level 1 instructor course teaches a basic introduction to skiing and assumes the instructor can parrallel ski. An introduction to children is often introduced at this level. Level 2 concentrates on more advanced techniques and allows you to instruct intermediate skiers. Level 3 Is a much higher certificate, centering around advanced technique on challenging terrain in all conditions. . Finally most governing bodies except the New Zealand system have a Level 4 which is the final level allowing the instructor to teach any level of skier.
You can seek employment with a snow school and start working as an instructor for beginner lessons with the Level 1 Instructor certification. To teach beyond beginners, you must work towards the Level 2 certification. A Level 1 instructor typically teaches the basics in the beginner zone, whereas a Level 2 can teach intermediate riders in the corresponding terrain. Snow schools assign students and lesson types to instructors based on their level of certification. Freestyle certifications are required for teaching in the terrain park.