Snowboard Report

Director Technical Snowboard Kylie Dwyer

Snowboard Report 2020

End of season exams, Niseko Japan. Photo: Matt Dannenberg

Wow! What a year! I would like to start by acknowledging what a difficult year it has been on everyone. Each one of us has a story and our own perspective of how the year 2020 has affected us. As challenging as your story may be, I encourage all of us to reflect, draw strengths and be proud of any achievement or new ventures you may have embarked on. If your story continues to be challenging, draw strength in knowing that our Snowsport community is tight, and always only a few words or a phone call away, never hesitate to reach out.

The 2020 APSI Snowboard year began when the team came together in Niseko, Japan. We ran level one courses, level two courses and re-sit exams for levels two, three and four. The Japan season ran seamlessly, and I would like to extend my heartfelt thank you to team on the ground in Niseko with me for working together so well. Thank you also to GoSnow, NISS and NBS for embarking on such a cooperative working relationship with the APSI in Japan.

In training news, we welcomed two new trainers to the APSI Snowboard training team this year: Samantha Hamilton (Perisher) and Erik Flekander (Falls Creek). Congratulations to you both and we look forward to working with you moving forward. I would also like to congratulate Isaac Howard (Falls Creek) who was one of the successful recipients of the 2020 Sodergren Scholarships.

The 2020 Australian season began with a Trainers Coordination like no other, 100% delivered online. Season 2020 was still so uncertain at that point so

End of season exams, Niseko Japan. L-R, Trainers: Damien James, Adam Rigby, Jon Steel, Matt Dannenberg, Sarah Beynsberger. Photo: Kylie Dwyer

it was great to get everyone together and get some training completed, this allowed us to be ready to run products as soon as we were given the go ahead from the resorts.

Unfortunately, due to COVID, we were unable to run any APSI products for our members until September. In lieu of this, we launched an online campaign of which the vision was “To add value to the membership during this particularly challenging season and to bring our APSI and Snowsports community together”. Richard Jameson, Alpine Technical Director, headed up the “APSI Après Sessions” and I took lead of the APSI Newsletter and our Social channels. We hope you all enjoyed this and connected with the community in some way during this time. Charlotte Pass was the first NSW Resort to welcome APSI products with a staff level one exam and a retail level one course. I would like to express a special thank you to Snowsport School Director James Thorpe at Charlotte Pass for working so cooperatively with the APSI to get these events off the ground. These were the first APSI Snowboard products in Charlotte Pass ever run and we look forward to working here again in the future.

Thredbo and Perisher also open their doors to us in September which we were most grateful for as well. Thredbo hosted a staff level one exam and Perisher hosted a retail level one course and re-sit style exams. Special thank you also to these resorts and their respective Directors Adam Hosie and Tina Burford and to Andy Rae at Perisher for assistance prior to and while on the ground running these events.

End of season exams, Niseko Japan (NB: No social distancing as this picture is preCOVID). Photo: Kylie Dwyer

Level two training group, Niseko, Japan (NB: No social distancing as this picture is pre-COVID). Photo: Matt Dannenberg Level two training group, Niseko, Japan (NB: No social distancing as this picture is pre-COVID)

2020 Trainers Coordination delivered entirely online

To our members who participated in the September Perisher re-sit exams, I applaud you. You committed to these exams and applied yourselves with very little time to prepare. To all our members who participated in any course or exam this year, thank you and we sincerely hope to see you all back on the snow for season 2021.

As we move into summer, I encourage you all to reflect and remind yourselves of your goals, your strengths and perhaps what you might be working on regarding your Snowsport career. This way, when 2021 rolls around (COVID pending) we can hit the ground running and achieve some of those dreams!

Special thank you to the Snowboard Technical Committee for your hard work behind the scenes and to the whole Snowboard Training Team for your resilience and willingness to be flexible in such a challenging year.

Snowboard Technical Committee Member Tim Stuart takes us through some mechanics during the online Trainers Coordination

Finally, thank you to a dedicated group of people: Richard Jameson, Richard Hocking, Ant Hill, Tom Hodges, Zac Zaharias, Suzanna Brown, and Tiff Ingle. This group of people are passionate about training and educating and are committed to striving for the best for our members. Mostly operational, this is also the group who worked incredibly hard to keep the APSI moving forward during some critical staffing changes, operations in Japan, the outbreak of the pandemic and working tirelessly through creating COVIDSafe operations amongst everchanging regulations . My deepest thank you goes to you all, the journey we have been on together this past year has been unforgettable.

Happy summer/winter to you all. I look forward to welcoming you all back on snow next year and I look forward to welcoming our Victorian Resorts back next year as well! I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and New Year…..see you on the snow!

Successful candidates at the level one staff exam, Charlotte pass. Photo: Oscar Alston Successful candidates at the level one staff exam, Charlotte pass. Trainer: Oscar Alston

Socially distanced victory shot of successful candidates and trainer Kylie Dwyer at the Charlotte Pass level one course. Photo: James Thorpe Successful candidates at the level one course, Charlotte Pass. Trainer: Kylie Dwyer. Photo: James Thorpe

Marking the Level 4 free run with a view! Examiners Oscar Alston and Tareesa Straatmans at the end of season re-sit exams, Perisher. Photo: Kylie Dwyer End of season re-sit exams, socially distanced presentations. Front L-R: Congratulations for successfully passing Level 3,Sean Claydon and Level 2, Madisson Kerr. Back L-R: Examiners Kylie Dwyer, Tareesa Straatmans, Oscar Alston. Photo: Tom Hodges

Trainer Matt Dannenberg and his level one group, Perisher. Photo: Kylie Dwyer

Perisher turning on beautiful weather and snow at the level one course. Trainer Sam Hamilton and Oscar Alston with their group. Photo: Oscar Alston Trainer Sarah Beynsberger and her level one group, Perisher. Photo: Kylie Dwyer

Socially distanced lift rides with Trainers Dan Jurd, Matt Dannenberg, and Kylie Dwyer