BASI News Issue 116 by British Association of Snowsport Instructors

Lockerbie Takes Top Job at BASI 10 Biomechanics Tips for Skiers Colin Tucker BASI Hero

Newsletter /

2014

Winter Issue 116 DECEMBER 2014

DESIGNED FOR FREEDOM To reach escape velocity, you need precision, power, and control. X-Race is carefully crafted to enable ultimate confidence so you are free to go faster.

PROUD SPONSORS OF THE BASI INTERSKI TEAM

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

Welcome to our winter issue – another year has raced by and the 2014-15 season is upon us. Snowfalls have been reported in North America and in some parts of the Alps but, despite a few teasing snow flurries, it remains mild here in Scotland. Wherever you are headed this season we wish you an excellent winter. The post-Sochi interest in snowsports is being maintained with SnowSport England releasing a recent tracker survey which reported that Sochi has achieved a sustained effect on participation at domestic slopes and centres with a year-on-year increase of 11% for the period May to August. BASI’s own current course sales appear to reflect this interest and confidence. Compared to the same period last year (June to end October) individuals who booked themselves onto a BASI course is 17% up on the same period last year. Long may this interest in participation continue. Planning is already underway for the 15/16 course calendar and Members should watch out for various discipline surveys in the next few weeks inviting you to tell Training which courses you would like to see included in the next course calendar. This autumn BASI announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Lockerbie, who takes up his new role officially in January 2015. BASI also welcomes John Mordue as the new Nordic Director, Don Bates as Secretary to the Board and the re-election of Heathley Clarke (Finance) and Rachel Easton (Adaptive). As well as attending the London ski show, where it was great to meet up with many Members and to speak with new prospective Members, BASI has been promoting the Association

BASI’s autumn programme in Zermatt was huge. Kicking off with the Interski Team Training, this was quickly followed by the Trainers’ Conference, the new ISIA/ISTD refresher/ professional development course and a range of BASI courses across most disciplines and levels. In total 310 Members took part in Zermatt. Congratulations to all BASI Members who achieved success recently in the Autumn Eurotest and to Ed Drake who has recently joined the team of BASI openers. At this time of year I get a little nostalgic for the snow. Mountains are the habitat where I feel most at peace. Ever since I can remember, they have afforded me true friends, special memories and exciting opportunities. On behalf of everyone in the BASI office, stay safe this Christmas; go and make more friends, memories and opportunities this season. Tania Alliod tania@basi.org.uk

Diary Dates 2015

Members Open Forum

24 January 2 at Hotel Me 015 rc ure, Chamonix L es Bossons 59 Route de Vers Nant 74400 Chamonix-M , ontFrance at 5.3 Blanc 0pm

Contents

CONTENTS

Welcome

at events including “Careers in Sport” and “How to Become a Snowsports Instructor”. Both of these new areas of activity have been well received by those we met at these events and they have been valuable in raising the profile of BASI and the Association.

Snow-Camp launches 10 ‘Ski 2 The Moon’ 1 Lockerbie Takes Top Job 04 at BASI 1 BASI’s Euro Test Openers 05 2015 1 10 Biomechanics Tips 06 for Skiers 1 Ushuaia 2015 Interski 07 Member Opportunity 1 Helmet Use 08 1 BASI Continued 12 Professional Development 1 2014 A Year in Pictures 14 1 Exclusive BASI Members 16 Only Trip 1 BASI Life Members 18 1 BASI Member Pro Deals 21 and Discounts 2015 1 First Day Back on Snow! 22 1 What Influences Risk 24 Taking in Skiing and Snowboarding? 1 Colin Tucker BASI Hero 25 1 BASI UK Advanced 26 Instructor course at Milton Keynes SnoZone 1 All I want for Christmas! 28 1 The importance of 30 Fundamentals in Skiing Cover Image: Joe Beer, BASI Telemark Director

Advertising Bookings

Advertising Copy

Editorial

BASI Morlich House, 17 The Square, Grantown-on-Spey, PH26 3HG T 01479 861717 F 01479 873657 E tania@basi.org.uk E www.basi.org.uk

BASI News Its All Good 10 The Haughs, Cromdale Grantown-on-Spey PH26 3PQ T info@itsallgood.org.uk W www.itsallgood.org.uk

Issue 117 March 2015 Booking Deadline: Mon 9 February 2015 Copy Deadline: Mon 16 February 2015 Published: March 2015 E tania@basi.org.uk T 01479 861717

BASI News is the official house journal of the British Association of Snowsport Instructors. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic means without the express written permission of BASI. Opinions presented in BASI NEWS are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of BASI or of the Editors. BASI has the right to refuse publication of any manuscripts which do not meet publishing standards or the BASI Code of Ethics. BASI invites the submission of manuscripts, photos and letters to the editor from its readers - (E&OE)

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI FEATURE

Lockerbie Takes Top Job at BASI Andrew Lockerbie appointed as new Chief Executive Officer

The British Association of Snowsport Instructors (BASI), is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Lockerbie as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Emerging as the successful candidate following a comprehensive recruitment process overseen by the International Executive Search firm Odgers Berndtson, Andrew officially takes up the role from 12 January 2015 but has been in the office throughout December for the transition. BASI Board Director, Stephen Burke, who has been acting CEO during the search for a full-time executive, will stay on for an interim period to oversee a smooth handover to Andrew as he settles into the role. Andrew takes up the lead management role at BASI with an impressive track record in the snowsports industry with wide ranging skills in professional coaching, management training and commercial business. Having originally set up Wycombe Summit

Ski and Snowboard Centre and subsequently raising £35 million of finance to develop the UK’s largest real snow centre, the ChillFactore in Manchester, Andrew fulfilled the role of BASI Chairman for a sixyear period between 2004 and 2010 which included a short period as ‘acting’ CEO. Professionally qualified to the highest level with his International Ski Teaching Diploma (ISTD), Andrew will direct the Association from BASI HQ in Grantown-on-Spey. Reporting to the BASI Board, key responsibilities include: ensuring BASI’s on-going financial stability, managing the Association’s future development and strategy, growing membership, managing the team at BASI HQ and continuing to promote the international status of BASI and employment opportunities for the benefit of its Members. As a previous trustee of BASI’s nominated charity, Disability Snowsports UK (DSUK) and former Performance Director for the British Disabled Ski Team, Andrew led the Alpine Paralympic Team to success at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi.

Looking forward to the challenges ahead and eager to take up his new role, Andrew commented, ‘I’m extremely pleased to be back in the driving seat at BASI and to lead the Association through the next stage of its development. My aim is to continue to develop a strategy in line with Board guidelines that delivers value for Members. I’m keen to listen to the views of the membership and steer the Association into the next phase of its evolution.’ BASI Chairman Gareth Roberts welcomed Andrew on behalf of the Board as the new CEO, ‘The recruitment process for the role of CEO at BASI has taken some time; it’s been in-depth, rigorous and independently managed by the recruitment specialist Odgers Berndtson. I am thankful to everyone who applied and I’m delighted that Andrew, the successful candidate, has decided to accept the role of CEO. BASI has managed to secure the services of someone who has strong credentials in the snowsports industry and can bring all the necessary management, organisational, and financial expertise and skills to the job. It’s an exciting time for BASI.’

Office openin o ver Christm g times New Year 14/as and 15 Wed 24th De cembe

r 14 Open 9am to 2.30 pm ecember 14 Closed Frid 26th De cember 14 Closed Mon 29th De cember 14 Open 10am to 3.30pm Tues 30th D ecember 14 Open 10a m to 3.30pm Wed 31st De cember 14 Open 9am to 2.30pm Thur 1st Jan uary 15 Closed Frid 2nd Jan uary 15 Closed Thur 25th D

Andrew Lockerbie in action

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

Dave Renouf

British Team Athlete, Ed Drake, joins Euro Test openers’ team for 2015. Ed Drake, who currently competes in the World Cup skier cross events is joining the BASI Euro Test Openers team. Ed has a long pedigree of racing from being number one Slalom and GS in the British Children’s team in his early racing days to competing at the Vancouver Olympics. He has competed on the World Cup circuit in Downhill and Super G and his best point results cover all disciplines with 21.03 FIS slalom, 20.15 FIS in GS, 9.30 FIS in Super G and 29.62 FIS in Downhill. The numbers speak for themselves that he is a very talented allrounder.

BASI is delighted that Ed will be joining a very talented line up of BASI Euro Test openers including: Alain Baxter, James Bennett, James (Jaz) Bruce, Craig Robinson and Aaron Tipping. This year they will be gaining their calibration coefficients in Sestriere, Italy, during the quiet period of January 2015. As you may have read recently in a previous article, the Euro Test is an exam and not a race per se, and it requires the openers to perform consistently. Statistics have shown that those who have performed at this very high level of less than 50 FIS points in a technical discipline such as slalom or GS are easily capable of providing consistent performances so that the exam is fair for all.

BASI FEATURE

BASI Euro Test Openers 2015

We wish the team all the very best with the 2015 Euro Test calendar, together with all the BASI members who will be going for their Euro Test season. Susie Berry, OBE, will be attending as BASI’s observer in a number of the events to ensure fair play. Susie has been a world cup FIS Technical Delegate (TD) for many years at several prestigious world events, and is highly respected by our Alpine counterparts and sits on the Jury of the 5 Euro Tests that BASI attends with its openers. Don’t forget that, conditions permitting, there is a Euro Test running in Scotland this winter. For a full list of the Euro Test calendar visit the BASI website page: www.basi.org.uk/content/euro-speed-test.aspx

Tis the season to be jolly! Wishing all BASI Members a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a Bumper season from all at BASI

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

MEMBERS FEATURE

10 Biomechanics Tips for Skiers Dave Murrie Born in Manchester, David studied at Loughborough, Leeds Carnegie and Brunel Universities and is currently a visiting lecturer in the School of Sport Health and Exercise Sciences at Bangor University. David is a BASI (and IASI) Level 3, also holds the IVSS stamp and is a long standing member and former leader for the Ski Club of Great Britain and is a member of the Kandahar Club. He has a unique background as Head of Sport and Exercise Sciences, principal lecturer in coaching sciences, principal lecturer in the largest school of physiotherapy in England, senior lecturer in physical education and exercise physiology and as a professor of biomechanics and physical education in the United States. He is also responsible for restructuring and developing the new Common Theory and has twice delivered biomechanics to the BASI Trainers’ Conference. David has worked extensively with sports physiotherapists, athletic trainers, sports therapists, strength and conditioning coaches and elite coaches across a wide variety of sports for skill development, fitness, injury prevention, and reconditioning. He has provided personalised sports- specific training programmes for Premiership footballers and clubs, American football National champions, US women’s basketball as well as international athletes, from 100m sprint Olympians to World Record-breakers in Ultra-marathon, Olympic swimmers to Alpine Ski Olympians. He is a former athlete but only put on a pair of skis for the first time at the age of 31.

Stability training

latest evidenced-based practice on knee and back injuries at the 2011 Interski Congress and specifically on screening and conditioning for low back injuries at the World Science and Skiing Congress in 2013. He has authored 6 books on applied sports science, including the Kindle eBooks Ski Conditioning for Injury Prevention & Performance and Performance Analysis in Skiing. In this article Dave gives us 10 top biomechanics tips… 1. Select equipment and get a boot fit, for your specific anatomy as well as your level and type of skiing; not marketing, fashion (or by hero worship). 2. Check and optimise your alignment. 3. Check and optimise your ramp angle. 4. Check and develop an appropriate balance of specific eccentric and isometric strength around your knee and low back joints.

He presented on Snowsports ACL injuries at the World Science and Ski Congress in 2010, presented the

Low back stability training 6

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

5. Do not emphasise lateral bending of the spine (for angulation) – flex at the hip with complementary rotational separation. 6. Staying square and with whole body inclination, in the name of ‘maximum strength’, is not effective biomechanics (nor an effective or versatile way to ski). 7. A ‘wide’ stance may give you ‘stability’, but stability is not the ‘holy grail’ of biomechanics, or skiing. What about flow, moving, effective weight transfer (and toppling out of balance)? Learn to control instability. 8. Motor control, including coordination, effective use of your neuro-musculo-skeletal system; these aspects are important factors in your sport ‘fitness’.

Stability testing

9. Static and linear mechanics are not automatically the same as/ transferable to curvilinear sports motion. 10. Moving up, to turn downhill – helps in some conditions/situations but isn’t the most efficient, nor always best way to go...). Don’t buy ‘snake oil`; justified as ‘biomechanics’ but, based on no science evidence or learning. Many basic concepts are misinterpreted, oversimplified and oversold.

FEATURE

Ushuaia 2015 Interski MEMBER OPPORTUNITY BASI Member, Alex Leaf, is creating an unforgettable 2-week programme for BASI Members to South America in 2015, that includes the opportunity to support the BASI Interski Team in Ushuaia next September. Alex is using his extensive experience and network of South American contacts to create a programme that includes volcano skiing in Chile, an Argentinian Estancia visit www.huechahue.com including the Gaucho Pampas experience and the opportunity to spend time skiing in Ushuaia. Follow all the Interski 2015 action live as it happens. Alex is aiming to have a finalised itinerary in early 2015. If you are interested in this Member Opportunity please contact Alex directly now to note your interest; alex@world-class-skiing.com

TEKO keeps the riders on the Freeride World Tour on top of their game so they can concentrate on their performance www.freerideworldtour.com

TESTED AND USED BY THE BEST Official Brand Partners of the Freeride World Tour

The guides working for The Skiers Lodge based in La Grave, France wear TEKO every day www.skierslodge.com Photo ÂŠ Dan Milner 2013

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

PRODUCT FEATURE

Helmet Use Is the time right for a BASI policy on helmet use? Chris Jensen summarises his written project findings below. Helmet use in snowsports is a topic often discussed and debated within the snowsports community, usually polarising opinion. Having been involved in several discussions with other instructors during the early part of last season I decided to investigate attitudes towards helmets within both the instructing and general snowsports participant communities. As a means of garnering the opinions required in order to compare and contrast views I created two online surveys, each specific to the targeted group of respondents and then published these in various online forums. In total I received over 500 responses, split fairly evenly between both surveys, giving me a considerable amount of data to analyse and interpret. Determining helmet use Both surveys began with questions determined to ascertain general information from respondents enabling comparisons to be made by gender, age and snowsports discipline. Following on from this both surveys included a question asking whether each person currently uses a helmet when participating in snowsports and produced the following results:

Yes

N/A

Teaching kids (up to 12 years old)

34%

60%

Teaching kids (13-18)

39%

56%

Teaching adults

32%

61%

Personal training on piste

57%

43%

Personal training off piste

73%

23%

Backcountry/Touring

61%

30%

Freestyle/Park

61%

34%

Racing/Race training

77%

20%

A similar question was posed to those in the public survey who also responded ‘sometimes’ and they were asked to specify the situations in which they would use a helmet. The majority of the answers from this were related to pushing the limits of their performance and/or when planning to go off piste. A similar trend was seen in the responses from instructors, with an inclination for increasing helmet use when personal training, compared to the percentages shown for use while teaching. Changes in use The surveys then moved to determine the amount of time people had been participating in snowsports and whether their use of a helmet had changed over this time which produced the following split:

For those who responded ‘sometimes’ in the instructor survey a supplementary question was then posed giving various situations in which they might use a helmet, which generated the following answers: 8

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

Instructor

General

50%

82%

I now use a helmet more often than in the past

42.5%

14%

I now use a helmet less often than in the past

7.5%

I now do not use a helmet but did in the past

I now use a helmet all of the time

Clearly in both cases it was shown that in recent years there was a trend of increasing use of helmets within snowsports, with both communities showing over 90% of respondents having increased their helmet use. Following this people were asked to give the reasons for their change in helmet use. Questions were then posed relating to the perception of each individual as to whether they had noticed any changes in helmet use tendencies within snowsports. For the instructors I presented two additional questions, the first referred to any change in use they had noticed among recreational participants and the second in relation to other snowsports instructors. For the snowsports public this was just related to the general use of helmets within snowsports. From the 702 responses to this question only 5 suggested a perceived decline in helmet use, with the majority of the responses suggesting in their experience, there has been a significant increase in the use of helmets. Helmets and snowsports lessons Those who completed the public survey were then asked what they would prefer of an instructor during a snowsports lesson and the responses produced the following percentages:

Wear a helmet

36%

Not wear a helmet

No preference

60%

What can we discern from this? From looking at all of the comparisons of the results made in my project it can be seen that the views of snowsports instructors and the general participating public are similar without any major differences in opinion. It can be seen that the use of helmets has increased in recent times, both within instructors and general participants. There is a tendency for all to be in support of changes requiring mandatory helmet use for children; however the general consensus was that use of a helmet in snowsports should remain an entirely personal choice for adults. There is significant support for an increase in the education of slope users. As instructors we are able to do this through how and what we teach, educating people to ski within their limits and follow the basic FIS rules of conduct. However, as not all participants take lessons we are unable to educate all slope users, only those we come into contact with. We are also able to inform clients in the correct use of a helmet if they choose to use one, ensuring the helmet fits correctly. Helmet manufacturers are taking measures to improve the quality of the helmets that they produce and market, making them more appealing to consumers, but there is potential to develop further. More could be done in terms of research, development and testing of their products with greater publication of any findings, enabling consumers to make a more informed decision. It may also be useful for guidelines on the correct fitting of helmets to be produced by manufacturers and then, if not already, be distributed throughout the industry to those working within the rental and sale of helmets. This could be extended possibly to all instructors enabling us to be more informed and able to educate others on the correct use of helmets, once again to allow more informed decisions for our clients and also for ourselves. After all, safety comes before enjoyment and learning in the BASI philosophy. Full details are available via www.basi.org.uk/docs/ Helmet%20use%20in%20snowsports.pdf

PRODUCT FEATURE

Once again a supplementary question was asked to those stating their use had changed and yielded the following responses:

SkiA SkiTrainer

In both surveys the question:

Other questions were then posed concerning helmet use related to insurance, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s use and any other topics people felt were relevant but had not been covered in the survey.

Emily Sarsfield, Ed Drake

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What is your opinion on snowsports schools making it compulsory for their instructors to wear a helmet while teaching?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; was then asked which produced the following split of results:

skia.com

BASI Members 45% discount code: basi45 BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI FEATURE

Snow-Camp launches ‘Ski 2 The Moon’ – the biggest snowsports event in the solar system! This winter season, Snow-Camp are seeking the support of thousands of passionate skiers and snowboarders to create history by being part of the biggest snowsports event ever launched – The Ski 2 the Moon Challenge! The event is uniqueWherever you are skiing or snowboarding in the world you can join in – just download the Ski 2 The Moon app, set yourself a personal goal and get skiing or boarding! Whether you are in Breckenridge, Borovets or CairnGorm, the Ski 2 the Moon app enables everyone with access to a smart phone to participate in the Challenge. Every mile you ski is tracked by the app, and then combined with everybody else’s in pursuit of our target – The Moon – 240,000 miles away. Snow-Camp Director, Dan Charlish, said, ‘Over the years we have developed a number of snowsports events at Snow-Camp, such as the Alpine Challenge and the SnowCamp Rally, which are great fun and have helped raise some fantastic funds for our work. However, these events will always be limited to a set location, on certain dates and with specified targets – all of which restricts some people getting involved. We were inspired by the success of Movember – that wherever you are in the world you can grow a moustache, raise some funds and support a charity. We wanted to do something along the same lines, but with snowsports

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

– and the app now makes this possible.’ Snow-Camp were able to develop the Ski 2 the Moon idea after approaching Core Coders, the developers of the popular Ski Tracks app, now used by over 1.4 million skiers and snowboarders. Charlish said, ‘I use Ski Tracks a lot, so we wrote to the developers, explained the idea, and asked them if it was possible to deliver an app utilising their GPS tracking technology. They wrote back the same day, they loved the concept and their office happened to be 5 minutes down the road from Snow-Camp! They could have been anywhere in the world – we started thinking this was meant to be.’ Steve Wilson, developer of the Ski Tracks app said, ‘We are always looking to get involved with exciting and interesting opportunities, and Snow-Camp’s Ski 2 The Moon challenge seemed like the perfect fit. It’s great to be able to contribute our unique skill-set and market-leading technologies to benefit a worthwhile cause that’s in our line of work. This app has outstanding potential to massively increase awareness of Snow-Camp’s goals and hopefully generate lots of opportunities for the kids it supports. We are excited to be able to provide an easy and fun way for the snowsports community to get involved.’ Seed funding for the new idea was generously provided by Gompels

HealthCare Ltd, and the new app is now approaching completion. It will be FREE to download and available to everyone with a smart phone – Android or IOS. Importantly, it is FREE to use when you are skiing, as it does not require data roaming to operate. The concept is simple. You download the app before you go skiing, you set your own personal ski target in miles and the timeframe you are giving yourself to achieve this distance. When you want to start your challenge, you hit ‘go’ and the app starts to track your skiing or snowboarding – and your miles start helping towards the collective goal of the reaching the Moon. ‘What I like about the idea is it can engage everyone who skis or snowboards, whatever their level’, says Charlish. ‘If you are out in Les 2 Alpes for a week with your mates – set a 200 mile target and do it over a week. If you are spending a day at a UK Snow Centre – go for 10 miles in a day. If you are doing a season in Whistler – set a target of 3,000 miles skiing and a timeframe of the whole season. But the key is the event brings everyone together to achieve one shared goal – and we hope

BASI FEATURE

the snowsports community will get behind the idea.’ Being powered by Ski Tracks, the Ski 2 the Moon app will provide participants with the very best Ski Tracks features in terms of measuring your speed, total distance, vertical drop and GPS tracking which maps your route on Google maps. It will also be fun! The team has developed a range of cartoon characters’ names after Olympians Jenny Jones (a lady hare) and James Woods (a cool tortoise) which pop up at various times during your challenge, encouraging you to keep going, congratulating you on reaching milestones towards your target or awarding various other achievements. There will be a range of awards and cups to collect as part of the app which keeps it really interactive, and of course everything is easily sharable across all social media, helping spread awareness to other snowsports enthusiasts.

other graphics within the app enable participants to see their own personal contribution towards the moon target and also the live ongoing progress of the whole event as each combined mile, skied by participants around the world, is recorded and shown on a ‘totaliser’ screen alongside an animated rocket making its way from Earth to the Moon 240,000 miles away.

Snow-Camp Patron and Olympic Bronze medalist Jenny Jones said, ‘It’s such a great concept and is so accessible to everyone – I’m really looking forward to supporting the event, getting people using the app and helping us reach the Moon! ‘‘And growing up I was always being called an energiser bunny so I’m delighted to have Jenny the Hare named after me!’

The app is free, but as a charity event, users will be encouraged to share a pre-populated Just Giving page detailing their personal Ski 2 the Moon challenge, which they can easily share with friends and family. There will also be simple ways to support the event and charity through text giving, with all the funds raised supporting Snow-Camp’s work with inner city young people.

Alongside the Hare and the Tortoise,

Charlish said, ‘This event could

make a massive difference and we are excited about its potential. If we can get thousands of people involved, Ski 2 the Moon could play a significant role in helping us achieve our vision of expanding Snow-Camp’s work to support young people in cities across the UK.’ The event begins on the 20th December 2014 and will continue until the end of the season – or until we reach the Moon! BASI Members can support the Ski 2 the Moon event and SnowCamp’s work; you can donate at: www.justgiving.com/snowcamp You can also text MOON20 £1 (or £2, £3, £5 or £10 depending on the amount you wish to donate) to 70070 to make an instant donation.

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI FEATURE

BASI Continued Professional Development - Members Information BASI CPD (formally known as BASI refresher) is a process by which you, BASI members can further your educational training and update your skills to the required level to maintain your licence to work within the parameters of the qualification you hold and the regulations within the country that teaching will be carried out. BASI CPD covers a range of skill development and learning activities suitable for the varying levels in the BASI system. The modules offer you the opportunity to choose topics that you are interested in developing and areas of personal skill development that has been highlighted for further development. It is inclusive, informative and educational for all. The BASI CPD system has also been designed to comply with ISIA requirements for those members who hold Level 3 ISIA or Level 4 ISTD levels of qualification. Depending on the level of the qualification you have it is your responsibility to gain the appropriate credits in accordance with the current association requirements and keep your licence up to date. What CPD credits are you required to do? • Level 1 & 2 members require minimum of 1 credit every 3 years • Level 3 ISIA & 4 ISTD members require minimum of 3 credits every 3 years Credits can be obtained by participating in BASI run courses and an external credit system is also in place so that you can apply for credit from attending other training courses outside BASI (full details available below).

• Level 1 & Level 2 CPD Teaching & Technical Performance day (discipline specific)– 1 credit • Teaching Children (multi discipline & multi level) – 1 credit • Freestyle (discipline specific & multi level) – 1 credit • Intro to Telemark (any member) - 1 credit • Performance Workshop at members roadshow in UK (disciplines specific)– 0.5 credits (half day) • Additional BASI Workshops – full day 1 credit, 3 hours (half day) 0.5 credits Level 3 ISIA & Level 4 ISTD members – Require minimum of 3 credits every 3 years • Any BASI course covering 3 days or more qualifies for 3 full credits for the following 3 years. If you have not attended a course as above in the time period required or you need to make up credits to gain your required minimum of 3 credits you can gain credits from attending the following: • Level 3 ISIA & Level 4 ISTD CPD Teaching Performance day (discipline specific) – 1 credit • Level 3 ISIA & Level 4 ISTD CPD Technical Performance Day (discipline specific) – 1 credits • Teaching Children (multi disciplines & multi level) –1 credit • Mountain Safety (multi discipline)– 1 credit

BASI CPD courses will be run as stand alone days and multi day courses as available on the course calendar or request to the office.

• Freestyle (discipline specific & multi level) – 1 credit

Level 1 & Level 2 members – Require minimum of 1 credit every 3 years

• Performance Workshop at members roadshow in UK (discipline specific)– 0.5 credits (half day)

• Any BASI course covering 1 day or more qualifies for 1 full credit for the following 3 years.

• Additional BASI Workshops – full day 1 credit, half day 0.5 credits

If you have not attended a course 12

as detailed above, within the time period required or you need to make up credits to gain your required minimum of 1 credit, you can gain credits from attending the following:

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

• Intro to Telemark (any member) – 1 credit

Compulsory workshop for all Level 3 ISIA & Level 4 ISTD members

• Snowsports Industry Workshop – This is an online workshop covering all the additional ISIA requirements for the Level 3 & Level 4 qualifications. This should be completed once every 3 years (content will vary). External Credit scheme (non BASI Course) • BASI members may submit an application form for event credits attended outside of BASI • Specific workshop types only will be accepted and the fee is as shown on the form. • Examples of accepted training/ accredited course types include, but are not limited to: Specific titled courses run by another ski association covering elements which are included in the BASI system, avalanche & navigation awareness, teaching, coaching, other sport association certified courses (certification of award or attendance must be submitted with the request form) • Level 1 & 2 members may use official CPD (refresher) modules from the other UK Home Nations (Snowsport Scotland, Snowsport England & Snowsport Wales) as external CPD Credit. Members will have to attend a CPD day with their own licensing body once every 6 years.* • Level 3 ISIA & 4 ISTD members may use official CPD (refresher) modules from the other UK Home Nations (Snowsport Scotland, Snowsport England & Snowsport Wales) for no more than 1/3rd of their required CPD Credit in each 3 year term.* • For level 1 & 2 External Credits cannot be applied for in consecutive terms (within 6 years 1 Internal course must be attended) • For Level 3 ISIA & Level 4 ISTD External credits cannot qualify for more than 1 third of the total credits required in each 3 year term. *The admin fee of £20 will be waived for UK Home Nations External Credit applications. http://blog.basi.org.uk/2014/12/ basi-continued-professionaldevelopment/

Training Snowsports Instructors Worldwide www.basi.org.uk/content/basibusiness-partners.aspx

Your fast track route to becoming a qualified Snowsports Instructor Switzerland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Andorra, Canada, & Argentina • 2 week • 4 week • 5 week • 6 week • 10 week courses available

BASI Business Partners 2014 / 15

Photo credit : © ICE, Val d’Isere, www.icesi.org

Skier : Dave Cowell

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI MEMBER EVENTS 14

2014 A Year

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI MEMBER EVENTS

in Pictures

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

FEATURE

Exclusive

BASI Members Only Trip

The ‘Best of Canada’s Powder Highway’ with The Storm Chasers 21st to 28th Feb 2015

Exclusive BASI Members offer – £3,195 per person Contact: Richard Barker – Kicking Horse Powder Tours + 44 7977 274182 richard@kickinghorsepowdertours.com www.kickinghorsepowdertours.com www.thestormchasers.ca The Storm Chasers, a specialist adventure ski trip operator, have put together an exclusive BASI members only trip for this coming season – an adventure, off-piste & backcountry skiing week, tailored to showcase the very best on offer on British Columbia’s famous ‘Powder Highway’. The trip is open to all current BASI members, suitable for both skiers and snowboarders and will appeal to those looking for powder skiing, backcountry adventure and ‘mountain learning’ experience. Spaces are limited and bookings will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

View “T h

e Storm Chase 4min pr omo film rs” http://y outu.be /9UYp_ sCpvIQ

FEATURE

The Trip The ‘Best of The Powder Highway’ trip concept is simple: It’s an ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides) led, adventure skiing and backcountry focused road trip, travelling in an exclusive luxury motor coach (but staying overnight in established B&Bs and guest houses), showcasing the very best off-piste and backcountry skiing, heli-accessed backcountry terrain and cat skiing on offer in ‘The Powder Highway’ area. The trip offers a full week of adventure skiing in off-piste terrain including multiple guided backcountry ski touring days, an overnight stay in a remote heated expedition tent camp, some heli assisted ski touring and one day of cat skiing. Some resort-based skiing will also be available.

The Storm Chasers Team The on snow activities on the trip are organised by Storm Chaser creator and ACMG Ski Guide Scott Belton from Adrenalin Descents Powder Academy. Scott has 20 years of experience in skiing and guiding in all the mountain areas along the route. In addition to Scott, there will be an assistant ACMG guide ensuring the group benefits from two guides on all excursions, allowing for maximum flexibility on the mountain. Richard Barker, from Kicking Horse Powder Tours, will be tour leader. Richard is a BASI member and his company specialises in Powder Highway adventure tours though his UK based operation.

Travelling Moving from area to area during the week, the Storm Chasers’ route will take in the resort towns and areas of Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Whitewater, Nelson and Fernie, as well as all of the backcountry terrain the Powder Highway has to offer in between. Journey times are generally around two to three hours between destinations but one or two longer journeys will be necessary during the week. The Storm Chasers’ vehicle accommodates up to 12 guests and features a spacious TV lounge and separate living space along with kitchen and washroom facilities in a luxurious moving cabin. The layout and facilities mean you can just sit back and relax, watch a movie, chat, or just take in the view.

Accommodation and Food

The Storm Chasers trip includes all night time accommodation for the week, in hotels, B&Bs and lodges along the way. All of your breakfasts and lunches are included along with snacks and drinks whilst travelling as well as après ski appetisers and Happy Hour drinks. Evening meals are not included.

Skiing and Skills Development

This trip is available to all current BASI members and will appeal to those looking for powder skiing, backcountry adventures and ‘mountain learning’ experiences. The trip is suited to those looking to get away from resort areas for the first time and gain backcountry experience, as well as those who have already spent some time in a backcountry mountain environment and who are looking to build on their experience and knowledge. Skiing and boarding skills will need to be strong, with riders happy and confident on black level terrain and some off-piste skiing and snowboarding experience is necessary. Skiing with ACMG guides at all times throughout the week, not only means you’ll get to ski/ board and ski tour in some amazing backcountry terrain but you’ll also learn all about skiing and travelling in the backcountry – from avalanche equipment usage and search techniques, to snow analysis, backcountry terrain management and navigation and route setting. Included in the week will be an Avalanche Skills Training Certificate Pt1, which will be issued at the end of the week. The Storm Chasers trip and its experiences will provide members with excellent grounding and knowledge for their own backcountry skills development or for their Levels 3 or 4 BASI Mountain Safety courses.

Equipment

For this trip you will need to have ski touring equipment. For skiers that means touring skis with a touring binding, skins and poles. For snowboarders, a splitboard, skins and poles. You will also need an Avalanche pack comprising a ski rucksack, transceiver, shovel and probe. These can be rented for the week via The Storm Chasers team in advance of your arrival.

Notes

Accommodation is based on 2 people sharing a twin room. The trip will need a minimum of 10 members to go ahead. Not included in the trip costings are: Flights to Calgary International Airport. Evening meals excepting the Welcome evening and backcountry camp. Any skiing or snowboarding equipment rental. Additional alcoholic drinks, outside of a reasonable Happy Hour amount – a non-profit paying bar is available on board. Insurance.

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI LIFE MEMBERS

LIFE MEMBERS Henry Branigan Henry Branigan’s first introduction to skiing was at the age of 13, in the mid 1960’s around the local hills of Huntly whilst at school.

trying to keep up with new skiing developments, new equipment trends, and sore knees has led to me giving up instruction; but this has also opened the door to allow me to go back to skiing for myself and to enjoy skiing as I want to enjoy it.’

He comments: ‘These were the days before the Nordic centre, when skiing was simply skiing and no one asked if you were doing Alpine, Nordic, or any other discipline. All skiing required a certain amount of effort to get to the top of the hill in order to ski back down. An instructor was someone who skied a little bit better than you did and experiences were shared.’

Henry still lives in the ski area of Oberstdorf (Germany) and although his time abroad has kept him away from the main hub of BASI, it has not kept him away from the Members, many of whom work or have worked in his area over the years. Henry also has a ski touring book on the market, which he wrote with Keith Jenns. It is entitled A Complete Guide to Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering, and an updated version is to be released this winter.

After Henry left school, he joined the Army ‘for a bit of sport and skiing, although there were other things which sometimes interrupted this! The main Army ski centres were at Kingussie, and in Germany and Norway. Skis were stored piled together and you were taught how to look for two skis which might match to make a pair. Skis were wooden, ski preparation was a far cry from what it is now and metal edges were short strips which, if damaged, you could screw off and replace yourself.’

My mother was Norwegian and I received a pair of skis with strap-on leather bindings for Christmas from my grandparents in Norway when I was six. At the time we lived near Kingsknowe Golf Course in Edinburgh and I taught myself to ski on these cross-country skis. I was later given another adultsized pair of wooden touring skis with cable bindings along with a pair of wooden ‘skinny’ skis that had previously belonged to my mother.

Switching back and forth between Alpine and Nordic, Henry’s qualifications started to mount up. He was an Army ski instructor, Joint Services ski instructor, National Ski Federation of GB instructor, British Ski Federation instructor, and then took his BASI Alpine Grade 3 on the Cairngorms in 1980 under the instruction of Stuart Adamson. When BASI began to offer Nordic qualifications in the mid-1980s, Henry completed his BASI Nordic Grade 1 course, and shortly afterwards he became a Nordic trainer under the watchful eyes of Andy Main, Peter Nicol and Tim Walker, which he did for around 10 years. At this time, Henry had been working in Norway for three years alongside Bob Kinnaird and Nigel Williams. Swapping regularly from Nordic to Alpine was interesting for Henry, but it slowed up his progress on Alpine qualifications – he eventually made it back to the Cairngorms to complete his Grade 2 Alpine in 1986. At that time on the hill, the trainers that he mainly had contact with were Kenny (Dickson), Ian (Baxter), Sue (Dickson), Patsy (Duncan), Jimmy (Smith), Les (Ward), Alan (Hole) and Roy (Bissett), with Hans (Kuwall) checking on everything and John (Hynes) signing the pass certificate. He comments: ‘I also notice from various website photos that most of these guys are still going strong. It was at this time that I skied some of the best powder ever on the Cairngorm in May.’ In the mid 80’s, Henry lived in Garmisch (Germany) for a few years and picked up German ski instructor qualifications in Nordic and Alpine, also working as a trainer on the first BASI off piste module with Peter Cliff in Austria. In total, Henry skied full seasons somewhere in Europe as a ski instructor between 1976-2007 with a short gap of holiday skiing between 1979-1981. He comments: ‘During the last few years, a combination of becoming tired with 18

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

Rex Sircus

As I grew older I became more adventurous with trips onto and across the Pentland Hills, often with friends borrowing a pair of my skis. In the early 60s we moved to Morningside and later to Fairmilehead, not far from where Edinburgh City Council were to build the Hillend Ski Centre. In 1961 a family Christmas ski holiday at Nethy Bridge saw us make our first visit to the newly opened Cairngorm Ski Area. For me it was a life-changing experience, introducing me to the excitement and challenges of downhill skiing, along with the delights of this wonderful area which for me was so much like the Norway that I knew. At that point I made up my mind to become a downhill skier and shortly afterwards bought my first pair of alpine skis (Fischer Quick) and leather lace-up boots. At Hillend ski slope I was hugely fortunate to become one of a small group of junior skiers to be taken under the wing of Austrian Ski Instructor, the late Toni Wimmer, whom Hans Kuwall, then Head of the new ski school, had brought to the city to become one of his Instructor team. Others in that group included Sue Field, (now Dixon and mother of Alain Baxter) and another I recall was Andy Fitzsimmons whose younger brother Stuart (later British Champion) was in the first class of children I was given the opportunity to teach! After finishing school in Edinburgh I worked for a couple of years with the Scottish Ambulance Service before joining the Royal Air Force as a commissioned officer in 1970. I remained involved in skiing throughout that time, racing and captaining ski teams at events

Having taken early retirement from my previous teaching career in Outdoor Education and Physical Education, I worked in a number of roles at Cairngorm Mountain and then at the specialist Ski Mountaineering Shop, ‘Mountain Spirit’, before returning to Education at Aviemore Primary School where I became a member of the Learning Support Team. Whilst there I helped establish and run a popular after school running club as well as working with special needs and mainstream pupils on visits to Cairngorm for ski lessons and competitions. In recent years I have been Chairman and a coach at the Cairngorm Biathlon & Nordic Ski Club and Race Director for the annual Cairngorm Hill Race, one of the most popular and challenging rollerski races in the UK. The first snowsports related work I did was actually to take responsibility for a small artificial (Dendix) ski slope set up by the British Forces at Episkopi in Cyprus and in 1974 I was actually given an award by the Ski Club of Cyprus for my contribution to skiing out there. Back home I remained in the RAF from 1970-1980 and used my ski instructing skills in running regular trips to Cairngorm during the winter. When stationed in Lincoln I also took on an evening role teaching skiing on what was essentially a short conveyor belt at a local outdoor activities shop. Whilst training to become a teacher of outdoor education I worked abroad on a number of occasions during my holidays, and for the first time on Scottish snow at Glenshee during the winter of 1981-82 for the Action Holidays Ski School run by the late Dave Dalrymple from Blairgowrie. I do remember it being a really good winter with some terrific skiing, sometimes even carrying on by moonlight. I had been familiar with BASI and its predecessor BAPSI since my mid-teens in the 1960s when skiing at Hillend and Glenshee (with Edinburgh Ski Club). It was always one of my greatest ambitions to become one of its members, something that I achieved in 1974. My membership of BASI has now underpinned my work and leisure throughout close to 50 years. It pleases me enormously that my son Robert (17) also has every intention of becoming a member of BASI before too long. I have been, and have every intention, of remaining a very active member of the skiing community. Receipt of my new status as a Life Member of BASI is something of which I am very proud and a recognition that I will treasure greatly over the coming years. I will wear my BASI Life Member Badge with pride.

Walter Edgar Walter Edgar learned to ski at Hillend artificial ski slope near Edinburgh in the autumn of 1971 at the relatively advanced age of 29, and was hooked immediately! He obtained his first skiing certificate in May 1972, signed by Hans Kuwall, which stated he could do linked basic parallel turns – something which Walter says he was probably more proud of than his B.Sc. and PhD scroll! Walter joined Bearsden Ski Club in Glasgow and was involved in developing the Ski School on the club’s artificial slope during the 1970s. In 1978, he decided to become an instructor and was a member of the first group of club instructors to obtain an Artificial Ski Slope Instructor (ASSI) qualification. For the next 10 years, he organised ASSI courses which got over 100 club instructors through their ASSI qualification – he taught skiing one or two evenings a week at Bearsden whilst teaching Zoology and Ecology at Glasgow University during the day.

BASI LIFE MEMBERS

at home and abroad as well as travelling to the Alps with the RAF Ski Team in 1972 and ’73. In 1974 the RAF agreed to pay for my BASI training and I flew back from Cyprus to join the Spring Course on Cairngorm where my trainer was the never-to-be-forgotten Doug Godlington. I remained in the RAF until 1980, when I left to become a teacher of outdoor education, Training at I M Marsh College of PE in Liverpool before going on to a postgraduate course in Physical Education at Carnegie College of PE in Leeds. Thereafter my career for the next 30 years included teaching at schools, colleges and outdoor centres, including several posts as Head of Department. Throughout this time I have continued leading and teaching both Alpine and Nordic skiing to my own students and to others in England, Norway, the Alpine Countries, Andorra and Canada. I returned to Scotland in 2002, teaching on the Isles of Barra, Eriskay and South Uist before finally moving to my present home near Aviemore.

Keen to obtain a BASI qualification, Walter’s first attempt was in Austria in the early 1980s. He comments: ‘I failed, and Hans Kuwall, who was running the course, said I needed to get “miles under my skis”. I took Hans’ advice and went on annual skiing holidays in Europe, several summer skiing trips to Tignes, as well as skiing in North America and in New Zealand.’ Walter’s second attempt to obtain his BASI 3 qualification was on Cairngorm, but due to a recurrent back problem he had developed, he had to pull out halfway through the course. At this stage, he had just about resigned himself to not being able to obtain a BASI qualification, but his back gradually improved and in the spring of 1989, Walter’s determination helped him to pass his BASI Level 3. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Walter became involved in the administration of skiing. He was President of Bearsden Ski Club and became Vice President of the Scottish National Ski Council (SNSC), the governing body of skiing in Scotland, with responsibility for skiing development. Some of the ski developments in the 1970s and 1980s were controversial – the most controversial being a proposed extension of the Cairngorm ski area into Lurcher’s Gully. Many conservationists opposed this development and it was rejected by the Secretary of State for Scotland in 1981, and a revised plan was again rejected in 1990. With his professional background in Zoology and Ecology and a keen interest in skiing, Walter could view this issue from both sides of the snow fence, resulting in him spending several years on the Cairngorm Recreation Trust, which was the parent company of the Cairngorm Chairlift Company. During his involvement in the administration of Scottish skiing, the amount of instruction Walter did tailed off, but he was impressed with the amount of young qualified ski instructors at Bearsden keen to pass on their skills. He comments: ‘I still did my BASI refresher courses and attended the annual Bearsden Instructors training course. It was good to see a new generation of highly professional BASI Trainers coming to run these courses – people like Andrew Lockerbie, Elaine Adam and Gareth Roberts. BASI was in good hands.’ Walter took early retirement from Glasgow University in 1999 and since then, he and his wife have been keeping the travel industry in business with holidays in Patagonia, BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI LIFE MEMBERS

Alaska, the Galapagos Islands, India, Nepal, China, Burma, Namibia, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. On his final day of skiing at Cairngorm, at the end of last season, he met Pat Findlater. Pat was one of his first instructors at Hillend in 1971 and he hadn’t seen her for quite a few years. Walter says: ‘We went into the Shieling and spent an hour or so reminiscing on events in Scottish skiing over the previous 40 plus years. Last year I read Ed Rattray’s book, entitled Scottish Skiing the Golden Years 1950-1990. I wasn’t involved in Scottish skiing during the first 20 years of this period but did enjoy the fruits of the labours of the pioneers of this period, who laid the foundations for the second half of this ‘Golden Age’ in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a good time to be involved in the development of Scottish skiing and British ski instruction.’

Peter Stevens Peter Stevens grew up in the Chilterns, a long way from real mountains and regular snow. Nearby were Forestry Commission woods, and when it snowed he went tobogganing down the paths and the steep sides of the chalk pit quarry, head first, on a toboggan his dad built. He also used a friend’s toboggan, similar to the current skeleton bobs used in the Olympics, which had once been down the Cresta Run in St. Moritz, Switzerland! He was out tobogganing one winter when he spotted a Norwegian from his primary school with a pair of skis. Peter comments: ‘It didn’t matter that they might have been cross-country skis, I just thought “wow that looks good fun – I’m going to do that at the first opportunity I have”.’ That opportunity arrived when he was around 13 or 14 years old;his school offered its very first ski trip to Finkenberg. It wasn’t offered to Peter’s year, but he persuaded them to allow him to go: ‘We acquired the basics on a small indoor slope at Slough Community Centre, initially coconut matting and then plastic. So that was my first trip, wooden skis, cable bindings and leather boots I think. I was determined to go again as soon as I could – I was hooked!’ Peter didn’t ski again until he joined the BBC Ski Club, for a trip to Macugnaga in 1974, during which he injured his left knee. It was painful for him to walk on, but he could ski without pain – so that’s exactly what he did! He went on many trips with the Club and in between he practised, helped out, and taught the basics to beginners on the local plastic slopes, such as Alexandra Palace and Sandown Park. This was his first informal introduction to teaching, with guidance from Dianne Pegg (nee Bullard), the resident instructor of the Club at the time.

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

Later that season he attempted BASI Grade 2, passing at the second attempt in Scotland, following the training course held in Flaine, 1984. Having achieved this level, Peter’s aim was higher – a much bigger step. He was still working full time, so trying to fit in sufficient quality skiing time on snow was difficult, but he completed the Grade 1 Training course in Scotland in 1986, adding other modules, such as navigation, theory and avalanche courses. Building up to his Grade 1, from 1984 onwards, he worked part time for different ski companies and schools in France, Switzerland and Italy, with a season in Montgenevre, in addition to snow training sessions whilst fitting in and gaining all of the various courses for ASSI and coach qualifications in England. Peter now lives in Kent with his wife, Wendy, and daughter Rebecca (both keen skiers), with the North Downs nearby so, when it snows sufficiently, he’s usually on cross country or alpine skis on the exclusive off-piste! Peter continues to teach part time at indoor snow centres and hopes to increase his skiing and teaching time when he retires. Peter comments: ‘I don’t feel as though I’ve been skiing long enough to receive BASI Life Membership, but I’m very pleased to have done so and am still proud of getting to where I’ve got to, despite the challenges en route. I’d like to thank all of the various people who have helped me on my way, both now and in the future – you may see me on another course yet!’.

EUROTEST, TEST TECHNIQUE, INSTRUCTOR TRAINING

Tignes

SUMMER, WINTER & AUTUMN

Trainers include...

Emma Carrick-Anderson : 4 time Olympic Skier & current BASI Trainer Lee Townend : current ISIA BASI Trainer Mike Barker : former National Team Trainer

P lus... other current & former trainers

Supported by:

He later moved to West London near Hillingdon Ski Centre, and got involved in further ‘unofficial’ teaching. With suggestions that he ought to obtain some proper qualifications, Peter decided to opt for BASI, which would allow him to work on snow – and was delighted to pass his BASI Grade 3 in 1979 in Flaine. His BBC work enabled him

to earn plenty of leave and during 1982-83, Peter’s first skiing-related job was working for E.R.O.S in Sella Nevea, Italy alongside BASI’s Dave Renouf!

For further details Visit: www.snoworks.co.uk/pro.asp Tel: 0844 543 0503

BASI Member Pro Deals and Discounts 2015 In order to access the current discounts your Membership must be current for season 2015. BASI relies on the good will and generosity of the providers in supplying these discounts to Members, so we ask that you do not abuse them. Discount suppliers do conduct random checks with BASI Membership & Marketing department to ensure that users are legitimate BASI Members. Membership checks may be carried out by suppliers prior to order confirmations. Login to your Member’s area and click on ‘Member Pro Deal’ and ‘Member Discounts’ to access the offers. PLEASE NOTE: Offers are provided in good faith by suppliers and they should not be abused by Members as this may jeopardise future offers. Abuse includes but is not limited to: purchases for non personal use or on behalf of friends and family and purchase with the intent of reselling. These actions are unacceptable and may result in disciplinary action.

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI MEMBERS FEATURE

First Day Back on Snow! Basi Interski Team Training Camp No.2, Zermatt, Autumn 2014

Jaz Lamb

Day one. On skis again. Always interesting. Always fun. This season, my 31st, it was Zermatt, Interski Training, and what a way to start the season. Amazing weather, iconic mountains, perfect snow and intense skiing with an inspiring group of skiers. We had one run to warm up and find our feet, then straight into picking up the demos from where we left off at the end of last season in Hintertux. We started with ‘4 Snakes playing’. Slowly to start off with, even walking through the demo to ensure we all remembered where we were and our particular role. Four lines of three and I’m at the back of the third line. We are wanting to have three changes of pattern in each demo, making the demos visually exciting and interesting but simple enough so we can still focus on high performance skiing and make our skiing strong and representative of BASI’s philosophies. Number 3 in line 3, I follow. This is a good one for me to settle back in, tune into my skiing again and focus on being precise. Without any space or capacity to be distracted by my inputs, it is all about directing the skis where they need to go for me to stay on the line and get the spacing right. It’s going well. 22

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

Demo 2 is quite different. Three interlocking diamonds – ‘Funky Diamonds’. I lead the back Diamond of 4. Shadowing Amanda leading the front diamond for the first nine turns before switching my focus to crossing with Lynn, the leader of the second diamond. As Amanda’s team peel off, we continue to cross with Lynn’s diamond for a further four turns before she peels off. I have to remember not to go with her, but keep the same tempo as they break right. We then put in a further four turns before breaking left into punchy turns and joining the end of the line for the finish. I struggled with this one to start with, getting the turn shape and tempo from Amanda and then figuring out when my focus needed to change and where to change it to. The last couple of runs at it were better, not being distracted as the pattern changed, and able to tune more into the quality of skiing. The second day of training brings the revamped version of probably our best run at the last congress, ‘Tickle, tickle, bang, bang’ and another day working hard to show the very best of BASI to the rest of the world. Follow the progress of the BASI Interski Demo Team 2015 www.basiinterski.org.uk

FEATURE VIDEO EDITING OPTIMISED FOR GOPRO

FASTCUT STRAIGHT TO THE ACTION

SHARE PURE ADRENALINE Fastcut offers editing templates that set the perfect stage for your adventures with fully automatic editing that cuts your footage to fit music. Share your experiences with everyone.

More information:

fastcut.magix.com

Follow MAGIX Fastcut on:

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI MEMBERS FEATURE

What Influences Risk Taking in Skiing and Snowboarding?

Duncan Isaksen Luxton Entrepreneur, speaker and author, Duncan is the founder of Medic52, an app for ski resorts to help customers stay safe on the slopes. He is the author of The Smartphone Medic, a Ski Patroller in Thredbo, Australia, and a former PSIA ski instructor. He loves to talk about skiing safety and how data saves lives. www.medic52.com The southern hemisphere has not had the best season for ski safety in 2014, with a number of publicised avalanche incidents in Australia and South America. What are the factors influencing these events? 2014 saw a successful retrieval from an in bounds avalanche burial in Thredbo, where the survivor was dug out by patrol after 40 minutes. On Mt. Bogong near Falls Creek, two died in a slide whilst camping and skiing out in the back country;recently there has been the tragic loss of international skiing talent’s JP Auclair, Andreas Fransson and snowboarder Liz Daley in two separate avalanches in Chile. There is no doubt these three professionals at the top of their game had done the research, and had teams behind them with great resources, but it still went tragically wrong. The problem is the age of media, which loves sensationalist content is at odds with the ski resort industry. Ski resorts need a positive image around safety for the sport to grow and attract more non-skiers. It is a business that relies on life-long returning customers.

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

We all have a sense of adventure though, and it needs to be scratched, but what makes some people, despite the warnings, disregard or downplay the danger?

focus is on the snow, mountain, and conditions that lead to a release, not so much on the human factors at play.

Safety and Touring Gear

The consumption of big mountain ski movies and extreme ski events would no doubt be pushing and driving people to do more, go harder and higher, steeper, faster. This becomes coupled with social media, within which a competitive environment is created where those participants need to out-do each other. Prof. Pascal Haegeli of Avalanche Canada has a personal goal to investigate that human factor because it hasn’t been studied to nearly the same degree. Even Andreas Fransson noted in an article in Adventure Journal that ‘the ethics of skiing need to catch up with those of climbing’ after he was told he gave up too easily on the slopes of Artesonraju.

Technology advances have made it easy to use equipment. It is also more readily available and cheaper so playing a part with those who think that purchase is enough without practice. As Karl Klassen, the public warning service manager for Avalanche Canada notes, some don’t even have the right equipment: ‘Ninety-eight per cent [of people] go to the back country with a transceiver, only 14 per cent go with all three – a transceiver, a probe and a shovel.’ This change has ruled out a process of natural selection based on price or availability of equipment.

Availability and Assessment of Information Perhaps the information that is available empowers people to make a decision when they may need more local input, or knowledge with which to determine the results. Using this increase in numbers, Avalanche Canada are reaching out to those in the field to help with the data. The recent update to their mobile app allows a user to become part of the observer network – www.avalanche.ca/ cac/pre-trip-planning/observernetwork. This will increase the data points available to make predictions through crowd sourcing the information rather than relying on a few forecasters and resorts to provide information. The net result should be more robust information in a greater area of coverage. There are huge amounts of work and research going in to avalanche science through organisations such as the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) that met last week in Banff. Participants in this week-long conference come from the world over, from specialist centres like Avalanche Canada, Banff Avalanche Centre, the US Forest Service and many more. This

Social Factors

Risk Perception Is skiing a run of untouched power in the back country the same risk as is taken in many other accessible sports? How about world surfing stars like Kelly Slater competing in the Eddie Aikau at the massive Pipeline in Hawaii? Is it the same as Danny Macaskill mountain bike riding off a remote mountain in the Isle of Skye? Or, perhaps a BASE jump from a tower (legal in many countries) in the middle of a city? If we watch these athletes at the peak of their game we can see the danger they are putting themselves in; we can see what could happen if they slip or fall. The danger is obvious. We also know and appreciate they have done lots of training and preparation for it. In surfing you see the safety crews all around, they come in and out of shot all the time. You can see that rescue is close by. On a big mountain shoot, the participants and crews have done

hours of methodical research, watching snow pack, checking lines, understanding weather, sometimes staying off the mountain for weeks until the weather is right. But you just don’t see this work or have any idea how much there is. We get to see a few spills where they get it wrong, but very little about the preparation, safety measures and manpower that goes into making up these shots. ‘My personal goal as a researcher is trying to understand how people assess the risks,’ said Prof. Haegeli to the Globe and Mail at ISSW in Banff. ‘The challenge of avalanches is, that the hazard is not quite as obvious as in BASE jumping. You look at the beauty of the white landscape and it looks benign. People can come to the conclusion, “it won’t happen here.” But you can have an avalanche if the right conditions come together.’ Untouched, pristine powder in bounds or out of bounds has a draw to it that is so powerful, your motivation to ride it may be greater than your gut feeling of selfpreservation or logical knowledge laid out in front of you. It is a passion that drives many skiers and riders to get out there. Overall we have an education problem. I for one would find it fascinating to see what goes in to making a big mountain ski movie, getting that one shot. Ski resorts get people started in this sport, and now have a role to play in the education of its’ graduates, even though they may disagree. Who would you rather ride with, the 14 per cent? www.isalox.com/#bio

Colin Tucker has represented Britain and BASI in races around the world. His perseverance and drive to progress has led to him amassing many national medals. Colin maintained an average of 55 masters FIS points in 2007 and 2008 thereby placing him just 6% off the best masters skier on the planet. To put it in perspective, there are no British men, let alone BASI members, competing at masters who have less than 100 points when measured against their own criteria. Colin has used the sport as a focal point to allow him to better understand himself and continue to find progression. The therapy of sport has allowed him to put 15 orthopedic surgeries, including replacement of both hips, a full thoracotomy (an operation that most don’t survive) and double open knee surgery behind him. In spite of these rather large set-backs - which individually might constitute sufficient excuse for the end of a working life - and some 68 bone breaks over the years, Colin has recovered to full and real fitness in his late sixties. In the 2012-13 season his efforts materialized in the form of a top 10 (= 7) finish in the world masters cup. Over 100 athletes from 21 countries came together to compete in his category. Each one of them, exceptional individuals with a unique story, and a powerful lesson on how to overcome the physical challenges that the sport places on those of an older age. Exemplary people whose level of fitness and courage to challenge themselves is refreshingly rare in everyday society.

This September Colin overcame yet more physical challenges to win his first FIS masters overall Continental Cup Title. The health improvements, enjoyment and proven results combine to give Colin more drive to inspire others in using sport to remove the barriers that age and society put in their way He epitomizes a method and a driving force for therapy to improve and use physical performance, as a way of breaking the stigma placed on an ‘older man’ as well as emphasizing the point that should be taught to all people at every age: there is always room for progression!

BASI MEMBERS FEATURE

Colin Tucker BASI Hero

Colin, a BASI member for 30 years is now a life member. Together with his children, relations and now snowsports professionals, he couldn’t be more suited to a skiing lifestyle. Like the majority of BASI members, Colin comes from the Lowlands, and is the classic example of a British skier. His competitors are blessed with the convenience of living at some altitude and close to the hill on which they train, and a life time of skiing pedigree. The typical background of a masters racer is a technical director for a ski school or a race tester for Fischer for some 35 years, however Colin skied for the first time at age 40. He simply sees this as another challenge to overcome; some may say that this makes his position in the top few in the world at his age more impressive. Colin views it as something that increases his drive to succeed where he shouldn’t, and therefore is a contributing factor to his success. A new European winter season awaits.

BASI wants to recognise those Members who have gone the extra mile, by asking you, the Members, to nominate your ‘BASI Snow Hero’. Tell us about someone you know who has delivered excellence. It could be an instructor you know, a volunteer or a member of staff. If you want them in the next BASI News, please email their story to tania@basi.org.uk BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI MEMBERS FEATURE

BASI UK Advanced Instructor course at Milton Keynes SnoZone Dai Parry

After a couple of years trying to get this course off the ground, nine BASI Level 1 instructors finally met our trainer Alex Leaf at the beginning of October 2014 without knowing too much about what we were getting ourselves into. We all confessed to a mixture of excitement, trepidation and anticipation and the realisation that we didn’t really know whether we were good enough skiers, or teachers, to qualify at the end of the week. The profile of the group was ‘interesting’ and I’m sure that Alex didn’t quite know what to expect as the average age of the group was easily in the fifties (with the youngest in his forties and the oldest – me – being 65!). Eight of the group were instructors from Milton Keynes with the other from Tamworth and a fairly even split between male and female. It soon emerged that each had different strengths and weaknesses but the overriding feeling from the very start was that everybody was supporting each other as we all, at different times, experienced frustrations or difficulties in the exercises we were trying to master. At the end of each day phrases uttered by Alex such as ‘finish off your turns’, ‘sink through the turn’, ‘better’ (which didn’t necessarily mean good!!) and

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

‘no skiing in straight lines’ were ringing in our ears and I’m sure entered into many of our dreams at night. Just when we thought we’d finally got it, something else would be added to the equation. And so the week went on... highs and lows, frustration and exhilaration and, ultimately, would we pass or fail, for that was the new territory we’d entered; no shades of grey, it was pass or fail. So what was the general consensus about the course? Pass or fail, I think that everybody felt that they’d moved up a notch with their skiing ability, their demonstrations and, most important of all, the way they would be teaching from now on. Already I feel that my ability to pass on this information to pupils has improved immensely. There’s also no doubt in most people’s minds that the course and qualification should stand alone and be something that instructors who teach on artificial and indoor slopes in the UK should strive for and be proud to have. I say this because, in many people’s minds, this is only a ‘part’ qualification and a means of getting to the BASI Level 2 without having to spend too long in the Alps; I was even congratulated by a colleague for getting my ‘one point five’! Perhaps therein lies the problem with getting this course off the ground.

I understand that although this qualification has been in existence for several years there have been no courses in the past two years and, in total, there are fewer than 40 qualified UKAIs. It’s difficult to know whether there is no call for the course because of people’s reticence or whether the marketing of the course has been such that it’s not seen as an attractive proposition. I would urge BASI to sell the qualification as an excellent higher level for working instructors in this country who cannot progress to Level 2 because of finances, family commitments and careers or simply that they are now too mature (old!) to consider working in the Alps. I thoroughly enjoyed the course, the camaraderie, the excellent tuition and that immense feeling of satisfaction at achieving something that I never dreamed I could do and I recommend it absolutely. Note: If you are interested in a specific BASI course that is not showing on the BASI website, you can register a course request: • Email basi@basi.org.uk with your name, membership number (if you have one), contact telephone, course name and level • Preferred venue (if any) • Preferred date (if any)

FEATURE BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

BASI FEATURE

All I want for Christmas! Teko Freeride World Tour Medium Sock (official sock of the Freeride World Tour)

SRP £22

BASI Member Price

£19.95 per pair

The ‘Freeride World Tour’ collection is available to BASI Members via Anatom in your Member Area. Designed to help achieve a premium fit for skiing or riding. Offering lightweight cushioning and an asymmetric fit – specific left and right foot design – the Freeride World Tour sock will keep feet warm, dry and blister-free, for optimum comfort and performance. Part of the range the Teko Freeride World Tour Medium Sock is constructed from lightweight SIN3RGI fibre and is perfect for those who prefer more cushioning in their socks. Integral to the new Freeride World Tour range, is the TEKO WRAP SYSTEM™. Designed to hold the sock closely around the Achilles heel area and over the instep in the most efficient way possible, the TEKO WRAP SYSTEM™ ensures much more comfortable fit and stops any slippage or rubbing for a blister-free fit.

Cosy Toes!

• Lightweight SIN3RGI fibre • Seamless toes, arch brace, articulated Y-heel. • Medium cushion in heel, shin and foot • 42% M3RINO.XC, 40% EVAPOR8, 15% Nylon, 3% Elastic • Sizes: S M L XL

www.tekosocks.co.uk

4 Go Pro Hero m era

and the new HERO ca

Most adventure sport and filming enthusiasts will be aware of the recent product launch by GoPro, the action camera industries equivalent to Red Bull. What GoPro have been keeping up their sleeve is that they not only launched a new ‘improved, twice as powerful, twice as high definition, twice… yeah, we get the point, it’s better and therefore more expensive’ HERO4 camera on the 5th of October, they are also launched something a little bit different…

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

SRP £299.95

BASI Member O

£240.00

ffer

BCA Tracker 3 BCA invented the digital multiantenna avalanche transceiver and now they’re taking it to the next level. Tracker’s legendary ease-of-use in a smaller package, the Tracker3™ has Tracker2’s renowned ease of use and instantaneous real-time display – and it’s 20 per cent smaller and lighter. Designed to be ‘pocket friendly’, T3 is the thinnest multi-antenna transceiver available. Three antennas and no-nonsense multiple burial searching. Highlights include:

• ‘Bigpicture’ mode, giving an overview of victims within the search area • Signal suppression mode allows you to suppress the signal of the first victim once found, which automatically then locks onto the next closest victim. • It is upgradeable via the USB port in the battery compartment • Going forward you will also be able to run a selfdiagnostic via a downloadable program Weight: 215 grams, including batteries, not harness. Dimensions: 11.5 cm x 7.1 cm x 2.4 cm Frequency: 457 kHz Power supply: Three AAA alkaline batteries Available to Members via

www.anatom.co.uk

But first let’s look at the HERO4 http://shop.gopro.com/EMEA/cameras/ HERO4Go Pro, being the top lads that they are, are launching the new GoPro HERO4. For £369.99 you can get yourself an action camera with 4k30 resolution! What does that mean? Okay so your shiny new TV which offers 1080p HD viewing – it won’t cut it, you need to buy yourself a cinema to do your footage any justice. The HERO4 also boasts a number of exciting features that have been developed and improved to make it easier to ‘Be a Hero’. The ability to tag your best moments when you’re filming so you no longer have to search through 30 minutes of video to find the 5 seconds of you doing something rad. Better audio recording and new settings for low light. Sounds like a crackin’ camera and I could rabbit on all day about it but I’m more excited about the other product. GoPro have also launched a new HERO camera. If you hit up the GoPro website, http://shop.gopro.com/EMEA/cameras/hero/CHDHA-301EU.html skim through all the HERO4 Promotions, right at the bottom of the cameras page you’ll find this little gem. A camera with 1080p30 and 720p60 video, 5MP photos that’s waterproof to 131ft (40m) for the bargain price of……£99.

with Superfe

SRP £45

Designed to improve the BASI Member Offer performance of skiers and snowboarders, Superfeet’s REDhot and hotPINK insoles provide the support, shock absorption and power transmission men and women need on the slopes. For skiers, the insoles will reduce pressure points, provide better edge control and comfort, as well as reduce foot movement and foot fatigue. Snowboarders can expect an improved heel to toe transition, more shock absorption, better comfort and reduced foot fatigue. REDhot, for men, and hotPINK, for women, feature Superfeet’s patented heel cup which supports the foot’s natural padding for stability and accurate alignment. Outlast® Adaptive Comfort® works to absorb extra heat, whilst Thermo-FoilTM and AirWeaveTM on the forefoot deflect cold air to provide excellent temperature control. Part of Superfeet’s ‘Trim-to-Fit’ collection, REDhot and hotPINK have been created to replace existing insoles, but they can also simply be inserted where boots are particularly spacious or the insole cannot be removed. REDhot is available in Superfeet sizes C-H (UK 4.5-16) and hotPINK is available in Superfeet sizes B-E (UK 2.510), both with an RRP of £45.

30% off

Available from

www.superfeet.com

Nifty Apps

RRP £9.99 pe r year

50% discount

SkiFit is a brand new video-based online programme and mobile app aimed at skiers and snowboarders fo r BASI Me who are serious about getting via your Mem mbers ber Area fit for their winter season of snowsports, developed by elite sports physiotherapist Neil MacLean-¬Martin. Neil works with athletes at Olympic and world class level including roles as travelling physio for the Great Britain Judo team and performance director for the DongFeng Volvo Ocean Race team. He is based in Chamonix where for many years he has worked with locals, guides, instructors and professional athletes to keep them fit, strong and injury free so that they can enjoy their time in the mountains. The programme offers a series of high quality exercises specific to snowsports which can be done at home or in the gym, and is suitable for all levels of fitness. There are four different phases that build up over 8 weeks. Each session takes 1 hour and includes a warm up, activation exercises, core work, circuits, coordination exercises and a final stretch down. What is great is you can access SkiFit either on your mobile device or on your computer via the website www.befitapps.com. Video preview can be watched on the SkiFit channel www.vimeo.com/channels/befitapps BASI Members get a 50% discount on the full SkiFit programme. Available from

BASI FEATURE

Boot Booetst

www.befitapps.com

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

Tom Waddington In the ski-racing world there has been a lot of coverage lately about the fact that clean and tidy looking skiing is not the fastest in racing. The main emphasis and talk is about using strength and power along with big ‘stivoting’ angles at the top of the turn in order to take the fastest line. Someone like Ted Ligety has spent most of his junior career and 1000’s of hours of practice learning the proper fundamentals of skiing. He is also a full time athlete who has incredible power to weight ratio and developed excellent motor control skills. Ted Ligety can do the amazing things he does because he has put in his time. My point is this: all young racers build fundamental skills from the beginning. They spend time developing all sorts of skiing skills that most ski instructors don’t spend enough time on. In my experience instructors (as was I) are seduced by the goals of passing the Eurotest and end up running gates before they are ready. This can lead to seasons upon seasons of missed eurotests and repetitive training with little gains. BASI and most instructor qualification systems talk about the importance of fundamentals. If you take BASI’s fundamentals for example they are a nice and simple way to look at all things that build a good skier. But do instructors spend enough time on them? Can they really maintain it in all conditions and regardless how

steep the slope? Lets face it: skiing at slow speed when there is powder is a little tedious! To me, the key characteristics of instructors who have rushed in to gates too early are: • Popping – not moving enough laterally and managing the pressure by standing too tall to initiate and then sinking back down ‘dumping’ all the pressure at the end of the turn • Not working the ski as it should be worked. If you look at the skier from the ground up, the instructor who is not ready for gates would be getting large edge angles at the end of the turn along with ski judder and rotation, with no pressure/grip at the top of the turn. In short: using ankles, knees and hip at the wrong time. • Taking a too straight line and not ‘arc-ing’ the turn. This makes the performer unable to control speed and line and so missing gates etc. • Developing bad habits and creating psychological barriers. If you really want to be fast and accurate in the gates then spend a bit more time developing solid technique and skills before entering the gates. Here are a few tips when working on fundamentals: 1. Ski slowly! If you cant make all the correct movements at the right time in the right place at a slow speed then it is unlikely you will make them at a higher speed. It is also one of the best ways to identify faults. I had the privilege of working with Dave Ryding and coach Tristan Glasse-Davies this summer who spent 2 months

Featured model: PDG - 831gm in size

FEATURE

The importance of fundamentals in skiing

WWW.DYNAFIT.COM

OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF THE SKIMO RACE

ULTRALIGHT SKIS, BINDINGS, BOOTS, POLES

BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

breaking down Dave’s left footed turn at excruciatingly slow speeds! 2. Drills have their place. Some coaches like them, some not so much. I think it’s important for the learner to know why they are doing them and making sure that they are mastered properly. It is also important to find out what works best for you. Check Mikela Shiffrin’s tips on drills: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=96VN_Brmnz0 3. Take lots of video and spend time analyzing it. Plan a way you are going to change your mistakes. Visualization can play a big part in this. 4. Ski on ice. Hero snow is lovely for feeling grip and confidence but ice will separate the wheat from the chaff. Prep your skis well and learn to ski on ice; it will highlight all your weaknesses in one run, probably more than a week of skiing on hero snow will! 5. Challenge those fundamentals. The use of many different types of brushes courses, corridors, hopping, Swedish turns, Cormayeur shuffle, corridors, GS in bumps, different skis, slalom turns etc. I know it’s a bit cheesy but become one with the environment on any slope/condition so you are ready for anything. 6. There is no magic wand. If you want to change your ski performance then you must put in the hours. So many hours! Look at things more long term, set reasonable goals rather than poking a little here and there while hoping you’ll become a world cup skier in a week!

EXCLUSIVE UK DISTRIBUTOR AN ATOM: WWW.ANATOM.CO.UK

FEATURE BASI NEWS ISSUE 116

Specially-negotiated travel insurance for BASI Members. To get a quote or buy online www.basi-insurance.com