adaptive airtime Alpine Adaptive Standards Prove Their Value

By Ed Meltzer

PSIA-E Adaptive Examiner Eastern Adaptive Coordinator

Alpine Adaptive 2022 standards have proven their value!

As many of you know, the PSIA-AASI E Adaptive Steering Committee chose to adopt the 2022 Alpine Adaptive National standards for this season. The standards require an Alpine level one certification prior to entering our Adaptive certification process. Since there was so much overlap in the Alpine and Adaptive evaluation process, we created a Three-day combined exam. The exam involved an Alpine assessor and an Adaptive assessor. We were not sure how it would flow. I am pleased to report that we were very pleased with the results.

Observations

Here are some observations from the Alpine examiners I had the pleasure of working with:

Regarding the flow of the exam…

• “Good,” said Matt Heller, PSIA-E Alpine Examiner and trainer at Mount Snow, who observed that the three-day assessment was evenly split between oneand-a-half days of Alpine review and one-and-a-half days of adapting to cognitive development delay and visual impairment. “Worked pretty well in two separate combo exams.”

• “The exam flowed better than I thought it would, to be honest,” added PSIA-E Alpine Examiner Nate Mead, “I thought there would be more growing pains, but the two disciplines blended nicely.”

Regarding potential ways to improve the combined format’s flow of content sharing and assessing candidate knowledge…

• Matt Heller suggested greater accountability for the prerequisite reading. “Also, revise the Adaptive Assessment Guide,” said Matt.

• Nate Mead wondered if covering Adaptive before Alpine would be better. “It could give the candidates a chance to settle into the flow of the exam better,” he said.

Regarding how the combined format affected people personally…

• “Mike Ma’s assertation that ‘every lesson is an adaptive lesson’ rings even more true after doing the combi exam,” said Matt.

• “More than I thought it would!” said Nate, who reported taking home a number of tricks for his own lessons. “An alpine instructor could learn a lot from the adaptive side – especially in the Teaching and People fundamentals,” he added. “I would recommend anyone going for a Level III pin to do an Adaptive Level I. You’d be surprised how much you’d pick up for your bag of tricks.”

Participants seemed to appreciate the combined format also. “The combined exam was seamless, and I think it is a great step forward in raising the bar for adaptive instruction by fully integrating the technical skills into the adaptive discipline,“ said Adam Heilemann, a successful Adaptive Level I candidate from the Bart J. Ruggiere Adaptive Sports Center at Bromley, VT who attended the

Adaptive assessment at Bretton Woods. “The preparation for this exam and format of the exam greatly helps in the use of common language and application of the skiing fundamentals in advancing my adaptive instruction.”

Overall, people seemed to feel the combined event was a strong start. “I was impressed with adaptive instructors during the entire 3-day assessment,” said Nate. “The candidates were knowledgeable in all three of the fundamentals, but the one that stuck out the most to me was the People skills. It was remarkable to see these professionals at work.” He noted the understanding Adaptive pros must have in order to work with their particular demographic, and the fact that Adaptive pros really build a rapport with returning guests. He noted one candidate describing a recurring student with Down’s Syndrome. “The candidate explained the tendencies of the student from the amount of energy she has in the morning, to how many turns she will do, to how much she eats for lunch,” said Nate.

Matt concurred that candidates he observed were exceptionally strong in their People and Teaching skills. If there was an area that could stand improvement, it was their Technical skills.

From my perspective, the amount of learning because of the expanded content and group sharing added a depth of knowledge that significantly surpassed the traditional Two-Day exam prior to requiring Level One Alpine. The combination of subject matter was a fine example of the cliché ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.’

The Numbers

Emerging from the restrictions of the pandemic, Adaptive had impressive attendance numbers. Fifty-two candidates attended seven three-day combined exams. Thanks to our host resorts: Wintergreen, Wachusett, Snowshoe, Bretton Woods, Mt. Snow, Holiday Valley, and Gore.

Specialist assessments towards level 2 and level 3 Adaptive certification:

• Visual Impairment (4 participants)

• Cognitive (3 participants)

• 3 Track (4 participants)

• 4 Track (3 participants)

• Mono-Ski (2 participants)

• Bi-Ski (2 participants)

Forty-eight participants attended In-House trainings and CEU workshops around the region, while ten Adaptive pros attended Pro Jam and sixteen attended Spring Rally.

My key takeaway from this season is the reinforcement of what we have been saying for years: “Skiing is skiing is skiing” and “Riding is riding is riding.”

The future looks very promising for our Adaptive ski and ride schools! As PSIAAASI Adaptive National Standards require your discipline to be the foundation from which we adapt, ski and ride, school training should also reflect that change. Now, a certified Level I Adaptive instructor will be much more aware of the Alpine foundation and be a better instructor as a result. The new certification process is richer and more worthwhile to participants.

Are we heading in the right direction? I think we would agree that the answer is a solid YES! <<