Trainers’ Certification Articles

By Sharni Simpson in 2017 Striving continuously to improve our own skiing performance and that of our students. We focus on creating a successful learning environment thru our knowledge of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Basic need, Psychological needs and Self...

By Scott Palmer. Proprioception (/ˌproʊprioʊˈsɛpʃən, -priə-/ PRO-pree-o-SEP-shən) The sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement.   I first started taking an interest in proprioception a few...

By Lorna Gibson in 2017. What is adversity? Adversity can be defined as “a difficult or unpleasant situation.” Understandably, one could be forgiven for choosing to avoid a task falling into either category, or at worst, both. Yet skiing is a sport which can regularly...

By Yusuke Inoue in 2017. Fixing bad habits or improving good habits: Which one makes your skiing better? Actually, for our brains, there are no bad or good habits. They are what they are! We can’t erase our habits once they’ve been created, whether we like them or...

By Toby Wignall This article is about depth of knowledge and understanding in a range of disciplines to enable you to make a reasonable income. By doing these, your level of skiing/snowboarding will reach new heights even faster. The best advice that I ‘never’...

By Vincent Tribello Why do some people learn better than others? Why do some people seem so resistant to change while others just let go and learn? Are they scared? Are they trying to justify what they already know? Is there something wrong with them?! As a ski...

By Bryan Cleaver Mix up your training to get results on your next exam During our journey up the NZSIA levels, we have many different outcomes to achieve and demonstrate from the start of the wedge turn all the way through to dynamic turns and tasks. We want, of...

By Chad Devenish Sport has long been considered part of a country's psyche, with its respective national sport, state, province, region or county with respective teams and each town with it's club. Professional or amateur, there is something about sport that brings...

By Richard Butler Versatility is a common theme in our industry. We often try to promote versatility to our clients, trainees, and peers. Whether it’s giving them the tools to deal with changing snow conditions, or the skills to perform strong demos of different types...

By Joshua Duncan-Smith INTRODUCTION I am a full time ski instructor and training towards my trainers certification with the NZSIA. Over the last 2 seasons I have become aware both in myself and with colleagues training for full certification, and with competitive...

The Indoor Teach For all of us, that have, or are going through, the certification process in the NZSIA. The exam week can be a stressful time. Add to that some down days due to weather and the pressure can skyrocket. As an instructor working on Mt Ruapehu for many...

William Glaser - 29/6/11 Rotational Separation is a critical component of “good“ skiing. Often the subtleties of coordinating rotational movements through the whole body are lost not only on our students, but ourselves. As instructors we rely on effective use of...

By Cam Robertson, 2006. I am writing this article in hope of raising awareness of a 'good park stance' through comparing the fundamental functional similarities between alpine and park stances. After many years (man I must be getting old to say that) in the ski...

Technical understanding of skier analysis: Throughout my own personal training and professional instructing, I have always used myself and peers, to model and assess skier analysis.  Without confident and accurate assessment of your own movement patterns, you are not...

By Jon Ballou, 2006. In recent years the international concepts of what defines 'good skiing' in the context of high performance on prepared (groomed/hard) snow have become noticeably similar. In conversations with current examiners, coaches, athletes and instructors...

By Mark Perana Have you heard the term progressively edge or progressively pressure the edge? I think I know what the person saying it means, but is that what our student thinks it means? Let’s talk about the word Progressively, it describes how something is done....

By James Smith, 2007. As Snowsports Instructors our most important priority is to keep our guests and ourselves as safe as possible. New Zealand is home to some great skiing. This attracts many visitors to kiwi ski areas. There is limited ski area acreage for these...

Basic freestyle Flat land Manoeuvres Switch skiing (reverse wedge or parallel) Flatland 180’s Flatland 360’s Boot skiing Butters Nose Presses Tail Presses Box Progression...straight glides 50/50 Find suitable feature (box) close to ground about 2x length of a kids...

By Bob Irwin, 2007. Exploring the sequential developments in ski equipment and techniques. Borne out of necessity and then turned into a recreational pursuit, skiing is still an exciting and evolving industry. The evolution of ski teaching along with the manufacturing...

By Ben Adams, 2007. Often, ski racing turns will be completed with less than perfect form as function (skiing fast) is more important than looking pretty, however a good skier makes for a good ski racer and good form should be strived for in training as well as...

By Anne-Marie Robertson, 2007. Understanding the forces involved in a dynamic ski turn and how these relate to modern ski design helps to explain why we make the movements we do to maximize ski performance. A ski pointed straight down a fall line will accelerate...

By Toby Arnott, 2007. Ski Instructors are consistently challenged throughout their careers by the first time skier. The instructor will be challenged by terrain available, the weather conditions and the student's ability. For most instructors level one or first time...

By Steve Trout, 2007. Contemporary ski technology has afforded both instructors and students the opportunity of experiencing the pleasure and exhilaration of dynamic carved turns. When it comes to teaching skiing however, there exists widespread student...

By Simon Grove, 2007. Skiing's X-Factor "You must think of skiing as an activity that begins in the snow, reacts through your skis and is understood through the soles of your feet." Everard and Witherell, 1993, 'The Athletic Skier.' Snow touch: the finesse, the...

By Kirsty Hole, 2008. When looking at the skiing learning curve of the general public, there is a leveling-off that occurs in terms of skill development. This plateau happens in and around level four. People usually move through the beginner levels one to three quite...

By Sarah (Sem) Walls, 2008. Yoga is a practice that if done regularly will bring tremendous light and clarity to your life. After many years of personal yoga practice and ski development I have come to realize the powerful benefits yoga has had on my skiing....

By Ryan Hodges, 2009. We all want to get request private lessons for the simple reason that the money is better and the work is easier. It's important to consider how we adjust the way we teach for different types of lessons to best keep the guests coming back. How do...

By Simon Douglas, 2009. Skiing in powder, many skiers say is the ultimate ski experience. The feeling of lightness, ease and grace is incomparable. However, ask many skiers about there first powder experience and the answers will properly be very different to those...