Interski 2023 - Canadian Report

Outdoor on-snow workshop

The title of the Canadian outdoor on-snow workshop that I attended was, "How we do it (CSIA Teaching Concepts)"

Delivered by Jamie Jack

The Canadian ‘teaching’ philosophy is titled a 'collaborative approach' and in essence is about function over form with outcomes being measured as objectively as possible. Combined with their skills framework they look at what they can ‘add to’ a performance keeping in mind that they do not want to add something that later needs to be taken away. This was a very impressive workshop showing how the CSIA have a real depth of understanding in how to train snowsport instructors who can deliver a truly great guest experience. Jamie was extremely knowledgeable and was able to illustrate the approach through great explanation and setting of tasks that we could easily measure against the outcomes.

A little snippet of Jamie's explanation to workshop attendees.

A Collaborative Approach unpacked

At the centre of the collaborative approach is the learner. You need to know your learner and that means being able to assess their psychological, physical, aspirational, performance and skill both in terms of where they are and what they need. I really like that psychological is listed, and considered, first as in my experience from many years of teaching this is always one of the most important needs of the learner and something that the instructor needs to be adept at assessing and addressing. I also like the fact that 'technique' is NOT listed rather performance and skill. This supports the idea that the Canadian system is about function rather than form, a topic I have covered previously in a blog post on the Parallel Dreams Coaching Academy titled, Function or Form: What is the best approach to learning a sport?

To read the full report of the Canadian on-snow workshop and learn more about:

• Creating an experience

• Assessing the experience

• Exploring the possibilities

• Skills framework...

download the Congress ebook report for your favourite ereader. This eBook report features 8 countries and includes top takeaways from the event. The report is FREE on my store, Google Play, and Amazon.com where it has been price matched to zero.

About the author

Derek Tate is a ski instructor and director of British Alpine Ski School Chamonix. He is a mental skills coach, positive psychology practitioner and author. His recent books include, "Six Steps for Training the Mind", "Learn, Enjoy, Flow & Grow" and "Transformational Flow Coaching". You can learn more from his author page.

And to listen to Derek's Interski 2023 Review on The Ski Instructor Podcast with host Dave Burrows click on the relevant podcast link:

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