Skip to main content

Skiing exam tasks

By
Technical
We use tasks for two reasons

1. To evaluate movements
2. To develop effective movements

In a skiing exam, tasks are used to poke holes in your movements. If you own the movements, you shouldn’t have trouble with any of these tasks on reasonable terrain.

If you’re having trouble with a task, there’s something in your movements that needs fixing. So the task becomes both a diagnostic and troubleshooting tool. Tasks like railroad tracks and inside ski only are great for this.

Tactical
A lot of times we focus on the tech and forget the tactics. I can only handle so much technical coaching before I want to beat my head against the wall, switching to a tactical focus is a nice break.

Know the tasks and what they’re looking for. Practice them and make sure you have a focus for each one. Find a coach to help you put the spit and polish on them. Your goal is to be mentally prepared for whatever they throw at you.

Don’t assume how to perform a task from its name. Listen carefully to the examiner’s explanation and verify by watching the demo. If you don’t understand, ask for clarification.

Be prepared for examiners to ask you perform tasks differently, they may add a twist to a common task to see if you change it up. For example, you might be asked to perform wedge christies on a cat track with a double fall line.

Don’t forget:
• Don’t watch other candidates, they may confuse you
• Always start in a straight run
• Start slow, you’re going to speed up
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VAK - Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic

By
Visual learners These students learn best by watching and imitating others. The following guidelines are helpful when teaching visual learners. • Ski well-executed demonstrations that illustrate the point. Be careful not to exaggerate and destroy the picture of good skiing. • Target the students’ attention to a certain part of your body or to particular movements.
1 comment
Read more

Learning Styles – Doers, Feelers, Thinkers, Watchers

By
A learning style is the way a person’s sensory, perceptual, memorial, decision-making, and feedback mechanisms operate. Or more simply, the preferred technique to approach learning. Some students have a dominant style and others are comfortable in more than one. PSIA references different theories on learning styles, this is a classic one. Doers Values active experimentation Pragmatic, practical, functional Good problem solvers, work well with others Constantly active, doesn’t like being idle and gets frustrated with too much talking Learn by experimenting, trial and error Instructor should provide experiences that will guide the child Experiential learning is an effective method for all students
3 comments
Read more

Getting the most out of a clinic

By
This is from a series of posts based on my experiences at The Hartford Ski Spectacular/PSIA-ASSI Adaptive National Academy in Breckenridge, CO. I used to go to PSIA/ASSI clinic and walk away with a nugget or two that would really click.  But at some point I thought I was spending too much money to just get one or two things (while having a good time on the snow and making friends). Here’s what I do to get more out of a clinic I carry my cute argyle notebook in my front pocket with a pen to every clinic.  The silhouette looks funny poking out of my jacket, but I’m OK with that. The mechanical act of writing helps me remember. If the weather is OK, I jot down notes on the chairlift or the side of the hill. Sometimes this means I’m skiing after the group whilst trying to put my gloves and pole straps on.  It would be funny for the group if anyone was around to see it but they are usually gone. If it’s too cold, snowy or rainy I jot down notes inside.  I will ...
1 comment
Read more