Diva Ski Tips

By Diva and Diva2 (Debbie and Kerry) Movement analysis is a process, and not something we can cover in one blog post. In fact, it’s not something you can learn from reading or watching videos either. Both of those should be part of your learning—you need to understand the fundamental movements and what they look like before you can start to identify them on snow. But to get you started on what you should be looking for, here are some questions to ask when you are looking at a skier:  What are the skis doing? Do the skis leave a round arc in the snow?   Is the pivot point under foot, at tip, or at tail of ski? Do the skis stay same distance apart? Do the skis grip snow or slip across snow? (Carved or skidded?) Are the skis on snow or off? (Catching air?) Do the skis move simultaneously or sequentially? Where is the snow spray coming from, front of ski, boot, or back of ski? Where in the turn do you see snow sprayed Are the edges engag...

UPDATE: October, 2015: This has been updated with new links, programs, and information. Please let us know if you have other references, we promise to update again before 2020! - Kerry (Diva2) Last year when I was preparing for my L3 Part 1 Skiing exam, the Dev Team Diva turned me on to these great task descriptions developed by Bob Barnes for the PSIA Rocky Mountain Division (the Pocket Summaries listed under "Skiing" below). (Kerry's edit: Those pocket summaries are not on the PSIA-RM site anymore. But I think what you're looking for is in the Skiing IDP linked below.) In my search for them online, I discovered lots of other valuable ski teaching resources tucked away on various PSIA divisional Web sites. So I printed them out, organized them into categories, and stuck them in a binder. The binder became an invaluable resource in discussions with my good friend and ski coach as I helped him to prepare for his Dev Team tryout and he coached me to success in my ski...

After a fantastic day of on snow coaching yesterday with Jeb Boyd of the PSIA National Team and Arc2Arc , he recommended what appears to be a pretty awesome update of Ron LeMaster's original book The Skier's Edge.  By the way, if you ever get a chance to ski with Jeb whether at a PSIA event or through his coaching company - Arc2Arc, go for it. Perusing it on the ride home, the 2009 copyrighted Ultimate Skiing (still by Ron LeMaster) is one of the best modern technical skiing resources I've seen.  Great pictures, examples of drills and how to use them, technical discussions, even profiles of US Ski Team athletes.  Since I just got my hands on a copy yesterday, I'm still working my way through it but already I've read clear discussions of the apparent but oft-confused centrifugal force (not a vector force!), alignment and center of mass differences between sexes, unweighting moves, analysis of the skill blends under different conditions, assessing forward lean i...

What's going on here and what do you want to in your lesson? Post your answer in the comments.

I love the music for this. Let's assume this is your student. What's going on here and what do you want to in your lesson? Post your answer in the comments.

Functional body alignment (strong inside half) refers to the ability to maintain the entire inside half of the body (foot, knee, hip, arm, hand and shoulder) in an appropriate alignment for the desired outcome. The amount of lead in the ski tips should match the alignment of the body and is influenced by the pitch of the slope. • Hip and arm moves together (imagine a cable between wrist and hip) • Both skis tip simultaneously and create the same angles • Short leg/long leg • Maintain ski/snow contact As the turn develops, the focus should be to keep the inside half of the body raised and ahead of the outside half. • Leveling of the shoulder and hips • Inside half of body moves as a package • Both skis track at the start of the turn The relationship of the upper and lower body is a key factor in creating the alignment that allows maximum strength of the outside leg. This will help produce a turn that can be quick and accurate to develop to the apex and a powerful stance thro...

Effective The core supplies the strength and functional tension to the inside half of the body to facilitate the steering activity of the legs. • Tension to builds up and is released into the new turn • Quiet upper body • The skier’s legs turn underneath a strong/stable torso to help guide the skis through the turn. • Both skis and legs turn together throughout a parallel turn with the femurs turning in the hip sockets (instead of the entire hip coming around) • Movements are progressive, unless an aggressive move is necessary Steering movements of the legs allow us to adjust the radius of the turn and control speed • Shoulders don’t follow tips • Shoulders and hips level • The skis are tipped and turned an appropriate amount to create a smooth C-shaped arc. During turn transitions the lower body releases then realigns with the upper body. • Constant speed and turn shape • Tips follow tails • Center of mass travels a more narrow path then legs Ski into and out of cou...

Effective edging Focus on moving forward, in the direction of the new turn and through the boot cuffs to create • Round turn shape • Long leg/short leg w/ edge engagement • Consistent stance width • Parallel shins and boots, maintaining forward and lateral contact • Tension of the inside leg helps maintain alignment. Flexion of the inside ankle directs movement forward and laterally for edge-angle adjustments. Both skis should move to the new edges simultaneously versus sequentially, while striving to maintain ski/snow contact (with both skis). • Angulation occurs early in the turn • Smooth transitions • Snow sprays to the side of the hill • Both skis tip the same amount early in the turn with the strongest angles developing in or near the fall line. Edge release and re-engagement should happen in one fluid movement. • The tracks will show this • Skier doesn’t hold on to the turn to long • Tails do not displace The positive engagement of the skis’ tips should draw y...

Lateral weight transfer is a component of pressure management. It can happen progressively or abruptly, depending on the desired outcome. • Smooth and flowing transition • Not much snow spray • Joints progressively flex and extend • Skis flow evenly and smoothly over the terrain • Skis bend progressively, with the entire length engaged Maintain the "strength in length" of the outside leg during the highest loading portion of the turn unless yielding to the influence of terrain and snow conditions or releasing the turn. Tactics, terrain, speed, snow conditions and turn shape will alter the timing, intensity and the amount of weight distribution along the length of the ski and foot to foot. Pressure management incorporates aspects of fore/aft adjustments as well as lateral movements. When pressure control is lacking, the skier looks as if she or he is fighting the terrain rather than working with it. • The skis and skier get bounced around by the terrain. • The ...

EFFECTIVE stance, balance and directional movements The skier is in balance when they can have a positive, selective effect on any of the skills at any time. If this is happening the following will be visible: • Turns flow into the next • Skier doesn’t have to make a corrective move before making an active move • Hips are over feet • Shins are in contact with boot • Tails follow tips • Angle of the spine is parallel to the angle of the shin The entire body is involved and participates in balancing. The focus is on balancing in the future. If this is happening the following will be visible: • The hips are centered throughout the turn, promoting a movement forward through the finish and into the new turn. • Flexing originates from the ankles and is supported by the knees, hips and lower back. • The inside hand, shoulder, and hip lead the turn shaping and finish, resulting in a countered relationship between upper and lower body. (Relates to the turn size and shape) • The...

by Alison Clayton-Cummings PSIA-E In teaching skiing, instructors should address the common movements that lead to more effective and efficient skiing. Adults are able to learn and develop these movements precisely and accurately. With less strength and coordination, children may not be able to develop and utilize movements with the same refinement as an adult and may substitute other movements in their place. This does not mean that children are incapable of effective, efficient movements, only that it may take more time, practice, and repetition to reach the same level of competency as an adult. While the real movements of children may involve larger muscle groups and more gross movement patterns, these will gradually come closer to ideal movements as the children grow older, bigger, and more experienced. In setting lesson goals, instructors should observe the real movements their students are making and strive t help students come closer to the ideal movements. In the descrip...

From Alpine Technical Manual, Chapter 4 PSIA, ©2002 Introduction • Movement analysis is the process of comparing a student’s current ability to the desired goals. • You will need to view skiing from the perspectives of the parts as well as the whole. • Observe > describe > identify cause and effect

Get good and bad out of your vocabulary. Think of movements as a way to accomplish a skier’s desire and find something more desirable for them. Do the skis tip or twist first?

The skills-based analysis may not be your thing. Some people don’t like asparagus, you don’t like that method. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Another option is to look at the outcome of the movements. Skis Are they tracking? Do the tails follow the tips? Are the skis following a similar path, or diverging at the tip or tail? Do the skis move forward and along their edges throughout the turn? Where does the snow spray?

Quick, what are the four basic movements and skills of skiing? Balance, rotary, edging and pressure control. If you didn’t know these, you’re going to make me roll my eyes or toss the Alpine Technical Manual at you. The skills give us a good framework to analyze a skier’s movements. They’re used in a snazzy flipbook of effective and ineffective movements courtesy of our distinguished national demonstration team. I would certainly encourage everyone read it, but whipping it out during a lesson and looking back and forth at the card and the student doesn’t exactly put the ‘P’ in PSIA. Instead, you can you ask yourself these skills-based questions and hopefully yield a skill-based idea of what to do with at skill-desiring skier.

Stance Where is the skier’s weight? Is the stance forward of center, back of center, inside, over the outside ski? Is the weight always in one place or does the weight move throughout the turn? Is the weight falling onto the uphill ski or staying over the downhill ski? Is the width of the stance helping or hindering balance? Are ankles flexing? Turns What is happening during the initiation, shaping or finishing phase? What is the body doing? What are the skis doing? Turn shape What is the shape of the turn in the snow? Smooth and rounded like a C, or with an asymmetrical shape like a J? Do linked turns look smooth like an S or sharp and angular like a Z? What are the skis doing throughout the turn? Are the skis skidding or carving? When are the skis flat in the turn and when are they on edge? Use of Skills When and where (in the turn and the body) are edging movements occurring? Are they happening progressively throughout the turn? Are they happening all at onc...