Steven Nyman, sums it up: “T e diff erence between instructors and racers is our search for speed. Our movement through the turn is all about trying to get to the next place as quickly as possible.” Instructors often tend to decrease speed
in order to demonstrate to their students how to stay safe, be in control, and have the ability to stop at a moment’s notice. T erefore, instructors have the tendency to neatly fi nish each turn in order to provide cleaner skiing images and demonstrate for guests how to keep speed consistent while descending the mountain.
What Instructors Can Learn from Racers
I encourage instructors to fi nd time and terrain to experiment with higher speeds in their own skiing. When external forces increase with speed, they can learn how to align the skeleton for better balance and stability, changing how they direct pressure to the outside ski, and how they control pressure along the ski’s length.
TACTICS AND TURN SHAPES OFTEN RANGE FROM FLOWING AND PROGRESSIVE TO HARSH AND ABRUPT, DEPENDING ON THE SKIER’S SPEED, LINE, TERRAIN, AND THE CONDITION OF THE COURSE.
What Racers Can Learn from Instructors Skiing fast all the time can cover up defi ciencies in a racer’s technique that when corrected, could lead to even greater speeds. T at said, racers will benefi t from dedicating some training time to skiing slowly and working on the precision and accuracy of
their movements. Instructors would
call this practice changing the Duration, Intensity, Rate, and Timing (DIRT) of their movements.
HOW TURN SHAPES VARY BETWEEN INSTRUCTORS AND RACERS For accomplished instructors, turn shapes
are often observable as round, fl owing, and progressive. For expert racers, they are dictated by the course. Tactics and turn shapes often range from fl owing and progressive to harsh and abrupt, depending on the skier’s speed, line, terrain, and the condition of the course. On one hand, we have instructors who
turn where they want, how they want, and as large or small as they want. Success is measured by how well they guide their students through the appropriate turn shapes, sizes, and snow to make smooth, progressive, perfectly steered turns with neat and tidy endings. On the other hand, we have racers who ski courses set by coaches from all clubs,
BEING PREPARED
EDUCATION AND PRODUCTS FOR MAXIMUM PROTECTION
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PHOTO–Hansi Heckmair
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