EXTRAORDINARY! A NEW MEMBER’S PERSPECTIVE ON INTERSKI 2015 By Becky Sender
left my family and co-workers behind over T
the Labor Day holiday as they scratched their heads wondering why I would fl y 7,000 miles to a cold and snowy place. For a world congress of ski instruction no less. However, it made perfect sense why I would want to do this, and now that I’m looking back on the experience, I think it will be a pivotal moment in my life. I’m a busy professional, mom, part-time ski instructor,
traveler, and passionate skier. I’ve always been a good traveler; a long and inconvenient journey, a language I don’t know, and strange foods don’t bother me. But I’m actually pretty new to skiing and instructing – and that can be intimidating. I started skiing in 2009 and my love for it was immediate and strong. As a way to share my passion, I began teaching at Blue Mountain, Pennsylvania, in the 2012-13 season. My fellow ski instructors, the support of my ski school director, and most importantly, our guests, inspired me to want to learn more – and PSIA- AASI welcomed me. Before Interski, PSIA-AASI set up a discussion on T e Community, and Alpine Team Coach Rob Sogard wrote: “Be open and responsible for your own learning. If you take everything in with an intent to believe, if you are willing to try anything with a goal to understand, you will have an amazing time!” His words hit an important note, and I took them to heart. I came with an open mind, and what I found was extraordinary.
THE PSIA-AASI TEAMS T e PSIA-AASI Alpine, Snowboard, Nordic, and Adaptive Teams are comprised of the most generous, engaged, interested, and varied individuals. From conversations on the bus, chairlift, or barstool, our representatives took their job seriously to learn as
hirty hours. T at’s how long it takes to fl y from Philadelphia to Ushuaia, in Argentina. It is really far away. I
much as possible and fi nd ways to incorporate these lessons into PSIA-AASI members’ collective toolkit.
THE NATIONS More than thirty countries sent teams to Interski. T ere was a festive, Olympic-type pageantry to the event with national uniforms, fl ags, ski and snowboard demos, speeches, singing, laughing, jumbo-trons, and national heroes. Above all, though, the emphasis was on cooperation rather than competition. As host country, Argentina was warm and welcoming, and the mountain scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.
THE CLINICS I took part in on-snow clinics with Austria, Canada, Denmark, and South Korea. I loved the Danish message: “Build from strength.” T ey coached taking a positive approach and building on what students are doing right. T ey emphasized that having fun and building community will grow our sport and keep people coming back. Time to refl ect increased my appreciation of the South Korean
Demo Team’s clinic that focused on short turns. T e clinic leader introduced the topic noting that in South Korea, skiing has become so popular and the ski areas so crowded, that there is literally no room to turn so everyone practices short turns. T is is dedication to the sport, and our PSIA-AASI discussions about learning based on cultural backgrounds made so much more sense. What is it that our students bring with them? Overall, the messages that resonated most with me were
being receptive to new ideas, being conscious of cultural backgrounds that inform interests and experience, and emphasizing camaraderie and enjoyment. I plan to bring these back to my lessons.
PSIA-AASI MEMBERS MATTER T rowing myself headlong into snowsports instruction took me out of my comfort zone, but I was embraced by accepting and welcoming people in the industry. Interski 2015 reinforced that there is a community of professional ski and snowboard instructors out there that are extraordinarily talented and gifted. And in the midst of that, there is room for me – for us, as members – because we are willing to try new things, work hard, and want to be a part of it. Being interested and passionate is enough. We belong.
Becky Sender is a PSIA-certifi ed Level II, Children’s Specialist 1 instructor at Blue Mountain, Pennsylvania. Email: beckysender@
gmail.com.
Becky Sender shares a chair at Cerro Castor with members of the AASI Snowboard Team
62 | 32 DEGREES • WINTER 2016
Learn more about Interski 2015 demos, clinics, and workshops:
tiny.cc/Interski2015
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