HELP MAKE STUDENTS SAFER WITH THE ONE CODE THAT SHOULD NEVER BE A SECRET
By Mark Aiken
ive decades ago, ski industry leaders crafted a set of guidelines that became the ultimate archetype for proper etiquette on the slopes. Known then as the Skier’s Courtesy Conduct Code and now as Your Responsibility Code
F
(or “the Code”), its tenets are emblazoned on trail maps, lift towers, and cafeterias throughout the country. But while you may find them intuitive, the Code’s “rules of the road” aren’t always top of mind for your clients. Tis begs the question: Are you teaching safety with the same enthusiasm and creativity you use to teach turns? Te 2015-16 season marks the 50th
anniversary of the Code, a milestone you might observe by considering how you incorporate safety concepts into your lessons on behalf of your resort, ski school, and students. After all, safety, fun, and learning are what good lessons are all about.
SAFETY IS JOB ONE One instructor with a strong focus on safety is Mac Jackson, an Eastern Division examiner who teaches at Vermont’s Sugarbush Resort. “I constantly make sure I’m aware of the crowd around me and my group,” Jackson said. “I watch where I’m skiing and what I can expect from the general public, and I observe the whole slope for what’s out there around me.” Tis heightened awareness is paramount in the safety of both the instructor and the students, but you can take it a step further and teach students what it means to be safe on the slopes – through discussion, examples, and demonstrations of how to apply these principles, Jackson said. As with any other skill, instructors should check in with students to make sure they’re getting the message, he added. Most instructors do this very well,
according to Dave Byrd, director of risk and regulatory affairs for the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). “It’s tricky to get people excited about Your
94 | 32 DEGREES • WINTER 2016
Responsibility Code, because some people perceive the whole topic of safety as dry, pedantic, and mundane. But instructors, more than anyone, have a lot of influence over that,” Byrd said. “Tey’re experts at engaging people and making it fun to learn skills and overcome challenges. When they apply that approach to teaching safety, they can get people to be far more receptive to the message.”
CREATIVE CODE SHARING Te Code sums up etiquette and courtesy in seven common-sense tenets (see page 96), and there’s no need to get cerebral about teaching the Code; it’s designed to be clear, concise, and memorable. However, you can tap into your right-brain aptitudes and devise ways to creatively imprint the message on your students.
“Te 50th is an important celebration
of something that’s core to our entire industry and synonymous with having fun on the slopes,” NSAA’s Byrd said. “It would be wonderful if everyone found a way to promote the Code, regardless of what their role is at a ski area. Whether it’s having kids’ groups draw pictures of birthday cakes and candles, and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the Code; giving out prizes to adults who can recite specific tenets; or even rewarding people for demonstrating the Code on the slopes,
Take time for a safety chat with students -- in a spot where you’re visible and easily avoided by other skiers and riders.
COURTESY OF MARK AIKEN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132