VERBIER 2018-19 – WEEKS 9 & 10
Game time! The BASI level 2 exam begins this week and everyone is looking forward to putting all that they’ve learnt over the past 8 weeks into practice. The exam itself is continuous assessment so it’s a great opportunity for the Peak Leaders to learn from top quality BASI trainers who have a wealth of coaching knowledge. Check out the picture below as BASI trainer James Duffield is imparting some early morning words of wisdom to his group at the beginning of the day to get them fired up!
All of the Peak Leaders have worked extremely hard over the 10 week course. There’s lots to do, obviously working on their own skiing and teaching but also committing to the other aspects of the course such as weekly fitness training, completing First Aid qualifications and shadowing real life ski lessons. Oh, and also managing to try out all of the Verbier Apres ski and nightlife of course!
The BASI level 2 is a 10 day exam and the middle weekend is reserved for rest and relaxation so all the trainees can get some essential time out. During the first week the Peak Leaders have the chance to show the examiners what they can do on their skis and how good they are at delivering lessons. They also have off snow lectures so they can brush up on their ski teaching theory. It is an exhausting first week and so rest is key. And then once they have all had the chance to recharge their batteries, they get ready to go again!
The conditions in Verbier have been pretty much ideal over the exam. Some snow fell in the first few days but since then the trainees have had clear, sunny days, perfect weather for skiing! Just like in the first week the focus is on skiing and teaching. Sometimes trainees have good days and sometimes they have bad days but each day is an improvement on the last and it’s important that each person remembers that. And as the exam and course gets towards the business end everyone works tirelessly to work towards the level 2 standard. The BASI trainers are experts in their field so their coaching and guidance is exactly what the trainees need. They are also quite good at skiing as you can see below…
All the trainees find out their results on the second Friday from the BASI examiners on the hill and pass or fail all the Peak Leaders should be proud of themselves for training so hard over the 10 week course. They have been a fantastic bunch to work with and I’m sure they’ll all be instructing in Verbier or beyond very soon. Congratulations to all of the 2018/9 Verbier Peak Leaders for being part of such an awesome team on an awesome course!
