TRAIN WITH THE BEST
BETTER COACHES MEAN BETTER RESULTS
We know that the more qualified and experienced you coach is, the better the results.
That’s because a top qualified coach knows what you need to pass. Especially if they are also an examiner in the same system.
That’s why we insist on the very best coaches, with a team overflowing with BASI Level 4 coaches, most of whom are BASI examiners.
So if you are comparing courses, here’s what you need to know.
WHAT ARE THE LEVELS?
In BASI there are 4 levels of qualification.
Each Level gets harder and harder, taking longer and longer.
So to get all the way to the BASI 4 (also known as the ISTD – International Ski Teaching Diploma) takes several seasons – at the very least.
After the BASI 4, if you show real promise and have taught for a further two seasons, you can apply to Trainer Selection.
This means you’re applying to become an examiner.
This isn’t another exam, but it’s very close to it… You get assessed by the very best of the best.
If you get selected then you can start running exams – but you start at the beginning.
So you run Level 1 and 2 exams initially, adding BASI 3 and BASI 4 over several seasons as you work your way up.
SO WHAT DOES OUR TEAM HAVE?
The Peak Leaders full-time coaching team are all BASI 4s.
That goes without saying.
But that includes four BASI examiners who all run Level 3 exams as well, and some all the way to Level 4 exams.
On top of that we have a further team of three part-time coaches, who are all BASI Trainers as well, and coach for us whilst also running exams across Europe for BASI.
So that’s eight Levels 4s, including seven BASI examiners.
DOES EVERYONE DO THIS?
Unfortunately not.
BASI Level 4 coaches are few-and-far-between.
So getting one or two in your team is really, really difficult.
But not as hard as finding a BASI examiners – let alone several.
As a result many courses choose to use coaches from other systems, or coaches with lower qualifications. Perhaps Level 3.
But we know that to really take your skiing to the next level and to pass your exams, it’s essential that you are coached by someone who has done the entire BASI system and understands the exam criteria inside-out.
We also know coaches who don’t have the Level 4 can struggle to explain and demonstrate the level of skiing that our trainees need to see and understand.
So we keep to simple: We insist on the very best.
We let other courses make their own choices, but for us quality has to be guaranteed.
