How old is everyone?

 

HOW OLD DO YOU HAVE TO BE?
IS THERE A MINIMUM (OR A MAXIMUM)?

A question we get asked a lot is “how old are the trainees on the course?”. And it’s a very good question. So we’ve written a bit of a summary about ski instructor trainee ages, averages and genders below.

Naturally this all changes a lot from course-to-course and from year-to-year, but to give you an idea here are some details…

 

 

HOW OLD DO YOU NEED TO BE?

Technically speaking to join a BASI exam you need to be 16 years old, but at Peak Leaders we normally require trainees to be over 18. In reality we get very few trainees apply who are under 18.

If you are, for example, 17 but will turn 18 before or during the course then that’s normally fine.

But if you are under 18 during the course then we will not necessarily be able to offer you a place. In this situation it’s very much done on a case-by-case basis and we will also need a parental consent form.

Importantly we reserve the right to not offer you a place on the course if you are under 18 and might ask you to just come back in a year or so.

 

 

WHAT ARE THE AVERAGE AGES?

We see most courses divided into three age groups:

  • 18 – 20 years old
  • In their twenties
  • Over thirty

It’s hard to say what each course average would be, but we would suggest that 60% of trainees are in the 18 – 20 bracket, with 30% in their twenties and 10% older than 30.

But that said we get trainees in their 30s and 40s all the time. And every course is very different – so some courses have a higher percentage of older trainees.

Crucially we find that having a mixture of ages is a really good thing – it brings a different dynamic to the courses.

In fact we find the younger trainees appreciate having older trainees around during the course – it gives them a source of advice and perspective they might not get from their peers.

On the other hand, the younger trainees add a lot of value and enthusiasm too – and often make sure the older trainees come down to apres ski and remember to have fun…

 

 

WHAT ABOUT THE MALE / FEMALE BALANCE?

Skiing in general seems to attract more males than females.

So it’s no surprise that when we look at the historical number most trainees are male – around up to 70% of trainees over the years have been male.

But this is definitely shifting and recent courses have seen a 50-50 balance of trainees more and more regularly.

If we had to make a generalisation then we’d say that the average on recent courses is about 60% male and 40% female.

 

 

IN SUMMARY…

We have had trainees of all ages on our courses, and if there’s one thing that we have learnt it’s that the enthusiasm for skiing breaks down all the boundaries and barriers. And at the end of the day everyone on a Peak Leaders course – from the trainees to the coaches and mentors – loves skiing. It’s a pretty massive thing we all have in common.

Plus with a number of groups running in each resort we don’t see age or gender being an issue at all.

In fact we firmly believe the broader the range the better the Course.

 

FAQs

Answers to loads of your Frequently Asked Questions

 

ABILITY LEVELS

How good do you need to be to join a course – and pass?

 

WHO'S GOING?

Who will I be training with be on a ski instructor course?

 

WHY US?

Why book your place on a Peak Leaders course?