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Calling All Certified Ski Instructors (Level 1 Exam)

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Freebird12
Posts: 114 - Karma: 295
I'm 16 and a ski instructor at my local hill. I'm planning on getting PSIA level 1 certified this year and im wondering if the written test and skiing test are very difficult? I'm an advanced skier so i think the skiing test will be easy but i want to get info from someone who knows, your thoughts....
Nov 25 2012 3:25PM
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jsnow
Posts: 864 - Karma: 6,920
relevant to being a ski instructor
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Nov 25 2012 3:28PM
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Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
do your study, and being advanced doesn't necessarily mean you will be skiing how your examiners want you to. good luck
Nov 25 2012 3:28PM
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Petey.
Posts: 5736 - Karma: 4,885
I taught snowboarding for 6 years and never once had any desire to get a certification. Why? Yeah, you may get paid more per level, but not enough to warrant the money you pay just to be a PSIA member. Fuck that yo!

Besides, even good skiers have tough times with those joke-of-a certification. It's not so much about you doing things properly so much as your instructor watching you for the sole purpose of finding shit that you're doing wrong. On top of it all, your lessons will never go like scenarios you encounter in PSIA training and clinics so don't concern yourself

High caliber ski instructors don't need to be PSIA, you just need a real love for the sport and a genuine desire to teach it to others.
Nov 25 2012 3:35PM
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Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
a cert will you off the magic carpet usually, i did my first season uncertified, didn't get off the bunny hill... now i show kids how to drops cliffs and hit gates... depends how you view instructing and what you want to get out of it...
Nov 25 2012 3:38PM
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Ali_Dibden
Posts: 1966 - Karma: 1,688
I recently did the CSIA level 1 (i.e. the canadian version), and likewise had ideas that it would be really difficult but found that it was not, the whole exam is relatively easy as long as you ski the way the instructors want and teach the way they like too, good luck, you should ace it!

I'm 17 by the way if that helps.
Nov 25 2012 3:41PM
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Freebird12
Posts: 114 - Karma: 295
Well the registration is $91 and with Level 1 wages i can make that back in 4 lessons. Also, i want to build up certification to level 2 or 3 so that after high school i can go out west (i live in Wisconsin) and get a job at a skill hill there for 1 or 2 years before college. I have a deep genuine love for skiing that burns in my heart and is strong enough to overcome any obstacle, dont get me wrong. Becoming certified is one of my wishes but i feel you bro.
Nov 25 2012 3:41PM
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Freebird12
Posts: 114 - Karma: 295
I want to build up to level 2 or 3 so that i can get a job out west at a resort after high school (i live in Wisconsin).
Nov 25 2012 3:43PM
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deleted5
Posts: 14507 - Karma: 13,507
You don't need a level II or three certification to get a job out west. I will say this I Skied park for four years Bumps for 2 raced for over 15 years and I still without studying couldn't pass the written test.
Nov 25 2012 3:49PM
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Freebird12
Posts: 114 - Karma: 295
Well if i became an instructor at a big time resort i would have to be certified. What would be better than teaching people how to do the stuff you live to do? if i can teach people how to ski knee deep pow through trees at a steep incline correctly, then im going to.
Nov 25 2012 3:56PM
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doGelyst
Posts: 2491 - Karma: 508
Click for larger image

Terrible photoshop, but you get the idea. This applies to both instructors and customers.
Nov 25 2012 4:01PM
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Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
i work at Whistler, im a level 2, recently failed my 3s by 1 mark, i often ski just as hard when I'm working as i do on my days off... it doesnt suck
Nov 25 2012 4:01PM
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Freebird12
Posts: 114 - Karma: 295
Yeah, that would be amazing. Do they require you to be certified at some level?
Nov 25 2012 4:04PM
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Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
level 1, but get your 2s, or you will be the junior first timers bitch, which does suck
Nov 25 2012 4:19PM
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Bread.
Posts: 769 - Karma: 540
I did it this year through NZSIA (NZ version) and writen test was fucking easy, the instructors didn't really car about it people were just copying off other people. All the skiing is kind of frustrating, they take apart you sking and make you ski in a whole new way that takes quite a while to get too.The hardist part of the whole test.... the snowplow, having to do them perfectly is so fucking hard
Nov 25 2012 4:21PM
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Download-My-Apps
Posts: 5069 - Karma: 1,017
Every hill in Canada that I know of requires your certs, its not hard, it takes a weekend. I found it useful in breaking down the mechanics when I took it at 16. But like it didn't makes me a much better skier by any means.
Nov 25 2012 4:55PM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
When I did my CSIA I remember 75% of the people failed, but everyone in my group passed because we had an easy instructor. I don't remember it that well. Just prepare and do your best
/not much help lol
Nov 25 2012 4:59PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
you dont have to be able to ski AT ALL to get your level 1. i was told i was the strongest skier in my group (not much of a claim) its not about actual skiing ability its about your ability to ski exactly how your examiner wants you to ski. and the teaching assignments are pretty easy, its all about just being able to communicate to people, and having multiple ways to explain something for when your examiner says "i dont understand can you explain that a different way" I got a level 2 teaching assignment for my level 1 exam because the examiner felt like "challenging" my ski/ teaching ability.


the best advice ive got is that you go to the flattest hill possible and get really freaking good at executing perfect turns and drills on that. Anyone can ski something moderately steep and hide a bunch of technique errors, but take someone to a parking lot and thats where you see if they have the technique.

just so long as you dont tail gun your turns on short center mounted park skis you will pass, but there was kid in my class that did just that and he passed.
Nov 25 2012 5:12PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
oh, the discounts are worth it IMO. get whatever you want basically for %50 off, im just pissed Gopro isnt on there anymore.

Ive also found that even though i dont teach anymore the one "professional" job interview ive had with an investment bank was impressed with getting PSIA certification. just play up your teaching interpersonal skills, and your drive to take whatever youre doing to the next level and any employer will be impressed.
Nov 25 2012 5:15PM
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camstain
Posts: 1124 - Karma: 387
We had a ski instructor program at my school except it was for handicapped skiers. Some of them got to level 1 and they said it wasn't that hard. Not trying to be arrogant or anything but most of the time if you seem passionate about instructing they'll eat it up.
Nov 25 2012 5:27PM
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terraclot
Posts: 438 - Karma: 665
I worked three years at Schweitzer Mtn. Got my level 1 at the end of the first year of instructing, and I didn't spend any time with the manuals. Thankfully, we had instructors dedicating most of their seasons to training and preparing people for their 1's and 2's. I was 16 at the time of the test, and I passed easily. With a week or two worth of on snow trainings and maybe 1 or 2 days inside with the manuals, it made the test seem like nothing.

To me, I think I could have done just as well without that much instruction. Some of the dynamic movements the test requires you to attempt are very stylized: I would have no idea what the lingo would have meant if it wasn't described by an experienced instructor. Therefore; my advice to you is spend time with some higher-ups if your ski school isn't offering you clinics and ask them for on-snow explanations of what these maneuvers look/feel like and you should be set. Most of the test was common sense if you've already been instructing for a while. Just remember to learn about the q-angle (relates to women) before taking the test. That's the one topic I didn't really know on the written (but that was nearly 4 years ago)


Nov 25 2012 5:33PM
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