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Show Certification Committee Meeting September 18, 1970 Burley, Idaho The meeting was called to order at 9:45 P.M. Present were: Guests: Glenn Evans Phil Jones Max Lundberg Ed Pond Clark Parkinson Lou Lorenz Dave Larsen Jack Co1ven Dave Parkinson Phil Jones asked Dean Roberts and Junior Bounous to be members of the committee for next year. He indicated that since a new President would be elected that the meeting would be in the form of recommendations: Results of exams for the last two years: 1968-69 114 1969-70 74 The committee discussed the problems of why the number of candidates were down. Phil thought it was more of a problem of communication. The committee discussed the ski school directors meeting in Alta. In 1968-69 40 out of 90 candidates passed for Associates; lout of 24 passed for Full. In 1969-70 35 out of 57 candidates passed for Associates; 7 out of 17 passed for Full. Recommendation: That a committee member be assigned to assist the Certification committee Chairman in recruiting the students for exams. He would be fully responsible for keeping track of who had participated and who would be available. Recommendation: That a definite organized program for training back-up examiners be adopted. That at the Examiners Clinic time be spent with backups in training them on examining. Recommendation: The exam fee be raised to $30.00. Recommendation: That some form of critique be developed and used. (Jack Co1ven will attempt to come up with a recommendation to the committee for a critique. Recommendation: That after the election the Committee meets solely to consider the Examiners Clinic. Timing of the clinic should be first ten days in December. That there will be no fee. That Ski School Directors definitely be invited and notified by the Chairman of the Ski School Directors Committee. PROFESSIONAL SKI INSTRUCTORS OF AMERICA, INC. 1801 York Street Denver, Colorado 80206 Pat Swenson Executive Secretary To: Board of Directors, Division Presidents, Representatives and Executive Secretaries Re: Change of Corporate Address (above) It is important that immediate steps be taken to inform all persons in the ski world that all future business and correspondence for PSIA will be handled at the above address. The Professional Ski Instructors of America held a Board of Directors meeting at the Writer's Manor, Denver, Colorado, on September 19 and 20, 1970. This meeting will become known as a landmark meeting in the sense of accomplishing the unification of common purpose in evolving PSIA as the roof organization of the divisional ski instructor associations in the United States. A "Report to the Membership" will be forthcoming in the very near future, distributed not only to the membership of PSIA, but with the request that each divisional office include the report in its communications with all of its instructors: full, associate and registered. All divisions have ratified the PSIA Bylaws with the exception of the East (which is 100% anyway) and Intermountain, but their support is sure to follow this exciting development. The divisions who have committed the sending of their funds immediately to a Denver depository from which monies will only be paid after Board and Division Representative approval are the Rocky Mountain, Northern Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwes~and Central, with a good chance that Far West and Alaska will follow,(~s I am sure after ratification will the East and Intermountain as well~ We are most happy to announce that we have obtained the services of Pat Swenson as Executive Secretary; Pat was a former secretary of Rocky Mountain and secretary for the 8th Interski. She comes to us experienced in ski instructor matters and well acquainted with the ski world. The official opening of the office is October 1, 1970. All materials are being obtained from the Salt Lake City office and transferred to the Denver office. Bill Lash has no further official or unofficial capacity in PSIA. The Board acknowledges his many years of dedicated service and plans that he be honored at a proper time and place in the future for his unselfish and devoted years of work, as will Paul Valar and all former PSIA Directors. It is contemplated that the members can best be served by authorizing the divisional offices to handle many of the routine matters s'uch as issuance of membership cards, ordering of pins, and matters of that kind. All of those matters are now in the planning stages. The Board is also planning to co-host the North American Ski Instructors Congress at Vail the latter part of the week of April 12, including an annual meeting of the membership at that time. -2- We have faith in the future and our ability to make every single member proud of his membership and happy with the prestige and benefits that will accrue to him directly. The following are the names of the persons who have been designated as representatives (and who automatically become members upon their division's payment of dues collected) to date: East - Jon Putnam Central - Jimmy Johnston Rocky Mountain - Jerry Muth Northern Rocky - Jim Weiss Intermountain - Unknown Far West - Richard Kun Pacific Northwest - Bill Lenihan Alaska.- Richard Crick In addition, the Board is honored to have Willy Schaeffler as its continuing President; Herbert Schneider, Second Vice President; Hank Emery, Rocky Mountain; and Glen Young, Pacific Northwest. "All the reason, logic, physical strength and fearlessness is no equivalent to ski lessons from a professional ski instructor." Executive Committee Meeting October 16, 1970 The meeting was called to order at 8:45 P.M. Present were: Clark Parkinson Dave Larsen Dave Parkinson Lou Lorenz Max Lundberg Ed Pond Phil Jones Guests: Dave Chap lin Mary Ellen Parkinson, Executive Secretary Clark noted that Dave Chaplin was invited because he had a contribution to make regarding the ISlA movie. Clark stated that he intended to use these Executive Committee meetings as a policy forming board. He wants everyone to state their opinion and let him know how they feel. ISA Report: (See attached) Clark and Mike Wilson attended this convention to see if there was any way to further relationships between ISA and ISlA. Keith Lange's award plaque was brought up - it was noted that he would be presented with it at the BOD meeting in conjunction with the Examiners Clinic. Clark read a letter from PSIA regarding their new Executive Secretary and their new policy. He wrote to Pat Swenson and indicated that Lou Lorenz would be our repre-ssentative to PSIA. He noted the article that was in the October issue of Ski magazine. He said that the Intermountain Division was quoted as not wanting our Associate members to become members of PSIA. Clark wondered if he should write the magazine or PSIA and straighten them out about our position as to the Associate instructors. PSIA had a meeting September 19-20 and ISlA did not have a representative at that meeting. Clark read a letter from Pat Swensen regarding our position with PSlA. Lou suggested drafting a letter to PSIA to outline that we were not in attendance because we were not aware that we were invited, that we have not ratified their by-laws because we have not seen them and let them know we were the first division to ratify a set of by-laws and that we are not against having associates as members. Clark said that he would take care of this over the Board of Directors name. Phil Jones felt we should also send a letter to Doug Pfeiffer regarding our position. Lou felt it would not be a good idea to direct mail to any ski magazines. Committee assignments were brought to the floor. Clark stated that it was his idea to reorganize ISlA into committees under vice presidents. He will try the committees for one year set up as we have been doing in the past. Committee policies were gone over. Lou Lorenz stated that committees that require continuity should be coordinated •... If the new committee can gain experience from the former committee it will be helpful. Clark discussed the policies for the committees and said that they should be used as and outline and not as law. Motion: That we accept committee outlines with the ammendments Lou suggested as part of the policy of the Association (Pond- Lorenz). Motion carried. Lou suggested that it be the responsiblity of the Secretary that all committee reports are kept on file. Ed Pond suggested that perhaps Fred Finlinson could become the new By-Laws Committee Chairman. As a member of the bar he is very well qualified. Bob Autry was suggested I ! as chairman of the Racing and Coaching Committee. Clinic Committee - Dave Parkinson felt that the small areas and Idaho areas needed only one or two men to put on these clinics because of expenses and the number of people involved. Perhaps one member of the Demonstration Team could be used along with the committee chairman. Dave stated that this committee was originally formed to operate for the small areas and help them. Phil felt that the Association should subsidize the expenses of the clinic committee and give the chairman money to operate so we do not have to charge the people too much. Lou felt that the first thing the Clinic Committee should do would be to make a study of what these people want and how they want it presented, and also their financial expectations. He felt that perhaps some of the members of the committee should be from Idaho--we should go over it with the Idaho people and find out what they expect. Dave reminded Lou that he had sent out a letter to the ski school directors and had them tell him when, how and why they wanted these clinics. Awards Committee - Clark read his brief outline in regard to the committee. He would like to have a Ski Instructor of the Year Award and also a Ski School Director of the Year. (Perhaps one who certifies or registers more candidates than any other school.) Discussion was held regarding ISA representative and the politics involved. Dave felt that someone who was not race oriented would be a good representative. Clark said he would call Mike and let him know a new representative had been appointed. Phil felt we should not change it because one person felt a certain way. Lou felt a neutral person would be a better person to represent ISlA. The President of ISlA would be the ideal person to represent us. Election and Nomination Committee - The question was raised as to whether or not it should be a standing committee or left as a special committee. Newsletter Committee - The RMSIA newsletter was shown to the members. Discussion was held as to the pros and cons and what the members expect of the newsletter. It was suggested that perhaps Marilyn Shearer would be good for the job. ISlA Movie - Dave Chaplin has done some research on making a movie for ISlA. We could make a movie for about $1,000. Dave felt he was not technically able to make the movie but with cooperation of various people could coordinate the effort. A 25-30 minute film would require five to fifteen full days on the hill. Dave presented to the committee a format regarding some ideas for the making of the promotional movie. Do we want a promotional film or a certification oriented film? Lou felt that the association should not finance a film because of expenses. The Ski School Directors should do this or some other committee and raise their own financing. Discussion was held regarding the feasibility of doing it. We should contact some of the other divisions and see what their ideas are on the subject. Clark is going to Aspen and will research their movie. Nothing further will be done pending research. Budget Committee - Discussion was held regarding the proposed budget and exactly what was expected from the different committees. Lou felt it was hard to project expenses especially in the certification area. How much of the registered fee is going to certification and how much to administration? Max suggested making and study and suggesting to the Executive Committee or BOD the results for their approval. The budget should merely be a guideline; some committees must function on a strict budget and others are variable. Demonstration Team - A proposal was accepted by the BOD. Max reviewed the proposal with the Committee. He would like to have a uniform and get the selection done as soon as possible; could be done in conjunction with the Examiners Clinic either the day before or the day after. He felt the Certification Chairman and the Technical Chairman should select 6 examiners to choose the Demonstration Team as well as preparing a written test for all candidates to take. A completely new selection should be made this fall of the Team; start anew so that we don't have any problems. It should be stipulated that Team Members must be fully certified and a member in good standing with the Association. Also put in the letter that is sent out that results will be final. Spell out what requirements \::0.\""11 yt:a.J.. "l.uuy l:lUUU.LU ut:: llli::lUt! of the expectations of the Demonstration Team. Motion: Methods of s=lection and methods of keeping records should be to the discretion of the committee chairmen subject to approval of the BOD (Lorenz-Jones). Motion carried. It was felt a study should be made of the expectations of the Demonstration Team. Pepi Steigler - Phil talked to Bill Lash to find out if these people are certified. PSIA receives notice from Austrian system each year with their certified people on it. Steigler is certified; communications are tied up. Bill felt it was safe to go ahead with Steigler's certification with ISlA. Clark entertained a motion that he be allowed to write Pepi a letter indicating that he had been accepted as a member and explain why we had such a delay in accepting him. How would the Sun Valley people get transferred into the Association? We should set up some way of transferring these people into our division. We could change the bylaws or make it a specific way of doing it. Clark wondered what the other divisions did. Clark said he would find out what the others do in regard to this problem. Ethics Committee - The problem of people interrupting meetings was discussed and some sort of solution should be come up with. Perhaps a letter to K. Smith should be sent over the BOD's signature. This was included in the meeting of the BOD on Sept. 20. Lou felt we should write a letter to the effect that the BOD felt K. Smith's conduct at the Seminar was non-professional in the form of a resolution that if conduct of this nature continues some action will be taken. Clark was given direction to do this. Examiners Clinic - will be held December 6-7 at Park City, weather permitting. PNSIA Examiners Clinic at Mt. Hood in November around the:15th. Discussion held. Motion: That we send Lou Lorenz to the PNSIA Examiners Clinic and pay his air fare, lodging and food expenses (Jones-Lundberg). Motion carried. Motion: That we send the President to the RMSIA Seminar and that we pay his travel and lodging expenses (Lorenz-Larsen). Motion carried. Clark said he had a man call regarding Austrian people applying for jobs with Sun Valley. He felt that they should not be allowed to fill positions that American instructors can fill. Discussion was held. Max felt that we needed a reasonable policy regarding this, but at this time we could not take a position. Motion: That meeting adjourn~ (Jones-Pond) Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 11:50 P.M. Certification Committee Meeting November 13, 1970 Meeting was called to order at 8:00 P.M. by Chairman Phil Jones. Present were: Woody Anderson Lou Lorenz Ed Pond Max Lundberg Clark Parkinson Phil Jones Dean Roberts Lou Lorenz reported on his recent attendance at PNWSIA Clinic at Mt. Hood. Their examiners clinic was open to only Certified members, examiners and Ski School Directors - 200 attended. Purpose was to convey the certification committee and technical committee policy and technique for the year. Lou described in detail what occurred at the clinic. Phil read a letter recently received from Sid Jensen. (See attachment A). Discussion was held as to Sid's suggestions and as to how the exam could be bettered. Phil raised the matter of a critique in written form for candidates who have taken the exam wherein scores and general comments could be listed. The possibility of not using numbers 12 and 16 on scorecards was considered. Lou displayed a copy of the new PSIA manual. Clark reported on exam costs and gave a breakdown on them. (See Attachment B). Motion: That we raise the cost of examinations to $30.00 and limit the number of applicants to 8. (Lorenz-Lundberg). Motion carried. Upon Phil's suggestion it was determined that the Demonstration Team tryouts be held on the 4th of December and the Examiners Clinic of the 5th and 6th. On the 5th of December we will go over policy in the morning and spend the afternoon with Ski School Directors on the hill. The 6th would be open to the entire membership including the Registered members. A discussion was held as to the coming season's certification program. It was decided that further thought would be appropriate and after scheduling a further meeting one week away, the meeting was adjourned, CERTIFIED SKI TEACHER I.S.I.A. FROM THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE OF THE INTERMOUNTAIN SKI INSTRUCTOR ASSOCIATION ANDY SHEARER ROBERT B. SMITH JOHN SOHRWEIDE TOM lOW 1970 "----------------------_ .. __ .- ---_. PREFACE The Technical Committee of the ISIA has prepared this paper to try to clarify some of the technical aspects of skiing, and to try to examine in depth the basic principles of the American Ski Technique. The basic principles of the American Ski Technique were presented in 1963 by the PSIA and have remained in their original form to date. They are presently being revised, as the PSIA recognizes that skiing has changed a lot since 1963 and that where people have applied these principles rigorously to todays skiing, it has lead to some conflict and misunderstanding. We do not anticipate that this paper can be read quickly and that immediate and in-depth understanding will result, we anticipate that people will have to study this paper rather than read it to understand its content. However, people who have a genuine interest in these aspects of skiing, regardless of their academic background, should be able to understand this material. These conclusions are based upon the results of circulating rough draft copies of this paper to instructors with nontechnical backgrounds and then questioning them about their conclusions. Technical rigor has been sacrificed where it was felt that clarity could be improved. To those of you with technical backgrounds who can take us to task for the lack of rigor, I offer no apologies since you should be capable of understanding the ideas in either form. I wish to acknowledge the assistance received from Max Lundberg, Sid Jenson, and Marilyn Shearer who, though not members of this committee, provided valuable assistance in the preparation of the paper. - ---~--- ~~~~- A. T. Shearer Chairman, ISIA Technical Committee INTRODUCTIOO This paper is intended as a discussion of the Basic Principles of the American Ski Technique. Definitions were deliberately avoided in favor of a discussion of basic concepts. Due to the fact that the Basic Principles of the American Technique are undergoing revision, some assumptions had to be made as to the intent and the emphasis intended by the Technical Committee of the PSIA. There is no intent to preempt the PSIA in writing the paper, and a detailed comparison of the present and the planned revision of the Basic Principles will reveal the self evident fact that no new physical laws have been created. Newton has preempted all of us in this respect. Hath~r, g htoadecinQ Qf scoE~~s ,9Ccurred which should d. .o .I:.l91.bJ,rua ..J.12~;r.:~u!.!2.~~~J:U'"t!J;r;il {lur, :t.J;.U ck; P!J Since the emphasis in this paper is on basic concepts, the reader should find that he will have little problem in using the present or the revised principles of the American Ski Technique. This discussion, as you will find, is written more towards the upper levels of ski teaching. This is done for several reasons. First, if the instructor understands these principles as they apply to the more advanced maneuvers, they are relatively easy to apply to the lower level maneuvers. The reverse is not necessarily true. Second, as the skiing ability of the public has been improving, the instructor must also advance in his ability to teach upper level classes or we will lose contact with a significant portion of the skiing public, and "ski school" will come to be thought of as a place for the beginning skier. This report will not cover all cases or all possibilities of what a skier can do with his skis; but it does try to cite example situations to illustrate.a concept. The example should not be treated as covering the total range of possibility. For example, an illustration may be presented where a skier sets his edges and weights his ski with a down motion. The skier can a~so ~e.'t q.i~ .. ed£a~§~ ...a nd w~~~~t .. th.. ~ . .. j~U ·J'{h.H) ~Il" \lP mot~ or an e~tension of his l~~~. Jus"t 'because the illustration is of a skier setting Fiis e<Ige's ·wi th a down motion, it should not be concluded that this is the only or preferred method. The more important relationship which is being presented is in what the ski does when weight and edge are increased, and trying to list all possible methods of accomplishing this is beyond the scope of this paper. Also in scope, the Technical Committee does not fe~l" .. tha.t.it .. 4 ..... q"~'y'!".~able, or within its jurisd~c~i~n, to advocate pre:erred~~~~~;;:~",~r~~ !.he......Y..I!:im~~~~.~~~g'(hH;al;e ,tQ .. ;J,Q.u~,e"a, Er'rf~rr~ ~ethod lie/i JY~;ta :tlle ~nliitruct~m21,e~e"~&...IV;e"".j,!Q...~~L~~~ This committee is basically concerned with concepts. In the';roadest sense, a ski really has no preference as to the nationality of the skier that stands on it. If a skier does something to the ski, it will respond in a certain way. These cause and effect relationships are largely an area of fact. 1t is -\r .. "the""metho<!,l5 .. ,J;l~~L!.8. ~r~?'.:ce""" tD'!~~'JI..~~f""t.~'1t.~~&"aJ..~~'i!~ .. ~~~~ should concentrate our attention. . ~4$!:i_!!t! ~~~~~~~~~n,~)j - 2 - It is the hope of this committee that through promoting a better understanding of basic concepts, ski instructors will find that their differences of opinion are less significant than they seem, and that ski teaching can actually be simplified through taking a mOre basic approach to problems. 1. Axial Motion Axial motion describes the motion of the skier's body about a vertical axis. The skier's body will twist about a vertical axis for one of two basic reasons: (a) To produce a turning force. (b) To react for balance to some ext.er : These are ows: a. To Produce a Turning Force - For the skier to directly produce a turning force requires some degree of muscular effort. Following are two methods the skier can use to initiate the turning of the skis: Counter Rotation. Counter rotation involves twisting one 12art of the body aOainst the =n~tia of the. o.th~~, wb~le 1;h~ friction between the skis and snow is sufficient ly r~.w;;.e.d •. to a!iow thesI<is to turn: ,. "'I'ne . less aClvanced '';kle7'''may use a deliberate and conscious effort to accomplish this. In the more advance stages of skiing, no conscious effort may be felt on the part of the skier to turn the skis at the start of the turn. Counter rotation may involve nothin~ mor! tha? <;!;l"".~.mw~_l"!<!ft1~.c;rJAe §1S£er! S .::6gaQ n:om :i::Er.:;.ifr~5~e~r -pos~ t!~. For example, if at the end of the previous turn the skier's upper body is facing downhill, a twisting force is actually being applied to the skis which is trying to turn them downhill as well. The fact that the skis are still edged and weighted prevents them from turning. As soon as the edges are released, and the skis sufficiently unweighted, the skis will be turned as the body unwinds to eliminate the stresses imposed by the earlier positioning. The significant difference here is not in how the skis started turning but in the decision which the skier has made. In the first example, where the skier consciously turns the skis, he has essentially elected to sense when the edge is released and the skis are unweighted so that he will know when to turn them. In the latter examf.le, the skier has elected to be in such a position at the start of the turn that whenever the edges are released and the skis sufficiently unweighted, they will begin to turn automatically. In the latter example, the skier will have a much better chance of smoothly initiating the turn and will be less apt to ovetturn the skis. As previously stated, this latter example is more applicable to advanced skiing as less displacement of the skis is generally required at the start of the turn and the skier is now trying to develop a method of initiating the turn which will lend itself to better edge control. -3- Rotation. Rotation is very different in principle. It involves getting the upper body in motion, in the direction of the intended turn and then using this turning motion of the upper body to produce turning of the lower body. Edging of the skis must be maintained as the upper body is set into motion. When it is desired to turn the skis, the stomach and leg muscles must be tightened to transmit the turning energy to the skis, and the edges released to allow the skis to turn. Rotation is similar to a driver revving up his engine while in neutral and then shifting quickly into gear to transmit the energy to the wheels of the car. b. To React for Balance to an External Turning Force - In Section (a), the situation was covered where the skier's body twists about a vertical axis as he directly exerts a turning force on the skis. It was shown that he could accomplish this through the use of either rotation or counter rotation. Next is the case where the skier does not directly turn the skis by any twisting motion; rather he causes the skis to be turned bi extern~l for~,';!J_!Y~~!Lill3L.~".~~~ snow con a",t.. H~s body now urns about a vert~cal ax~s, not ~6 ~roduce the turning force, but to react for balance to an externally applied turning force. For instance, consider a skier making a "christie" turn. As soon as he begins to edge his skis and they begin to bite into the snow, a force is developed which turns the skier. As he turns, the skier's lower body is also obviously turned and the skier will find that he has been subjected to an In order to retain his balance, the the 9 os~te a~recti or Rotation or counter rotation can be used during the unweighted portion of a parallel turn. counter rotation is more commonly used as it has the advantages of being quicker, and allows a quieter upper body which promotes better balance. The counter motion will occur durin th weighted portion of the tu Axial motion would not have been covered in this much detail were it not for the extent of the confusion which exists over these terms. In acturtl practice, very few parallel skiers, at even the - 4 - intermediate parallel level, are going to be conscious of how they started the skis turning. The edge change will begin to occur too quickly for the skier to consistently percept how he used his muscles to displace the skis. Dwelling upon whether they should use rotation or counter rotation to start the turn is just not pragmatic and will probably hinder more than help them. If they are having trouble, at this level, starting the turn, it is more than likely due to a problem of balance, positioning, or edge control rather than a problem of not understanding how to displace the skis. 2. Weight Transfer The most familiar form of weight transfer is from one ski to the other. This, unfortunately, is where the thinking of many people stops and as a result, they are not able to grasp the total effect of a weight transfer in its ability to cause a skier to turn. First, let us examine some of the different ways a skier can transfer his weight which effect turning of the skis: - Weight transfer f'9m 9g~ -'_~~ia.~~ tr~Di'~ trQUL oru, . area of the Ski. - Weight transf~r from 0D~ §id~.~2 th~other b~l_ angulation . .... a. Weight Transfer from One Ski to the Other - This involves nothing more than allowing first one ski and then the other to support the majority of the skier's weight. b. Weight transfer from one Area of the Ski to Another Area of the Ski - The skier can directly exert weight on the ski at one point only and this is where his feet are attached. He can, however, through leaning forward or backward, change the area under the ski which supports the majority of his weight. This action, when combined with edging, will have a significant effect upon the tendency of the ski to turn. As the skier edges the ski and moves his weight forward, he will increase the bite of the front of the skis on the snow and decrease the bite of the tail of the skis on the snow. This action encourages the ski to turn. The problem facing the skier, however, is not always how to make the ski turn more; on hard snow, the problem is often how to make the ski turn less and hold more. If the skier transfers more of his weight towards the rear of the ski, the tendency for the tail of the ski to bite is increased and the tendency for the ski to turn is reduced. c. Weight Transfer from Side to Side - This type of weight transfer is associated with a change of angulation and will always occur when the skier switches his angulation. Consider, that in order for the skier to change direction, the skis must ---------------- -------- - 5 - bi te on the snow. Two thin ~. on the snow. The kis must be weighted and edged. The skier can vary fiow much he edges the ski, how much he weights the ski, and the direction this weight acts on the ski. The skier can 21ft more weight on •• t.lJe ~ls.i ,b~weitbe:r ... ...ex,l.etldiu~ ...... rapidly or droppingracidly. He can change the direction . this increased w~ight will push on the ski by changing his angulation since this weight will act in a line down his lower leg. Therefore, if the skier wants to turn to the left he must, in some way, cause the snow to push him to the left. He accomplishes this through angulating to edge his skis and direct his weight to the right. When the skier wants to turn to the right, he must reverse these conditions by changing his angulation, which changes his edges, and now directs his weight on the skis to the left. The quicker a skier wants to turn, the harder he must make his skis bite on the snow and, therefore, the greater the edging and weighting which is required. A change of dirillii~iop ':lIlT ,,~~I:itQ'~ .,,...W4t. ,QIrl lM ,r associated with an ed e c but al· . ~s rom I side to §ide and is, f,or ~.P.Et, PHrgos::...2!...!);.~~~~.&.~;;,~.,._ edges b~te . • & Also, for example, if the skier were to lean forward, move his knees to the inside of the turn, and then rapidly sink, weighting his skis (at the end of the down motion) a very powerful turning force would occur as a result of the tips being held mOre firmly on the snow while the skier's feet pushed the center portion of the ski towards the side. If the skier were to move his knees to the other side of the skis and repeat the process, the skis would be turned in the opposite direction due to the transfer of direction of the skier's weight on the skis and the bite of the edges on the snow. This latter example is more applicable to "off trail" skiing where snow must be displaced to allow the skis to turn. 3. Unweighting There are many ways in which the skis can become unweighted. The purpose of unweighting the skis is to facilitate the initiation of the turn. Unweighting is sometimes a rather contradictory principle in that it is something we try to achieve at lower speeds while at higher speeds we may act to minimize or even preclude its occurrence. Excessive unweighting should be avoided as it may lead to a loss of balance particularly on steep terrain, or in difficult snow conditions. Also, during the time the skis are unweighted the skier can exercise no control over his speed or his direction. For these reasons the skier must learn to control the amount of unweighting he uses. None of the following forms of unweighting can be used indiscriminately: - 6 - a. Up Unweighting - The skier's total weight on the snow is reduced by a quick up motion of the skier's body. The unweighting occurs near the end of the up motion. Weighting of the skis actually occurs at the beginning of the up motion. b. Down Unweighting - The skier's total weight on the snow is reduced by a quick down motion of the skier's body. When the support for the skier's upper body is removed at a rate faster than the upper body can fall, then a net reduction of the skier's weight on the snow occurs. Unweighting occurs at the beginning of the down motion and is generally of shorter duration than that produced by up unweighting. Weighting of the skis occurs near the end of the down motion. c. Rebound Unweighting - This type of unweighting generally "'C;ccurs 'as a re'su'Tt' of an edge setting motion. The harder the skier sets his edges, the more he distorts the ski and the more the ski assists the unweighting as it attempts to recover its original shape. The skier can vary how much assistance he gets as a result of the rebound, by how hard he sets his edges. He can also vary the direction of the rebound to some extent. The ski will rebound in a direction approximately opposite to the direction it was pushed to accomplish the edge set. That is, if the skier pushes the ski straight down, the rebound will be straight up. The more the skier pushes the skis down the hill to set the edges, the greater will be the tendency of the skis to rebound up the hill. The rebound can, therefore, result in a lateral displacement of the skis in the direction of the new turn, as well as an unweighting. It is important, if a rebound is to occur however, for the skier to relax the muscles in his legs following the edge set. Otherwise, the rebound which would occur would be dampened out. d. Terrain Unweighting - This is, again, a more obvious form of unweighting in that as the terrain falls away from the skier, as on the far side of a mogul, the skier's weight on the snow decreases. The amount of unweighting, or its length of time, is dependent upon the skier's speed and the rapidity at which the terrain falls away. If the skier hits a bump rather than a drop off, additional unweighting will occur as a result of the skier's upward trajectory over the bump. At higher speeds, another factor comes into play which tends to affect the period of unweighting. ~._<!, ski~!: c:r;.9.~i~§ A.,l1.ilk.b,.;i..§,..~J)5t~~~~ ~ of des.~en1...is sba,UQw. "As the sI$ier s1aJ;U,~,,~n,.AQW!L.:t:j}go ]J,~.!, tl]£.~rn.91JL,,9..Lq.e~~J~11t.,9.e.t~.,g,f:,~"~,tf!r. The more 5~Sle.d .the. sk~er carries jlll,2 __ tJl.~":t~!.ll,,, ,the mO,Fe ,toe t.erb,2inYLi.J-J~h_~EP~~~ t:§: f411 :~'Qill bim,.a~be .. ini>~~,1$.J>"}li!,,.,~5,r. l h g refg;r;;§;_ as the skier turns on a hill which may be smooth and have a ;~f"~f~~~!iIL~~€;~::~1~~f~'~1~:r~·~!:~fi~!~~~ tEe 1iTIT:_9Irtl}LJ:J,I;LJ;,~Jl.QJ.~h ~ .. ~ ', .... ,.-.. " ..••• _-,.. .- - 7 - e. Unweighting by Positioning - For lack of a better term, this form of unweighting will be termed an "unweighting by positioning." It is a subtle form of unweighting and one where the skier's total weight on the snow remains the same. As previously explained in the section on weight transfer, a skier can vary the portion of his weight supported by any section of the ski by leaning forward or leaning backward. If for example, the skier leans forward at the initiation of the turn, the front of the ski is caused to support more of the skier's weight and the tail less. This reduction of pressure under the tail of the ski facilitates its turning and is all the unweighting which may be required in some cases. The tail of the ski certainly has no preference for how pressure is removed from it during the initiation of the turn and could not tell whether the skier used up unweighting, down unweighting, or just leaned forward. This form of unweighting is more applicable in longer radius turns, and at higher speeds, it may be the preferred method if the skier wants to retain a greater degree of ski/snow contact. 4. Edge Control A lack of good edge control is one parameter which often separates the intermediate from the advanced skier. For the ski to bite into the snow, it must be edged and weighted; one is not sufficient without the other. A skier can, however z decrease the bite of the ski by unweight ~n,~ fE.~ .. ~]<i~ ...' i¥,. D-'i\ ~ t. ..e ~.~~:l"5':~Y'"':;-C~~-~ ~nat~o? 01 h9t~. Often the ~ntermed~ate skier choose~ t e s'~ excessively since then the edge is effectively released, whether the ski has been flattened or not. The more advanced skier will be able to adequately reduce the friction under the ski with far less of an unweighting motion by the proper timing of the edge release and gains an advantage of more stability through the quieter body movements. The tendency which a ski will have to slip on the snow or to hold is controlled by the extent to which it is edged. Therefore, the skier is also faced with a dilemma of how much edging is sufficient. Too little edging results in excessive skidding of the ski while too much edging results in a loss of stability for the skier. The more a ski is edged the less the amount of surface area for the skier to stand on and the greater the difficulty he may have with balance. The safest d is to achieve sufficient ed ing, to prevent "s "iee~in~.~.!!,<! .. n::?' m:o~ -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1~,1~. ~d~.~b~~~.}lggre~.,."wbic,:b.tb,e.~ position of the skier (forward to more a ski is edged the quicker it tends to turn. This is primarily a result of the design of the ski. The skier can further influence the arc of the turn by leaning forward or back as he edges the ski. IPe more a skier leanB~ ...t0rw~.~~l",,~.Jl~_~~~§.....-!l:l_e~y~ki, the uicker the ski witt turn. As the skier leans back and e ges the ski, the tendency for the - 8 - ski to turn is decreased due to the tail of the ski biting harder on the snow. :Ai ane~a11lJ?. .f £.,.t.p~n .'l!..~ C} I ~~!~.r"" T.ou~...J.?~~. use it;!. a P"c;.;~i~.m,*t,,,~.lR~.J,,,~~~~~§. .. ,,~a.D.Q.e.$.,Jlj.~.,.. 'tages 't'0' en,cou:t.~~e t~e. ~ki to sj:art ~'!!Ei~._~I3~L:tb~!l,J!hg~~Lhi,~ w,eight back ?nd edQ~,l+~..;£~q:j,.rt~d~~_~~Dl",q1..,tne .. ,Q,tc""Q.(,,4Jl.&-tuJ;J4 This example is particularly applicable where the skier wants to minimize the skidding of the skis in the turn. The last point which will be covered under this section is when the skier can change edges in a parallel turn. This depends primarily on the speed at which the skier is traveling and the extent to which the skis have been turned across the hill. The faster a skier is traveling and the less he turns the ski out of the fall line, the more rapidly he can change edges. However, the slower the skier travels and the more he has turned the skis out of the fall line the greater the angle through which he must turn the skis before he can change edges. This explains why, when the skier is traveling slowly he may need more unweighting since he needs more time to turn the skis through this larger angle. The skier, therefore, must be taught to feel when he can change edges and to realize that the edge change cannot be an arbitrary maneuver. 5. Natural Positioning The skier should stand on his skis in the position which will require the minimum amount of muscular effort. It is only in this position that the skier can be well balanced and powerful. If the skier is in such a position that 90% of his available muscular power is being used to hold himself upright, he only has 10% available for turning his skis. From such an unnatural position a skier can never be powerful or react quickly and instinctively for balance. tp the nom!n.a1.;o<~~~. .~. n.2.-e.~~."u.,~&.w' skier should feel his weight supported aron~ his erit~~tgQ~~ \ The"'""skier may have sngHtlY mb·H~ ,or·l1rs .... weight 'on ''th'e ball of J_ his foot than the heel but he should definitely feel some weight t on his heels. From this nominal position the skier can move / his weight forward to encourage the skier to turn, or backward to encourage the ski to hold, with quick but subtle motions. This position describes a dynamic positioning of the body. It must be such that it can react to all terrain conditions as the skier has to be able to go forward and backwards in order to react to "holes" and "bumps" in the snow. 6. Leverage Leverage is another relatively straight forward principle. To illustrate this principle consider two skiers, one tall and one short, who both desire to have the same amount of pressure on the front of the ski. The shorter skier must lean forward more than the taller skier to accomplish this since his center of gravity is closer to the skis. Similarly, at the completion of a parallel .. - 9 - "christie," the taller skier must angulate more since his center of gravity is higher, and centrifugal force would have more of a tendency to throw him to the outside of the turn than the shorter skier. Consider also that the top of the boots are essentially a lever which the skier can use to push the front of the ski or the rear of the ski into more forceful contact with the snow. This is particularly true with locked hinge boots. 7. Total Motion Total motion does not require that the skier remain in constant motion. Bal~nce is sufficiently difficult on skis as to rule out any unnecessary Or excessive motions. What total motion does require is that once a motion is started, it should be carried through to a natural completion. In tennis, golf, baseball, etc., the athlete is always taught to "follow through." Total motion might be considered as the "tollow through" in skiing. Total motion is probably more noticeable when it "is not present than when it is present. When it is present, the skier appears to have a smooth and natural ride over variations in terrain and one motion flows freely into the next. This is the way skiing should look. When total motion is not present, the skier's appearance is jerky and abrupt. 8. Summary An effort has been made to try to achieve a better understanding of some of the basic principles involved in skiing. Very little has been said concerning applying these principles to specific turns. This will have to be provided by your ski school director. The hope is, that through understanding some of the underlying concepts in skiing better, the instructor will be less dependent upon a special phrase or special word and can deal more effectively with the basic skier problem. It should be obvious if you have gotten to this point that the skier has a number of choices in ,hOW to unweight and turn his skis. Any time a person has an alternative, he is faced with the problem of making a decision. The snow plow turn skier just does not face as many variations in snow conditions, speed and terrain as the more advanced skier, and therefore, isn't faced with the problem of alternatives and decisions that the advanced skier is faced with. The more decisions a person is required to make the more knowledge and training he requires. The emphasis in working with more advanced skiers must begin to shift from just teaching a skier to perform a maneuver, to developing an understanding of the maneuver as well. There is one last idea which should be presented as this p~per h3s dealt almost solely with mechanical or dynamic principles. A student just won't ski well regardless of his understanding of the mechanical aspects of skiing if he is not motivated. This - 10 - means that if we scare, intimidate, confuse, or in any way rob students of their enthusiasm, we cannot expect them to be able to use effectively any mechanical knowledge we may pass on to them. If we are to be effective in producing results, we must teach more than a maneuver; we must also motivate the students by giving them confidence that they can do what we are asking, and by showing them that it is fun. ------------------------------- -------------------------------.----. |