“Ski/Dual Instructors Wanted”
A few years ago, despite being happily employed in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, I thought I’d have a look and see if the grass is in fact greener on the other side. During the job hunt, I couldn’t help but notice almost every ski school was looking for Ski/Dual Instructors. No one seems to want a snowboard-only instructor! This could be in part due to the global decline in snowboarding or could be that schools are looking to reduce overheads by employing more versatile instructors. Whatever the reason, Snowboard Instructors are more frequently taking their Level 1 Ski exam in order to gain employment.
In this article, I would like to highlight how skiing and snowboarding are fundamentally similar, the difficulties that come with the change-over and how snowboarders can tap into their skills from the dark side.
To make things very easy, the Snowboard Instructors of New Zealand (SBINZ) use the same four movements that we have in skiing. Because snowboarders go sideways it has to be slightly different. The easiest way to remember it is that all four movements are the same in relation to the equipment.
Fore-Aft
The understanding of fore-aft, in terms of utilising the whole length of the working edge, is well understood by an experienced snowboarder. The fore movement initiated through the ankle joint is a similar concept in both disciplines. The most difficult element is the proportional flexion in the three main joints. A snowboarders’ default stance when inexperienced in skiing is the heel side stance. A “stacked” heel-side position in snowboarding is a straight back over the working edge with pressure, not through the arch of the foot, but directly over the heels. Shin pressure is also not so prominent in the heel-side stance. This almost always results in a skiing stance that is too open at the ankles and hips and very often too flexed at the knees. Snowboarders are accustomed to having their arms by their side and this too brings them further into an aft position. A clear explanation of how to adjust their stance is needed. A good cue for this is to imagine they are on their toe-side - where there is lots of pressure on the tongue of the boot and how this moves their COM into a more centred position. This small change in the bend of the ankles, as we know, will be very beneficial and isn’t too difficult for them. Strong snowboarders tend to have good muscular development in the Gastrocnemius and Soleus (calf muscles) and Anterior Tibialis (shin muscle) which comes from the lateral plane of snowboard movements. This motor pattern and muscle strength is a potential that can be used to create a path to success for those making the switch.
Rotational
In skiing, good rotational movements of the legs under a stable upper body is not a new concept. This concept in snowboarding is not spoken about frequently and the range of femur rotation is limited by equipment set up in snowboarding. There are three occasions where the concept is applied - counter-rotation when performing a boardslide/shifty, stopping rotation when landing a spin off a jump and in a manoeuvre called anticipation. All of which are very advanced skills. For reference, boardslides are a requirement for the SBINZ Level 2 and anticipation is not really introduced until SBINZ Level 3. Both movements contain the same principle as rotational separation but they are from a different joint. A boardslide, shifty and an anticipation movement comes from the torsional twist around the spine. As ski instructors, we recognise this as quite a common misunderstanding on rotational separation but it is notable that on the first few attempts, we may see snowboarders following through with the hips in the completion. Independent femur rotation with stability in the pelvis doesn’t really exist in snowboarding - the purpose of “steering with the front knee” in snowboarding is designed to move the pelvis with the leg, not against. It is here that I believe is one of the most fundamental differences in the sports lie. A clear explanation of the difference between the sports makes a big difference but it can take a lengthy period of time to break that movement pattern.
Vertical
Snowboarders tend to be very good with the understanding of vertical movements of skiing. They understand that at a more basic/intermediate level that an “up-unweighted” movement (ie. cross-over) is great for releasing the edges into the new turn. In advanced snowboarding (SBINZ Level 3) they use, what they call, a “down-unweighted” movement pattern which skiers would call a cross-under. They use this to great effect in boardercross, in steeps and off-piste as it allows for a quick change of edges so a connection to the snow can be maintained. They are also very familiar with “terrain un-weighting” which is flexion at edge change in bumpy terrain.
Lateral
Angulation and inclination are terms used in snowboarding and gaining a “stacked position” over a working edge includes a proportional use of both.
Snowboarders are used to having a considerably wider stance which won’t necessarily hinder their skiing until we understand the muscle development in the abductors they have. Maintaining a strong fore-aft stance in snowboarding requires abductors to be firing which, when related to skiing, can cause the outside ski to be quite flat. Having the strength in the abductors also means that pressure on the inside ski can often be relatively comfortable for them. Building strength in the adductors and therefore stronger lateral balance on the inside edge of the outside ski will be a big focus for most snowboarders.
Snowboard Instructors, like Ski Instructors, are great teachers and their certifications and experience prove that and we would be doing a disservice not to encourage them as much as we can into our world and bridge the gap even closer between the Skier/Snowboarder divide. What I would love to see in our industry is a warm welcome to those snowboarders that are making that leap and having an understanding of their original sport and how it relates to ours will mean their first-love doesn’t necessarily need to be their last.
Picture Credits: SBINZ Manual 2017
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