The Blog from the ISIA Instructor Training!
The first blog article from our ISIA Instructor Training Team.
The 2015/16 season was something of a step into the unknown for Matterhorn Diamonds, both for the ski school itself and us, the new recruits.
As well as the private lessons that have been available to snow-sport fans here in Zermatt, Diamonds has regularly offered instructor training too but the ISIA programme this year is a new venture for the school and its trainers.
Gaining your ISIA qualification – which equates to gaining the third of four levels in BASI, the British system – is a sign you’re getting very serious about your ski instructing.
When you’ve decided to go for it, choosing who is going to lead you towards that goal is just as big a decision. Equally, when you’re a ski school looking for the right people to become part of the team, it can be a gamble.
So isn’t it nice when life works out sometimes!
Ski Team
Since the start of the season we’ve come together and seen our skiing and teaching improve almost day on day, enduring and overcoming sketchy snow, collisions with hidden rocks and boot problems…
Probably by coincidence (unless the interview process was even pickier than we first thought) the team has a distinctly Celtic flavour, with all of us having a strong Irish and/or Welsh heritage.
The jokes, recipes and accents have flowed, and we’ve found our strengths are magnified and our weaknesses are shared and overcome out on the slopes.
We just have some pity for our trainers, Fede and Rowena, whose learning curve in colloquialisms, dodgy puns and particular ‘humour’ has been almost as steep as the skiing tasks they have set us.
You can learn more about our writers: Bruce, Jake and Cazz, on the Team Page!
Check out our Autumn and Winter Gap Courses, ISIA Level 3 Course, Level 4 Course, Race Training as well as the Full Focus, our one to one coaching course.
Looking for summer training? Check out our Summer Ski Instructor Training schedule!
