Earned my Alpine Level III back.

[sunvalleylaw]

Notched my first waterski slalom comp last summer (which was a personal quest), and earned my gold pin back just now, (which was another personal quest I invested in this year for myself). I had earned it in the mid 90's when I was but a kid, and used the process to modernize some things in my alpine skiing. Very gratifying to see the results of that work, and to earn the pin and have the recognition. Also, the Northern Intermountain examiners said they don't hand out many scores of 5 so glad to notch a few of those. :) Yay!

 

 

[disland]

@sunvalleylaw Sorry not familiar, so what does that get you?

[6balls]

Pretty sure it means he is a pretty bad-ass downhill snow-ski slalom skier. Certainly some concepts translate well to the water.

[sunvalleylaw]

@disland It is a recognition of excellence from the Professional Ski Instructors Association of America (PSIA). It is the highest level of certification and is equivalent with the other countries' counterparts in Europe, Canada, etc. It is awarded for precision in skiing, and excellence in teaching/coaching. Not meaning to brag, but that is the answer to your question. You must display knowledge of body mechanics, equipment issues, movement analysis, learning and coaching techniques, all the skiing stuff, etc.

[Wish]

@sunvalleylaw well done. Read some of the comments. Obviously you make a great connection with your students. And ski phenomenally .

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks all. It was a lot of work, but the journey and learning from that work is its own reward, truly, though I am gratified to receive the recognition and pin. Though I thought myself a pretty good skier, I improved both my skiing and my coaching substantially in the process. It was a bit of a vision quest for me, along with getting my course skiing going and improving my technique there. Very happy. :)

[sunvalleylaw]

And "phenomenally" is very kind. Thanks, @Wish . But I really reserve that for folks like Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn, Ted Ligety, etc. I am competent. :) And I can help others have a good time and learn how to love the sport. I like that part. :)

[mikegile]

Congrats! Nice work Steve.

[disland]

Congratulations

[jimbrake]

Dang, @sunvalleylaw, that's great! That is a heck of an accomplishment. Congrats! We have to ski together sometime just for the chair lift discussions. I love skiing with examiners because of the in-depth discussions you can get into with someone that's as into it as you are. I studied for my "full cert" back in the day literally like I studied for a final exam or a thesis defense in college.

[jimbrake]

Pic of an example of above-said chair lift discussion. My boys were likely thinking "Jayzus, Dad, yeah we get it."

 

[sunvalleylaw]

@jimbrake I enjoy the discussions, as long as they are not just arguments about semantics that don't help move the ball, as long as it is with someone who wants to geek out on it for a bit, like you, and as long as it is not when I am in my boots or on my skis, unless maybe it is on the chairlift. Preferably over coffee before going out, or over a beer later. :) I think some discussion or focus is helpful, but we can't think that much and really perform while out there doing what we are supposed to be doing. Also, my feet don't like to stand around in my boots much. Thinking and talk on the dock (or chairlift), and hopefully more skiing with a good focus, and limited talk, during ski time. Hopefully that is the experience I provide an athlete when I am working with him/her. :)

[jimbrake]

@sunvalleylaw - you really should spend more time drawing detailed turn diagrams in the snow with your poles for your students. You know, so they know that you know your s.