We meet Andy Stewart, Senior Tutor at Snowsport England
Andy tells us about how he got into skiing, about Snowsport England, the courses available with them and about his love of Telemark!
Andy, can you tell us about how you got into snowsports?
Well I originally thought that snowsports was inaccessible to most people, but whilst at teacher training college I was introduced to the sport and my interest increased from there. In my first role as a teacher, the school ran a snowsports trip which I then went on and I decided that this was a sport that not only did I want to do, I realised I’d like to do more and become an instructor. So, that’s what I did, I headed to the dry-slope, got better, then got qualified and now I’m a Senior Tutor with Snowsport England.
What does the winter calendar look like for you?
I am involved in a full coaching month with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Telemark Race Team during January. I help them prepare for a prestigious Inter-Services event at the beginning of February. We spend the first two weeks with a group of twenty, helping to train them as best we can, at the end of the fortnight, 7-8 are chosen to head into the final fortnight and then onto the main event in Les Menuires.
I also deliver training weeks in ‘Leading’ for Teachers called an ASCL, a course overseen by Snowsport England.
Tell us more about the ASCL course you mentioned as well as Snow Sport England
Snowsport England is the national governing body for snowsports in England, it is a membership organisation representing individual members and clubs. It provides instruction, coaching and leadership courses at artificial slopes and snowdomes throughout England and also operates in the Alps, offering coaching courses such as the ASCL and personal performance courses. ASCL stands for the Alpine Snowsports Course Leader and, in effect, allows and qualifies teachers to ski or board and lead their own students on piste in addition to the recommended ski or board school provision.
Teaching is a vocational occupation and giving something back is key to this. The ASCL qualification allows a teacher to ski or board with their own pupils and get to know them on a more personal level, building relationships that will impact positively with school life back home. I should add that we still advise that schools use the local ski and board schools during any visits, but that afterwards, a teacher’s ability to ski or board with their pupils provides real benefits in terms of relationships and flexibility regarding supervision.
Is ASCL the only course available to teachers?
ASCL is the main qualification for school teachers and youth workers but ahead of and part of this we run a classroom-based course called the Snowsport Course Organiser (SCO). It’s a one-day course which focuses on sound management and supervision of a school ski trip covering basic safety aspects and considerations of taking pupils into a mountain environment. It’s a course that is recommended to all teachers attending a ski course visit with pupils and for the actual visit organiser it can often be mandatory requirment with some local authorities.
How accessible do you think snowsports are for school aged children?
In truth, they are not accessible enough and that is why school snowsports visits are so important. In a previous role I was head of the Outdoor Education Service in Birmingham and we integrated the possibility of subsidised or funded snowposrt visits with great success. Many of the children that went on the visits hadn’t flown before, they certainly hadn’t been in a mountain environment and it always proved to be a fantastic experience for them. I really hope that it inspired some of them to carry on skiing or boarding and I really hope that snowsports can become more accessible in the future.
There’s more to skiing than just downhill, you also teach telemark skiing?
Yes, telemark really inspired me and I’d love it to become an Olympic discipline. It’s skiing in boots with a toe fixed to the ski but with a free heel. Telemark races involve some downhill skiing through gates, jumps, a 360-degree banked wall and a cross country section. I became involved in Telemark in the mid-1990s when it was quite new to the UK, my son got involved too and he went on to become British telemark champion on three occasions. In fact, it was the coaching of my son that led to me working with the armed forces. Telemark is an exciting technical style of skiing, it’s slightly slower than downhill racing but is so skilful and varied that the races are a great spectacle.
Can you tell us about your favourite places to ski?
Some of my best experiences have been because of the people I’ve skied with. I’ve met life-long friends skiing, including in my favourite resort, Arosa in Switzerland. Whether ski-touring or sticking to the slopes, it’s a great resort.
Chris Stewart, former British Telemark Champion
See more about courses with Snowsport England by visiting their website