This article identifies some major obstacles experienced by course members and presents some solutions. You can use them as your golden opportunities for success.

Continuing the series of articles aimed at helping BASI members to accelerate their progress though the BASI system, this article identifies some major obstacles experienced by course members and presents some solutions. You can use them as your golden opportunities for success.

How many of these golden opportunities can you afford to squander if you're serious about your career in Snowsports?

This article shows you how to get down to business.

Physical preparation

The first article in this series was published in BASI News issue 79, Summer 05.

Seven core physical abilities were presented and discussed: aerobic base level, flexibility, coordination, agility, balance, strength and power.

Some background and safety issues were discussed, along with fun, engaging activities to develop the core abilities. Examples were given of champions who use these activities in their own programmes.

While we all know that becoming a better athlete prepares you for progress and success in snowsports, poor physical conditioning is still one of the major obstacles to success for course members.

Each of the seven core physical abilities is a major opportunity in its' own right, but for the sake of this article, we'll combine them into one solution:

Golden opportunity 1: Develop a resourceful body.

Your equipment

So, you're in great shape, but what about your gear?

Here are three key issues to consider and getting each one right gives you a real opportunity to move forwards to a new quality of performance.

1. Is your basic stance flat and free of strain?

You need to be able to relax with an efficient posture in your basic stance.

The combination of your stance width and the geometry of your equipment (Alpine, Telemark & Snowboard boots and bindings), can induce strain, both in the lateral and the fore/aft planes.

If this is happening to you, and it happens to most people to a certain extent, then much of your effort is spent overcoming deficiencies in your set up. Here's a simple test: a good set up leaves you feeling free and agile, while a poor set up leaves you feeling trapped.

These factors can also prevent alpine and telemark skiers from having both feet flat in the snow, in their neutral basic stance.

The second article in this series was published in BASI News issue 80 and introduced the new family of elements in BASI's PPC - Flow.

A flowing, effective performance is elusive if you're fighting with your gear.

2. Is your equipment flexible enough for you?

This is particularly an issue with Alpine and Telemark boots. Along with the development of plastic boots and increased lateral stability, came the problem of reduced flexibility.

Many skiers use a limited range of flexion/extension movements because their boots block their ankle joints. Moving beyond this limited range causes loss of balance fore or aft, which mis-directs the forces of the performance. So restricted range of movement is the lesser of the two evils available.

If your equipment blocks your movements, it's not doing you any favours.
Do you really need those race boots, or have you been hyped?

3. Are your edges and bases in top condition?

One surprising phenomenon on recent BASI courses is the number of candidates who can't or won't tune their own equipment.

Simply put, for a basic set up on snowboard or skis, you need flat base(s) with great glide and smooth, well formed, sharp edges at 90 degrees.

You can improve further on this by tweaking the edges with a base bevel (maybe half a degree) and side bevel (maybe cut back to 89 or 88 degrees).

There are great hand tools out there to help you get the job done. Yes, it does take practice, like everything else, but using well tuned gear is an absolute joy. Using poorly tuned, or untuned equipment is not.

Yes, it does make that much difference. You'll feel it and we'll see it!
Again, we'll combine these issues into one solution:

Golden opportunity 2: Use well tuned, well fitted equipment that leaves you free and agile.

Energy levels

This is all about getting into the zone.

As well as the good physical conditioning mentioned above, you need to apply yourself to maintaining your levels of rest, nutrition and hydration during your course. Otherwise your performance will fade.

We're exercising in the mountains, often at significant altitude, so it's no surprise that people become tired, hungry and dehydrated on BASI courses.

Have a plan to deal with these issues.

This is so important that, all on it's own it qualifies as:

Golden opportunity 3: Attend to rest, nutrition and hydration on the course.

Still on the subject of energy levels and getting into the zone, we need to consider three types of arousal level for great performance.

Mentally, you need to be calm, relaxed and alert.

Physically, you need to be free of undue tension, yet fired up for the activity. Different activities have different intensities and the skilled performer matches physical arousal to each activity.

You also need to apply your spirit so that you can engage in each performance wholeheartedly. When this goes well, you'll notice that you're actually having fun.

Conversely, if you're not having fun, it's because you're not doing this work.

Working with each of these three, separate arousal levels is a learnable skill. Often, a relaxation or arousal technique will allow you to adjust all three at the same time. Athletes spend a lot of time learning to do this stuff. Do you?

Again, we'll combine these issues into one solution:

Golden opportunity 4: Improve your arousal levels for mind, body and spirit.

Summary

So that's 4 Golden opportunities listed already.

And if you look carefully, you'll find they cover sixteen different things that you can take control of, to ensure your own success.

How is it that some people seem to sail through the BASI system? You have sixteen answers right here.

Part 2 of this article deals with how to be a more effective learner on your course; part 3 looks at how your BASI course is structured and how to work with it to get maximum results.

They will be published in the next issues of BASI News. If you want to read them now, you'll find them at www.britishskischool.com under BASI Member Resources.

Everyone needs some good luck, but that's not the same as leaving these things to chance. If you work with these issues, you'll go a long way towards making your own good fortune.

Having said that, good luck anyway on your next BASI course!

Hugh Monney is a BASI trainer and Director of the BASS Network of elite snowsports schools.