What was the next step?
I continued to travel to Wanaka, New Zealand every summer. I could not spend too much time off snow! It was at Treble Cone where I really learned my craft. Teaching alpine and loads of telemark, instructor training, supervising, managing programmes and more skiing in an endless winter…
It was in New Zealand that I realized I loved teaching skiing. I had certainly completed plenty of hours teaching on the dry slope in Edinburgh but teaching on the snow was so much more fun! I got just as much, if not more, out of teaching as I did from ski racing. I was lucky… I had accidently fallen into a dream job. I was determined to develop my teaching skills. I completed my Level 4 Alpine ISTD in May 2008. Around this time I wanted to further my race coaching qualifications so headed to Canada for further courses (CSCF). I was then selected as a BASI Coaching Trainer and asked to consider Eurotest opening. I attended my first Eurotest Calibration in December 2008 and I have been a pace setter for the Eurotest ever since. As openers, we are never trying to ‘race the candidates’ we are just trying to ski as consistently as possible. I feel fortunate to be able to ski Giant Slalom regularly– I love it so much. It also helps motivate me in the gym to keep me in shape!
In my final years of university I completed my Telemark Level 3 ISIA and worked in La Plagne part-time before ‘testing the water’ or indeed ‘testing the powder’ in Val d’Isere where I would end up working full-time after completing my degree. I believed I had the experience and knowledge to deliver BASI courses so put myself forward for selection. I was selected as a BASI Alpine Trainer in 2011.