Snow Sports Advanced Training in St. Moritz Took Place - A Good Hygiene Concept and a Conscious Handling of the Difficult Situation Make it Possible

The course is aimed at ski and snowboard instructors who already have a qualification. A total of two snowboard groups and three ski groups took part in the training course. Thanks to a comprehensive hygiene concept of the HSZ in close cooperation with the RWTH crisis team, the training could take place despite the current difficult situation. At the time of entry into Switzerland, a negative PCR test was mandatory for everyone. In addition, all participants and the trainers committed to perform Covid-19 self-testing on site on a regular basis. Moreover, the course management worked out a bubble concept together with the snow sports representatives and communicated it to everyone. To a large extent, this prevented further contacts outside of the group. "I am thrilled how consistently the measures were implemented by all students on site and how carefully the difficult situation was handled" concludes the course manager Ulli Weber (HSZ). There had also been a respectful treatment of guests by the lift personnel. "In gondolas, seats were left free as needed, and in the other lifts, the row of seats was occupied only by their own people without any problems," adds Ulli Weber.

Current content on practice, theory, didactics, and methodology in the areas of skiing, snowboarding, and telemarking form the annual basis of the topics. The instructors always bring the latest input from the associations. In this way, instructors are always expanding their knowledge and skills on all the important new topics, which they can then pass on during the extra tours of the HSZ. The high level of on-site expertise is unique in university sports nationwide. The field of telemarking is even an officially announced training of the West German Ski Association (WSV).

The various instructors work in different teaching teams of the two professional associations in Germany (DSV and DSLV) or are experienced ski instructors themselves or ski school owners. Thus, all of them are in different ways significantly involved in shaping the snow sports teaching system in Germany.

These eight instructors were present this year:

The special thing about snow sports in Aachen is the unique and above all particularly large community. In hardly any other university city in Germany is there such a functioning community in the area of club work in snow sports as with SNOWSport Team Aachen. The commitment to the sport and to the snow sports community of the students in Aachen is enormous. The vibrant community is open, inviting, and welcomes everyone. For all those who are interested in becoming a snow sports instructor for one of the extra tours of the HSZ, there will be a training course in Arosa at the beginning of January. There is even the possibility to get a license from the professional associations if you have the right qualifications.