CSIA

yeah I'm part of it, they are very conservative, but they pay me $11.25/hour as well as giving me perks like discounts on food in the lodge, free hot chocolate and season pass. And at Marble mountain we don't get Phenix jackets, we get Avalanche which kind of suck, and we have to pay to "rent " them.
 
the higher the level the bigger the ego, and the more they think that they are better than everyone else, im a member but im not working this winter. the lower level instructors are cool. level threes and fours are ass holes

 
Luckily most people at my hill are teenagers, and therefore not douches like a lot of old ski instructors.

Although I do know the coolest old guy, he picked up 360's over our biggest jump pretty quickly.
 
word. I know all of two csia level 3 and 4s who are down to earth

people. The level 4 guy is like late 50s, all about "fuck the system"

he told me once the only reason he is a level 4 is that he just kept on

passing the levels, "so why the fuck not". What sucks about being a

level 1 or 2 is that you get stuck teaching the absolute beginners

unless you have park and pipe certification. The whole CSIA progression

deal is pretty played, I remember when they used to force you to do

step christie turns before you can parallel your turns. Yes I'm just a

little bit bitter about the system.
 
I'm part of it and some of them can be pretty up tight (the higher the level)
But on a funnier note... how do you know when a level 4 walks into a room?
 
I am the only one cert. at my mountain that ski's the park---- I always get yelled at because I never wear racing skis--- CSIA/PSIA hates on freestyle sooo much
Ha I think its kinda like the shaped ski's movement--
just my thoughts
 
I dunno, the old guy that manages the ski school at my hill is always watching us in the park and asks us what we think of it, and lets us know when we do something sick. He keeps trying to get a snowpark course on the go so I can get my park cert.
 
i got my level 1 like 5 weeks ago and i find it quite depressing when i see some of the instructors. they will give it to anyone
 
hahaha, and word, the whole time I was in the course I was just thinking "I never believed skiing could be not fun"
 
People are people, there are douchebags in anything, but on the whole based on my experiences of the past few weeks while I'v met lots of people involved with the CSIA and some of them are genuinely some of the coolest people really down to earth and know whats up, sure some of them are more into racing and whatever but its all skiing right everyones out there to have fun. Just approach people with an open mind and be nice and youll get treated that way back, and theyve all seriously helped my skiing in everything, like today we just ripped pow all day, so fun.
 
how many instructors does it take to fix a light bulb?

5.

1 to turn the lightbulb, 4 to say nice turns.

how many snowboarders does it take to fix a light bulb?

still 5.

1 to turn the light bulb

1 to film

1 to take pictures

1 to say "sick dude!"

1 to say "I can do that."

 
CSIA sucks but I think that it's getting better. I, like many others, took my level 2 on twip tips and did not feel discriminated against. From what I have heard this was not always the case. So I think that they will be more more and more accepting over time. If not, I imagine that member numbers will drop as this gerenation moves in.
 
ive taught at blue mtn. and theyre chill there... all the people teaching over march break and whatnot are young and chill... i was teaching kids the whole time but it wasnt bad, you get decent pay and its fun sometimes.

and some of the old guys are totally chill and dont care about anything.
 
Hey.. I am actually a ski school director in western Canada. . And i had returned about ten years ago after being a race coach in park city UT USA following my retiring from professional downhill and super G racing. And after being certified in my early twenties here in my birth country Canada. . And then going to the USA and instructing there.. achieving my level 3 and attaining my examiner's certification in the usa.. i can say with absolute certainty that the administration in the CSIA has to be the most self righteous puffed up bunch of pricks i have ever run across in the industry. . They seem to think that they are better than everyone else.. and they are arrogant and unapproachable. I would rather get teeth pulled without anesthetic than deal with anyone in "customer service " in the Montreal office. I even had one of their glorious reps curse at me when i was trying to get my renewal membership card sent to an alternate address instead of my on file home address, because i had already left for my resort a bit early to get my department staff started on pre season testing in the ski rentals and school areas. I asked to speak to someone to update it as a one time thing.. and explained i would be happy to log online to the snowpro website and change it back afterwards myself after i received it.. and the prick actually muttered "Jesus f*#king Christ. . Hold on!" Unser his breath.. and then when i called him on it and told him i heard that.. he tried to insinuate that i must be hearing things.. oh and here's another fun one.. after returning from the USA with full PSIA credentials of level 3 plus a certification as a course conducter/examiner. . They would only grant me an EQUIVALENCY of a csia level 3 and magically had no record of my hundreds of teachinghours and money spent in my mid twenties claiming i was no longer in the system after moving to the states for a while. And so my shop privelages are also fairly useless.. they wouldn't even allow me to Purchase a set of level 3 CSIA pins to put on my teaching vest.. OR a sweater jacket bearing their organizations emblem saying that as an "affiliate member" i wasn't allowed to buy these items.. so.. whats my advantage for being a member of their elitist pompous group? Oh yea.. so i can run a ski school and teach.. wow... they are so full of themselves ots not amusing. I have taught and skied all over the world for thirty years.. and the only place i have ever run into such horrible attitude ,sadly, was in my own country of birth. I am even FIS certified.. and i can tell you something. . You want to talk about TOUGH courses.. try taking an FIS certification module.. or even the usa PSIA course conductor test.. these tests make the csia standards of excellence look like a joke.. and yet the Austrians and the USA course psia examiners dont hold themselves so high and mighty.. not to mention screwing over their OWN members and affiliates that have PAID to be a part of it.. its not exactly like the dues are cheap.. nor are the modules and testings..i would love to hear from more of you about this.. and see what other people's experiences were.. you can post here or add me on Facebook if you like. Im thinkingbof rocking the boat..i mean hell.. i am a ski school director.. and i almost feel bad for my instructors when they tell me they are signing up for a course.. that doesnt bode well for the public face of the organization if the schools they support hate dealing with their lack of morality and fair structure. . Cheers.. - The Wanderer
 
13342671:jeff.wanderer.7 said:
Hey.. I am actually a ski school director in western Canada. . And i had returned about ten years ago after being a race coach in park city UT USA following my retiring from professional downhill and super G racing. And after being certified in my early twenties here in my birth country Canada. . And then going to the USA and instructing there.. achieving my level 3 and attaining my examiner's certification in the usa.. i can say with absolute certainty that the administration in the CSIA has to be the most self righteous puffed up bunch of pricks i have ever run across in the industry. . They seem to think that they are better than everyone else.. and they are arrogant and unapproachable. I would rather get teeth pulled without anesthetic than deal with anyone in "customer service " in the Montreal office. I even had one of their glorious reps curse at me when i was trying to get my renewal membership card sent to an alternate address instead of my on file home address, because i had already left for my resort a bit early to get my department staff started on pre season testing in the ski rentals and school areas. I asked to speak to someone to update it as a one time thing.. and explained i would be happy to log online to the snowpro website and change it back afterwards myself after i received it.. and the prick actually muttered "Jesus f*#king Christ. . Hold on!" Unser his breath.. and then when i called him on it and told him i heard that.. he tried to insinuate that i must be hearing things.. oh and here's another fun one.. after returning from the USA with full PSIA credentials of level 3 plus a certification as a course conducter/examiner. . They would only grant me an EQUIVALENCY of a csia level 3 and magically had no record of my hundreds of teachinghours and money spent in my mid twenties claiming i was no longer in the system after moving to the states for a while. And so my shop privelages are also fairly useless.. they wouldn't even allow me to Purchase a set of level 3 CSIA pins to put on my teaching vest.. OR a sweater jacket bearing their organizations emblem saying that as an "affiliate member" i wasn't allowed to buy these items.. so.. whats my advantage for being a member of their elitist pompous group? Oh yea.. so i can run a ski school and teach.. wow... they are so full of themselves ots not amusing. I have taught and skied all over the world for thirty years.. and the only place i have ever run into such horrible attitude ,sadly, was in my own country of birth. I am even FIS certified.. and i can tell you something. . You want to talk about TOUGH courses.. try taking an FIS certification module.. or even the usa PSIA course conductor test.. these tests make the csia standards of excellence look like a joke.. and yet the Austrians and the USA course psia examiners dont hold themselves so high and mighty.. not to mention screwing over their OWN members and affiliates that have PAID to be a part of it.. its not exactly like the dues are cheap.. nor are the modules and testings..i would love to hear from more of you about this.. and see what other people's experiences were.. you can post here or add me on Facebook if you like. Im thinkingbof rocking the boat..i mean hell.. i am a ski school director.. and i almost feel bad for my instructors when they tell me they are signing up for a course.. that doesnt bode well for the public face of the organization if the schools they support hate dealing with their lack of morality and fair structure. . Cheers.. - The Wanderer
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I've had a mixed bag of experiences with the CSIA heads. Some of the higher level instructors have been great and provided me with some great input on how to improve my skiing.

Others have been stuck in their old ways and too busy loving the smell of their own farts. My main critique is mostly a lack of flexibility in terms of different ski styles, there are many ways down a mountain, and if a skier can perform the skills appropriately I think there needs to be more open mindedness on how its done.

I also found that many of the older level 4s weren't willing or they didn't truly understand the biomechanical principals that they were claiming. I have a masters degree in kinesiology, and I love to get technical and I was pretty surprised with the lack of the understanding of some fundamental concepts.

I have been mostly disappointed with snow park certification. The material hasn't been updated since the mid 2000's. And most of the course conductors can barely ski park, its pretty clear that they are level 3 or 4 instructors who also have their park cert. Not to mention that the standards are very low in terms of park skills needed to pass, and it really only provides you the basics. The CFSA certifications provide more depth in terms of athlete skill development that I have been able to use with my own teaching and coaching.

I have noted some improvements with the head office since starting ski instructing. They are offering more variety in the modules (park, freeski, kids) but in the end I can't help but feel the CSIA makes very one dimensional skiers. Even when you watch the level 4 videos, you can tell they are uncomfortable with their skis leaving the ground and they suck at bumps and jumps.
 
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