Have You Heard?

The Latest in Snowboard Exam Info.

by Earl Saline

Snowboarders, are you ready for a revolutionary new concept in the world of snowboard exams? As snowboarding develops so must our approach to examining. Individuality is one of the coolest things about our sport. That alone has drawn so many people out on the snow. When you snowboard you can be yourself, express yourself, and ride pretty much anyway you dam well please, as long as you aren't a hazard to the rest of the sliding population.

With so many different styles out there how can we possibly conduct a valid exam without representing different styles? You can create a bunch of exam tasks and make everyone stand around waiting for their chance to do them. And, if the tasks are performed like the examiner then the bronze, silver, or gold is yours. But, what happens if you don't ride like your examiner? You get invited back to try again.

Perhaps the examiner has a completely different body type and you're wearing your hard boots and race board but they are on a little jib stick (or vice versa). Can you expect these two people to present the same image during the performance of a task? No. People will always look different. In an effort to level the playing field, exam tasks were created and the criteria was written in such a way that the track left in the snow determined the success of the candidate. I.e. if you were doing a carved turn the track you had to leave was to be narrower than the board. This isn't so bad because you could grade yourself after your turn at the task. It is also easier to train when you're aiming for a certain type of mark in the snow. The down side is that a stiff, out of balance rider could tip their entire body into a turn, hang on and with the proper alignment of the stars successfully complete a series of long radius carved turns. With enough practice even inefficient or gross counter- productive movements will become so ingrained that you can make it down the hill just about anywhere.

With the "Track in the snow' grading system the fundamentals of good, solid, effective riding have been neglected. I'm writing this to tell you things have changed, Again. While the format of the exam hasn't changed, the tasks have undergone minor description changes and a couple have been added to make things even more exciting.

The new Snowboard manual talks extensively about Fundamental Movements (Flexion, Extension, Rotation) and Performance Concepts (board/snow interaction). The Fundamental Movements are what our bodies do to allow the PC to happen. This is what it boils down to: How the body moves to make something happen and to maintain balance is ultimately more important than what the board does on the snow. I'm not trying to downplay the importance of being able to skid or carve. I am, however, more concerned with how my clients are going to stay in balance as they slide down the hill.

Movements and how the body interacts with the board have become the focus of the tasks and part of the grading criteria. This has been done to allow for different movements and styles to be given a fair chance and to encourage candidates to explore different ways to move to achieve similar objectives.

This has been applied starting at the Level I stage with the Falling Leaf. No longer is it "Do what the examiner did.". Now both the examiner and the candidate must show fore/aft pressure, rotary leverage, and torsional twisting to successfully pass the task. The definition of "Dynamic" has also been tweaked. It used to be that more speed and a greater range of motion was an accepted criteria. Upper and lower body separation has now become an integral part of the "Dynamic" tasks. In the Level II realm an ever-increasing range of movements are expected. A Short Radius turn is not defined by just its' corridor and track. Cross-under movements must be shown in short radius and cross- over movements are required in the long radius arcs. In the bumps absorption and retraction are to be demonstrated. The dials have been turned up at the Level III stage also. You may be a hot rider, but unless you can show cross over, cross under, up unweighting, and down unweighting, keep training. Oh yeah, that would be forward and switch. The new tasks are Braking/Gliding turns for II and III. At Level III Medium Radius turns in the bumps was also added.

While this all may sound a bit harsh, I believe ultimately this change will be for the good. As a candidate you will come to the exam a stronger rider. As a teacher, you will be able to show your clients even more options to get down the hill effectively. As you explore different ways to move your bag O' tricks expands also. The end result is that the guests at our resorts get a better lesson. Which makes all of us look better. Who knows, you may find that some of these other ways to move are better in some situations than what you currently use.

As you go out to train with your fellow candidates take a good look at each other. Are there different styles in the group? Does one person move slightly differently? Do they make certain tasks look easier? Just for fun, look out at the other riders on the hill.

I'd bet a dollar that your area has riders that rip. Watch them closely, or follow them for a run. Try and do what they do. Move when they move. Turn when they turn. Incorporate the elements that work for you. You just may surprise yourself. I encourage you to think of exam tasks as an opportunity to show your stuff. That you can move in several different ways to accomplish the same goal. Keep the focus on the movements rather than the task. Then take these movements into your everyday riding. Don't save them just for exam time.

Have fun and smile while you ride. People will wonder what you've been up to.