Hola from Argentina! Richie Johnston here filling you in with the latest.
Hola amigos! A huge week of clinics and socialising has made for an incredible first experience for me and the team in Ushuaia. Cerro Castor Resort has had fresh snow almost every day since we arrived. The pow is dry, empanadas are hot, steaks are massive & the locals are super friendly. The whole town of 80,000 had a power outage for a few hours last night which made for an interesting evening. 17 blokes in a restaurant with candles was almost romantic.
Today kicked off with some pow laps to warm the legs and frost the nostrils. We met up with the crew from Argentina, Italy and Slovenia and they introduced their methodology, concepts & passion for snowboarding.
Before the Train… Video to come over next few weeks.
Ashley at Cerro Castor
They first spent a little bit of time talking through their certification system and how it works. Then they proceeded to introduce the concept of steering through your lower body to create larger rotations (540’s and beyond). The general idea was that they wanted their students to create the rotation through their feet. The goal was to feel the sensations of the outside of the front foot rotating into the boot and the inside of the back foot for a frontside rotation and then opposite for a backside rotation. An interesting way to look at the more traditional way of spinning creating the initial rotation through the upper body.
Words by Tony Macri
Argentina | SBX
A big interest of mine, I went to the boarder-cross clinic held by Diego. With his World Cup racing experience, he was keen to have us use our range of moment to it’s potential along with developing a true awareness of what our feet feel within our boots. It seemed they also value foot sensitivity and we ended up retracting and pumping though a series of rollers they had prepared especially for us.
SBX – Argentina style
How many times have you heard “I struggle with street style rails…boxes I’m okay, but rails…they’re pretty scary!” ? The Slovenians might have a solution. Sam attended their clinic titled “Heavy Metal”. It finished with the use of a portable rail prototype, designed to be placed in the snow for students to session and build confidence on rails through getting comfortable with the actual feeling of ‘board to metal’. The progression towards this included some useful tasks too. Great clinic all round!
Words by Sam Smith
Heavy Metal
Discussing ideas for improvement
After a morning filled with clinics, it was time to head to the park. Ten countries represented mainly on boards to showcase their style and creativity on both kickers & rails. Rhys, Keith, Sam, Ryan, Tony and myself were joined by BASI Trainer Ben Kenner & Aussie representative Adam Federico. Each nation dropped in train-style and stepped up! The biggest kicker was a 50 footer and our best tricks were boned out grabs, clean spins and a couple of inverts. With the drone buzzing over our heads and the Argentinean sound system cranking, every country dropped in and did the best international train we have ever seen!
New Zealand | Developing the Inspiring Snow Sports Professional
Presented by Tony Macri & Ashley Murphy
The room was packed when Tony and Ashley introduced the third and final presentation on Attract, Retain & Develop. Two minutes of jaw-dropping imagery and powerful music set the tone. The video showcased the mountains of New Zealand, people that enjoy them and the athletes that filter through. Tony followed up describing how the story line of the video highlighted the Attract Retain Develop theme.
The presentation made a big impact! Dick Schulze from the USA actually stood up at the end in front of everyone and gave the NZ organisation huge props. Unexpected and very appreciated.
Tony & Ashley representing
- Italian snowboard technical book 2015
- An insight to the Hungarian club slopes
- Canadian Clinic 6 step decision making process
Words by Richie Johnston SBINZ
Images by Sam Smith, Tony Macri, Richie Johnston, Ryan Thompson