Volume 1, Number 3
July 24, 2000

Contacting pmts.org

Need to contact the pmts.org office? We don't yet have a telephone, but we are here and ready to help!

The best contact method is via e-mail, at
info@pmts.org

The next best way is to call Harb Ski Systems at (303)567-4663. They will relay your inquiry to the correct individual.

The slowest way, but still functional, is to send us traditional mail. The address is...
The Association of PMTS™ Direct Parallel Instructors
PO Box 7251
Prospect Heights, IL 60070-7251

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Congratulations to 1999-2000 Accredited Instructors…

Silver Creek, Colorado, January 2000 (Green level accreditation):
Pedro Badia, German Beckmann, James Douglas, Clara Forno, and Uwe Pahlen

Cascade, Wisconsin, February 2000 (Green level accreditation):
Sandy Gail, John Hamaker, Roger Kane, Brent Larsen, Sherry McCabe, and Jim Sharkey

Loveland, Colorado, April 2000:
Chris Brown, Rick Hammel (Green)
Mike Freund, Sue Hopper, Roger Kane, Lavelle Saier (Blue)
Craig McNeil (Black)

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Newsletter

The pmts.org newsletter is scheduled to be produced in June, August, November, and February. It is available in three ways: online viewing with e-mail notification; e-mail, HTML file attachment; traditional mail. To save trees and money, we encourage all members to receive one of the e-mail versions. If you did not give an e-mail address on your membership form, you’ll be receiving it by mail.

The newsletter is our way of communicating with you, the membership. We envision including topics such as: calendar and description of events; teaching workshop; dryland exercises; member feedback and anecdotes; featured exercises; information about remaining current; description of training materials; and, general information. We would really like to hear from you regarding the topics you’d like covered in the newsletter. You can send your ideas via e-mail!

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Our web site, www.pmts.org

The web site is up in its most basic form. An update is scheduled to occur this summer. What would you like to see on the web site? Let us know, and we’ll do our best to include it. You can send e-mail to info@pmts.org

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Extra Accreditation Pins

If you’d like to buy an additional accreditation pin, they are available from the pmts.org office, at a cost of $5.00 plus shipping.

Contact the office by mail or e-mail, please.

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Coming in the next newsletter...

More about our organization... our accreditation requirements
Teaching workshop... get ready for the upcoming season
Balance... one accredited instructor shows how he practices
PMTS T-shirts... wear them with pride!

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Membership cards, currency, and renewal

We will be sending out temporary cards to all members next month. Permanent cards will be made once we have heard from ISIA, and once we have received your photo (yes, the permanent card will need a photo). ISIA is the International Ski Instruction Association. Being a member of ISIA, or having equivalency of accreditation, brings benefits in skiing abroad, whether for work or for pleasure. We have contacted ISIA to determine how to join - they have not yet responded. We will definitely send out permanent cards prior to the upcoming season (pending receipt of your photo), whether we hear back from ISIA or not.

Have any of you wondered what period is covered by your membership? The renewal date for all memberships is June 1. Does that mean that you all need to pay up again? No! All you early birds who signed up during the 99-2000 season are in luck. Your membership is good through May 31, 2001 (for the one-year members) or May 31, 2003 (for the three-year members). Your membership card will show the correct date. The extra year reflects our appreciation of your early commitment to pmts.org.

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Report from Spring Trainer Event, by Craig McNeil

Early last April I had an experience that turned out to be one of the highlights of my entire ski season: the Primary Movements Teaching System Trainers training seminar, which was held at Loveland ski area. The 2-day seminar offered some of the finest skiing of the entire season with the best ski teachers in the country.

If you’ve never skied Loveland you owe it to yourself to check it out. Loveland offers skiing the way you remember it as a kid, with some of the best steep and off-piste conditions less than an hour’s drive from Denver on I-70.

For the uninitiated, PMTS trainers are the elite of the elite, the best of the best. All the PMTS trainers have a lifetime of skiing and teaching under their collective feet. Most cut their teeth in PSIA (some as high as the Demo Team level) and have now embraced the Primary Movements Teaching System as the most effective way to ski and teach.

The PMTS trainers in attendance included Harald Harb, Diana Rogers, Rich Messer, Bob Emery, and Mel Brown. Other invitees included ski school trainers, instructors training to become PMTS trainers, and instructors who support and use PMTS. They were Bob Hintermeister, John Clendenin, Chris Anthony, Roger Kane, Tom Branch, Don Sawyer, Erich Krausser, and Lynn Horwitz.

Being invited to join such a distinguished group of individuals made me feel both humble and proud to belong to the PMTS organization. Proud in that I was skiing, learning, working, and sharing ideas and techniques with skiers who have devoted a lifetime to the sport; humble in the knowledge they were willing to share without a hint of arrogance.

And so, Loveland proved to be the perfect forum for the trainers session. Because Loveland offers such a wide variety of terrain it was possible to put the Primary Movements Teaching System to the test. Over the course of the two days we encountered virtually every known ski condition found on a mountain in a given day, from groomers to deep powder; bumps to off-piste, whiteout, wind crust. It was a perfect testament to watch these trainers execute flawless technique in difficult conditions and make it look easy on each and every turn.

In surfing there is an event known as an "Expression Session". This is where the best surfers in the world come together to exchange ideas and techniques, while inspiring each other on to new heights and challenges in surfing. The PMTS trainers session reminded me of an "Expression Session" with the same attitude of sharing and giving to enhance one another. The best part was perhaps the camaraderie that is shared and expressed by all those who attended. It was also an opportunity to experience the support and encouragement for which the Primary Movements Teaching System is fast becoming known.

Unlike the upper echelons of PSIA where the elite are aloof, and only "hallowed" members can join the club, the PMTS trainers were open, friendly, and accessible to those who attended. The trainers were grounded in solid technique and secure in the knowledge of what they knew. And what they know is that PMTS works and that it is the best ski teaching system found on the planet.

This attitude translated to a free flow of ideas that was tantamount to drinking from the well of knowledge. Dipping into the well creates an insatiable thirst that only leaves you wanting more after your first taste.

For more information about PMTS or the steps necessary to becoming a trainer contact pmts.org.

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Skiing in Europe is more accessible and affordable than I would ever have imagined. A three hour drive south from Munich brought me to the Austrian Alps, where I was rewarded with challenging terrain, beautiful scenery and great food.

The PMTS Instructor College was held from May 8th through 12th this year in Hintertux, Austria. Skiers from America and Europe attended. We all stayed at the Hintertuxerhof, a charming, family-run, four-star hotel at the end of the Ziller Valley. The hotel had large, comfortable rooms with private baths and wonderful feather beds and down pillows.

Breakfast and dinner were included in our room rates. The breakfast buffet included meats and cheeses, eggs, fresh yogurt, fruit and muesli, as well as home made breads and pastries. We had five course dinners every night with fresh local specialties like giant white asparagus.

The Hintertuxerhof is at the base of a glacier stretching up more than 3,200 meters to the summits of the Gefrorene-Wand and Olperer. Each morning we took three separate lifts. The 45 minute ride passed from the green valley through pine forests with waterfalls, summer pastures, called alms, to the snow fields of the summit.

At the summit, the terrain at first looked gentle and "green". But, this was an illusion. The summit snow fields were so huge--without trees, other skiers or familiar landmarks for reference--that there was no perspective. What appeared to be green felt like black underfoot and went on for miles.

The vastness of the glacier made for limited grooming. In the morning, the snow was hard and crusty. By noon, we skied soft bumps. And, by the end of the day, at about 3 PM, the snow was like cookie dough.

The alpine conditions and terrain provided huge learning opportunities for a Midwestern skier used to "packed powder". The lessons I learned were to soften the end of my turns, letting my skis drift down hill engaging on their own, and keeping my heels close together, in fact, touching. I found I had to ski efficiently to have the energy to ski the thousands of meters in each run. By the last day, I was able to "float" through the end of my turns, pulling my heels together to release more easily into the new turn.

I had brought my 113 cm Elan PSX skis on the trip because they were easy to carry. But, they were not enough ski for the mountain. Fortunately, the base area had a well equipped ski shop with an adequate rental selection at reasonable prices. I ended up skiing on Atomic Betacarves.

At the end of the day, we rode the lifts back into the valley. Some of us hiked, others played tennis. We all met for drinks on the sun deck of the Hintertuxerhof which had a beautiful view of the glacier.

The PMTS Instructors College in Austria was the kind of experience that takes your skiing to a new realm. Having skied in these awesome mountains on another continent I have a renewed respect for and perspective on the sport.

For more information about the 2001 PMTS Instructor College, see the schedule and website.

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Looking at the Olperer, 3478 m

Lunch deck at the Tuxer-Ferner-Haus, 2660 m

Not a member yet?

This could be your last newsletter! Become a member of pmts.org to keep receiving your newsletter, to receive discounts on training and accreditation, and other benefits as they become available.

Help support the organization that promotes PMTS Direct Parallel instruction - join now!

See the web site or contact us for membership details.

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Maintaining your Accreditation

The process of maintaining accreditation ensures that PMTS Accredited instructors continue to perform at their accredited level and stay current with new information. What we currently envision as requirements to maintaining accreditation follows. As policy evolves, the newsletter and web site will keep you up to date.

To maintain accreditation, an instructor must attend two, two-day clinics every three years. One of these, the "Maintenance Accreditation", is an abbreviated accreditation. It includes one day of coaching on skiing and current teaching, and one day of teaching scenarios. Each instructor will perform two teaching scenarios, and must meet the teaching and skiing standards of his/her current level.

For the other clinic, the instructor may attend any of the two-day clinics that will be available through pmts.org. A variety of clinics will be offered, including skiing, teaching, terrain-specific, etc. Member suggestions for desired clinics are requested. The clinic schedule will be posted on the web site by late summer; check back to see new sessions that are added as you request them.

Attending a four-day accreditation session and performing successfully at your current level (or higher!) will fulfill both clinic requirements to maintain accreditation. If the instructor does not perform at his/her current level at the Maintenance Accreditation ("MA"), then he/she will be on "probationary" status. Pmts.org trainers will specify which clinics should be attended in the following three-year period leading to the next MA. At that MA, if the instructor still does not perform at his/her current level, s/he will drop one level in accreditation.

Our first Maintenance Accreditation is scheduled for April 19-20, 2001. More can be scheduled if instructor demand warrants them.

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2000-2001 Schedule of Events (Tentative)

The following events are on the pmts.org schedule. Please check with the office to confirm dates and to enroll. More details about each event are available on the web site, or from the office. More training events will be added as demand requires. Let us know if you're interested and what you'd like. Check back on the web site for updates.

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PMTS Accreditation, by Harald Harb

Standards and Philosophy
Whether we are outcome or process driven, it is important to know what principles and ideals drive the PMTS accreditation. Attainable, objective standards that demonstrate relevance in the ski teaching environment are the expressed goals for PMTS teaching and accreditation.

It isn’t unusual to hear questions raised about whether the exam requirements and standards are the same across the nation. Drawing from my experience as an examiner for PSIA Rocky Mountain and as an ex-Demo Team member, with many training trips to the Central division, I can clearly state that they are not the same. The idea here isn’t to point the finger at any single division or their certification process, but to address the truth openly. The reality of the issue is, how can a Rocky Mountain instructor possibly be compared to a Central or Intermountain certified equivalent? The mountains are different, the requirements of teaching terrain are different and the time spent on snow by an instructor weighs heavily in favor of the full-time, Rocky Mountain skier.

Even within a division, the quality and capability requirements for instructors differ in the regions within the division. Rocky Mountain instructors who are certified on the Front Range in the early season and instructors certified at Telluride in the spring are often not required to demonstrate the same skill levels, but end up with the same certification level. In addition, every examiner has his/her idea of the standards for the conditions on a given day. You may be much more comfortable at a full certification exam at Copper in December on hard snow, with small bumps and limited terrain, than in the black level bumps at Telluride after a full winter of snow. I understand from instructors that picking the location and time can play a large role in your success rate for certification. So, given these situations, the instructor begins to feel that playing the exam time and location card favorably will swing the odds in favor of succeeding. I have some difficulty accepting and tolerating this kind of game playing. I envision a system that establishes objective standards for training and examination, not a system that leaves open so much room for ambiguity that the final decisions are left to the biases of individual examiners in any given situation. If it were possible to measure performance standards objectively in the PSIA system there wouldn’t be a need to play the strategic "outguess the examiner and exam schedule" game. Every exam should yield fair, consistent results. In fact, if the standards were measurable you could know your outcome before the exam. This can be done if training and examining were provided and measured with the same criteria.

When I was director of training at Winter Park we had a hundred percent pass rate at PSIA exams. We simply did not send to exams instructors who didn’t meet the training staff’s standards. Our standards at Winter Park to attend certification had more objectives - measurable, efficient mechanics or movements - but fit beautifully into the PSIA certification requirements. We were successful because our training goals were to produce and improve our ski school, not to pass exams. I favor a motivation that says "I want to be a better instructor" and if achieving a higher level of certification goes with that motivation, all the better. Importantly, can we with the PMTS accreditation process encourage instructors to be motivated to become better ski instructors, not just to achieve a certain level?

When we designed the PMTS Direct Parallel accreditation we were aware that certain inconsistencies existed in the traditional certification process. We formulated the testing process and requirements to minimize inconsistency between divisions, regions, examiners, snow, and terrain. Perhaps more importantly, we also wanted to change the philosophy of accreditation. We noticed how negative and stressful the traditional certification experience had become, and how instructors frustratedly pursued certification without clear improvements in their ability to teach skiing. In an effort to create a completely new exam philosophy with the PMTS accreditation, we put the emphasis on education by allowing the examiners to give feedback during the process. This gives the examiner and candidate time to develop common ground in knowing the standards for PMTS teaching and skiing. As well, the accreditation then becomes a means by which the instructor improves his/her teaching ability.

We feel that teaching ability, delivery skills, and understanding are more important than skiing ability. PMTS accreditation is therefore seventy percent weighted toward teaching, rather then valuing skiing above all. The response from candidates about the format has been very positive. Regardless of how fair an accreditation process is, failure to achieve the first or next level is always a disappointment. With PMTS accreditation, even the unsuccessful candidates leave knowing exactly where they stand in regard to their teaching and skiing. It is evident to them where they have to improve to be successful the next time out.

Accreditation Levels
PMTS accreditation has three instructor levels and four trainer levels. Instructors, whether green, blue or black accredited, have the opportunity to become trainers at that level by meeting the black teaching standards and the trainer standards. A trainer at these levels is able to train instructors for accreditation, teaching, and skiing at their own PMTS level. Instructors who are motivated to continue their education and improve their abilities as instructors may pursue the trainer standard, despite potential limitations that prevent them from moving to the next level in skiing. In addition, there is a Master Trainer/Examiner level. An instructor at this level is capable of training all levels of instructors, in all facets of skiing and teaching. The Master Trainer can also conduct and score all candidates for all accreditation levels.

Green Level
The Green instructor has the ability to teach PMTS Direct Parallel from beginners to parallel skiers on green terrain. Achieving the green level is a noteworthy teaching level and requires more substantial capabilities than the PSIA level II certification. Achieving the Green level demonstrates the ability to teach not only direct parallel, but also to teach parallel skiing to wedge and wedge christie skiers. The ability to bring skiers to parallel in a few short lessons differentiates PMTS instructors from traditional instructors.

Green level instructors teach using and understand Student Directed Ski Instruction, the PMTS teaching system. The skiing ability of a PMTS green-level instructor is clear: he/she is able to ski uninterrupted parallel turns using the proper order of release, transfer, and engagement on groomed, blue terrain. No fudging of movements is acceptable even at this first accreditation level. A parallel turn is a parallel turn, not a pushed, well-disguised, small, quick, wedge christie. A system that purports to train an understanding and technique of skiing geared toward parallel, but that certifies instructors who can’t make a parallel turn, obviously isn’t creating the desired performance in the instructor. How can it possibly do so for the student? As a PMTS accredited instructor at any level, you are guaranteed that you can make an efficient parallel turn.

It is misleading to try to draw equivalencies between the three levels of PMTS accreditation and of PSIA certification because the systems, exams, and skiing and teaching standards are so different. The PMTS green level is well beyond PSIA level I capabilities, and it cannot be deemed equivalent to the PSIA Associate or level II certification. The PMTS green-level instructor is qualified to perform and teach accurate parallel turns and knows how to help motivate students; his/her traditional instructor counterpart is not required to do any of these. The Green Level doesn’t require candidates to ski bumps.

Green Trainer
PMTS accredited instructors may understand PMTS Direct Parallel and biomechanics, and teach at a higher level than they are able to ski. A green-level instructor who fits this description, is motivated to help other instructors, and is a strong demonstrator of green level movements may tryout to become a green level trainer. He/she will need to meet the black-level teaching and written exam standards, and the trainer standards, while working with green-level topics. Pmts.org welcomes and encourages all green-level instructors to pursue their trainer credentials. A course for aspiring trainers will be provided and a test given during the regular PMTS accreditation week in April, 2001.

Blue Level
The blue-level instructor has the capability to ski and teach skiers the fundamentals that produce competent parallel skiing on all blue terrain. Achieving the blue level demonstrates a competency level rarely achieved in ski instruction. It means you have the capability to distinguish between traditional skiing movements and PMTS’ biomechanically efficient movements. You are also capable of determining and fulfilling student motivation on an ongoing basis. This is the instructor I would want teaching in the ideal ski school. It is not appropriate to generate an equivalency to PSIA certification levels as the Blue Level has significantly different educational and performance requirements than those required to achieve PSIA Full or level III certification.

Blue Level accredited skiing demonstrates parallel skiing with strong release, transfer, and engagement capabilities on blue bumps, groomed black slopes and blue off-piste terrain. If the moguls are inadequate for the accreditation, then a slalom course will be set on blue terrain instead. The slalom course requires proper application of release, transfer, and engagement, just as do moguls, in a prescribed rhythm and turn placement. This yields an evaluation of blue-level skiing skills equivalent to those necessary to ski blue bumps properly. The blue level represents realistic, attainable, and measurable goals. The PSIA level III certification can range from wedge-entry, push-off turns in blue bumps to a skier who can ski aggressive parallel in black bump terrain. The range is so wide that the qualification has lost its meaning.

Blue Trainer
Although many reasons such as physical limitations, injuries, conditioning or lack of access to black terrain may keep some aspiring blue-level instructors from reaching the black accreditation level, they are still the best trained and most knowledgeable instructors teaching ski lessons. A blue-level instructor’s movement analysis capability can become as expert as any trainer or instructor in PMTS.

Just as at the green level, a blue-level instructor who is motivated to help other instructors and is a strong demonstrator of blue level skiing may tryout to become a blue level trainer. He/she will need to meet the black-level teaching and written exam standards, and the trainer standards, while working with blue-level topics. Pmts.org welcomes and encourages all blue-level instructors to pursue their trainer credentials. A blue-level trainer can train instructors up through those aspiring for the black level.

Black Level
The black-level instructor has the teaching and skiing credentials to train, coach, and advise any level of skier. The black-level instructor has skied for a number of seasons in the big mountains. He/she knows the snow and the conditions for any time of year and can ski anything the mountain can dish out with solid release, transfer, and engagement. The black-level instructor personalizes learning for each student.

Black Trainer
To become a black-level trainer, the black-level instructor must meet the trainer standards. They, too, can attend the course and test for aspiring trainers given during the regular PMTS accreditation week in April, 2001.

PMTS Master Trainer
The PMTS Master Trainer has complete and thorough knowledge of skiing, teaching and training. A Master Trainer can organize accreditations, evaluate candidates, and evolve the PMTS system.

Take Pride in PMTS Accreditation
The PMTS Accreditation system is structured to encourage, motivate and support instructors. It is designed to create substantial, attainable, merit-worthy standards. PMTS Accredited instructors can take pride in their professional level. They can be confident in their knowledge, to the point where they can stand up in a polite, encouraging, yet unflappable way when they have the opportunity to contribute valuable, substantive information in the presence of any instructor or examiner, from any other system in the world. Stand up and feel proud of your skiing knowledge. Skiers will recognize you for your teaching ability and the new standard of teaching you present. To the ski industry and other instructors, you have demonstrated that you have made the extra effort to become more educated. Your students will appreciate and recognize the difference a PMTS instructor makes. You demonstrate a necessary and increased dedication to skiing with your PMTS accreditation.

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