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In May 2001 BASI took the initiative to take on the development of the new award scheme and is now proud to announce that the scheme is complete and available to all Snowsport Schools, Clubs, tour operators and any other users. The key goals of the scheme are:
Safe Snowsports ParticipationThere is a strong focus early in the scheme on knowledge and practice of good safety procedures whilst taking part in Snowsports activities. ModernThe activities at each level reflect modern equipment and fashions within snowsports. Therefore users of the scheme will find they can choose to do some activities in a half pipe or in a fun park. Some activities are designed for twin tip skis whilst other activities focus on dealing with competencies on different types of terrain. Motivational & ExploratoryThe majority of activities are designed to be fun and challenging in order to encourage participants to explore and discover new ways to enjoy their Snowsports. There are nine levels in the new Award Scheme as opposed to the five levels of the old British Alpine Ski Awards. These new additional levels help to maintain focus and motivation by allowing the steps between each level to be more achievable. PracticalEach level has a number of activities from which a key number can be chosen. This allows flexibility in the scheme to suit different terrain and surface options and also to accommodate the goals and interests of different participants.
The StructureThere are two main strands to the scheme one is for Snowboarding and the other Alpine Skiing. There are a further two awards called the Cubs awards specifically designed for children under six years old leading up to green runs and using lifts. A metallic badge is available for each level and can be awarded to the successful participants recognising the achievement and level attained. A comprehensive handy pocket-size full colour booklet is also available for each participant. This very useful and informative booklet contains an outline of the skills and requirements for each level making it easy for all participants to follow, understand and work through the scheme. Each level has activity requirements and Knowledge requirements. Each level is coloured coded in line with the international coding of ski runs. Thus the first level is colour-coded yellow which is before the use of green runs. Then two levels for green terrain being colour-coded light green and dark green, then two levels for blue terrain, light blue and dark blue followed by one for red. Beyond the red level are Bronze, Silver and Gold awards, the Bronze award is focused on participants who are comfortable on red terrain and starting to tackle black terrain with Silver and Gold for those who have skill levels to tackle black terrain. There are comprehensive guidelines available for Instructors to help you work with this new national scheme. Delivery and AdministrationThe awards can be delivered and assessed by qualified Snowsport Instructors, Coaches and Leaders. Badges and booklets can be obtained from Snowsport Scotland using this order form (pdf) †. † The order form may display but not print correctly with some versions of Internet Explorer. The work-around is to 'right click' the link and save the form on your computer. Then open it and print it directly in Acrobat Reader. |
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The United
Kingdom Snowsport Awards have been designed with the purpose of modernising and
replacing the various existing competency awards within the UK like the ASSUK
and BASA schemes. About three years ago Snowsport Scotland and the English Ski
Council identified the need to review the existing schemes and also the need for
a unified National Scheme. Snowsport Scotland brought this proposal to the
Snowsports Forum which is a forum for any parties interested in promoting
Snowsports within the United Kingdom. A working group was set up and after a
couple of years the scheme was still struggling to find consensus amongst all
the potential users of the scheme. 