October 20, 2016

Greetings Nords!  Your N-mail is back, just like winter.  You can’t avoid it.  And why would you want to?

I know.  It’s been a while since you’ve had your N-mail.  When time passes, things can change.  It’s hard to keep up, but we must.  And that is part of the reason for N-mail’s very existence:  to help you keep up with changes.  Our team of N-mail writers, editors, and reporters caught up with XC Chair Person, Patti Banks for an interview to find out about changes in the PSIA-RM XC world for the coming season.  Here’s what went down.

N-mail:  So Patti, what’s the biggest change in our division’s Nordic Certification program these days?

Patti:  Well, I think it’s the fact that Exam Prep Clinics and Certification Exams will be held on alternating years.  And, they are guaranteed to go.  In the past, we would schedule both Prep Clinics and Exams every year, but quite often we would have to cancel one or the other (or both) because of lack of participation.  I’m sure this was highly frustrating for Nordic members who prepared for and expected an event, only to have it cancelled a couple of weeks before it was to take place.  Now, even though events are every other year, they are guaranteed to take place, even if only one person signs up.

N-mail:  So what does this mean for members as far as planning and training for certification?

Patti:  It means folks need to think and plan ahead!  If you want to get certified for XC Level 2, 3, or RMT, you need a training plan that spans at least  two seasons, allowing time for the mandatory prep clinics.  That being said, Level 1 Prep Clinics and Cert. Exams will still be available each year, usually in the early part of the season.  Our first XC Level 1 Clinic and Exam will be offered as part of the Nordic Instructor Rendezvous in early December.  It’s coming soon, so sign up now!

N-mail:  What if a group of folks, let’s say 5 to 7 people (minimum numbers can vary from location to location), want a Prep Clinic.  Could they have one set up to order as a Travelling Clinic at a time and place of their choosing?

Patti:  Absolutely!  We just need to get an Ed Staff member for the event (so the date would have to work for them too).  The best way to arrange this is to start by calling the PSIA-RM office!

N-Mail:  What else is new for this year that Nords need to know?

Patti:  Oh, lots.  First, there’s a new PSIA National XC Team, and both members are from our own Rocky Mountain Division!  They are Emily Lovett and Greg Rhodes.  We are very proud of them, and we are excited to have members meet them and take clinics from them, because they rock!  They’re so talented, both as Cross Country skiers and Instructors.  We are really fortunate to have such exceptional talent in our division.

Speaking of talent, I’d also like to congratulate Marianne Osteen from Steamboat, who is our newest Ed Staff member.  Marianne has some great energy (in addition to her skiing and teaching skills) to contribute to our division and members.  Please give her a high five and get to know her if you run into her out on the trails!

Also, we have some new materials available.  I’m hoping folks are already aware of our latest National XC Technical manual, which came out last year.  New for this season, our RM Divisional Nordic Handbook and XC Workbooks have been rebuilt to align with each other and the National technical manual.  Dale Drennan has written a great article about XC Movement Analysis and the new Workbooks, so I’ll leave the specifics to her.  But check out the materials on the RM website.  They are really useful, a great resource!

N-mail:  Thanks Patti! Enough shop talk, what are you looking forward to the most for this winter?

Patti:  Hmm.  I guess I’d say skating on perfectly groomed trails in the mornings, watching the sun rise in the quiet.  This is my moving meditation and sets me up for a successful day!

N-mail:  That does sound like something to look forward to.  Well, you heard it here first.  I guess it’s time to start getting my skis ready for the inevitable change and onslaught of winter.  I hope I see you out there either on the snow, or exploring those canyons while waiting for the change.  Until then, you can e-mail n-mail at hugeglide@aol.com.  See ya’.

 

 

 

 

By Dale Drennan

During the summer I like to watch professional tennis tournaments like the French Open and the US Open. In junior high I played tennis competitively a little bit and then recreationally for a few years after that before moving on to other sports. My exposure to tennis has been enough for me to recognize that the announcers know the sport so much more deeply than I do. Their movement analysis always makes sense to me once I hear it. Often for up to a set, they accurately comment on and describe what they see a struggling player doing before they offer ideas for changing movements.  They also point out and explain the ideal movements that produce a particular point winner. The commentators, all former professional players themselves, seem to agree on what the ideal tennis shot would look like for a given situation.

This deep understanding of sport specific skills exists in cross country skiing as well; it is an integral part of instructor certification because accurate movement analysis facilitates target instruction. For this reason, our cross country education staff have been working on improving how we train instructors to analyze movement.  Our goal is for instructors to use the Cross Country Technical Model as a tool to facilitate describing skiing in terms of the four elements of the Sports Pyramid: Fundamental Body Position, Fundamental Movements, Timing and Power during the three phases of the Cycle of Cross Country Skiing, which are Pushoff, Weight Transfer, and Glide.

The Cycle of Cross Country Skiing

The Sports Pyramid

To aid instructors and certification candidates in this type of Movement Analysis, the PSIA-RM Cross Country education staff have developed a new series of certification workbooks that move candidates through the MA process in a step by step manner. Candidates begin by viewing a student skiing video, located at http://www.psia-rm.org/education/cross-country/cross-country-movement-analysis-videos under Cross Country Movement Analysis videos.  A certification candidate (or really anyone who is curious!), can view these video clips numerous times, pausing whenever they wish.  To finish the movement analysis, the candidate then completes a MA rubric worksheet. The complexity of the rubric increases with the level of certification. The full cert/trainer rubric is shown below.

Movement Analysis Worksheet

 

With the information from the MA worksheet, exercises in the workbooks will guide the candidate through the teaching model to create a lesson for the student seen on the video clip.

Admittedly this process is a bit formulaic. However, I can testify that the discipline of taking the time to really try to accurately describe movement within this framework has helped me to sharpen my observations of all cross country skiers from beginners to racers, and including myself!

We invite instructors from all disciplines to view the videos and the workbooks to see what we are up to. We believe that this coupling of videos to online written materials moves our cross country education program forward into the 21st century. In the future we plan to improve the quality and variety of the videos clips. If you are preparing for a certification event please view your level specific videos and complete the workbooks before coming to the event.  This will facilitate discussions and deepen understanding during the event.

Finally, we welcome your feedback. Your feedback will help us continue to improve our educational materials and our understanding of our sport. After all, as cross country skiers we all want to keep moving forward continuously down the track!