Seven Springs launches new learning program
Seven Springs ski instructor Dave Ott stands near the fun-based learning area at the resort. A new program designed to teach skiing and snowboarding more quickly and in a way that makes instruction fun started this month.
Seven Springs ski instructor Dave Ott stands near the fun-based learning area at the resort. The new program started this month. It is designed to teach skiing and snowboarding more quickly and in a way that makes instruction fun.
CHAMPION – Skiers and snowboarders are often great advocates of the fun aspect of their snow sports. But learning the sports can have a slow and frustrating start.
This results in low return rates for people unwilling to give snow sports a second chance after the first lesson.
“That’s something that ski schools have been trying to solve for years,” said Seven Springs Mountain Resort ski instructor Dave Ott.
A solution may be found in fun-based, or terrain-based, learning. Seven Springs and Hidden Valley Resort launched the new learning program in January.
Nationwide, the conversion rate for returning skiers and snowboarders is 50 percent, up from 20 percent for traditional learning experiences, he said.
Learning occurs on a terrain designed to give students experiences and sensations that will teach them new skills. Unlike traditional learning, where the first skills taught are slowing down and stopping, fun-based learning focuses on moving and having fun, said Seven Springs spokeswoman Anna Weltz.
“It starts you off less on the defense,” she said.
This primes students for fun instead of fear.
The learning terrain was built in partnership with SNOW Operating and Snow Park Technologies.
Students start on the flats, where they learn balance, stance and other basic skills. They move on to a mini halfpipe, where they learn how to slide down a gentle slope and up the other side. The next area is a gentle slope where students learn to make turns as the terrain guides them. The roller zone helps students overcome their fear of pointing downhill and moving more quickly. Successful completion leaves students wanting more speed. Then they are ready for the perfect slope, where they practice more turns and find a flow.
“Skiing and snowboarding is a ton of fun,” Weltz said. “Anyone who does it raves about how fun it is.”
She said the goal is for students to experience that fun in the lesson.
Ott began teaching skiing in 1976 at Seven Springs after working as a professional ski racer. He also taught in Washington state.
He said he is excited about the program’s potential.
“The way it was taught before was more of a ‘Watch me do this’ and try to mimic it,” he said. “This way, the terrain is doing some of the work.”
He said the design of the program allows students to learn some level two skills in the first lesson.
While the program is new two Seven Springs, he said he is already seeing positive results.
He said he taught two enthusiastic girls from Mexico City who had never seen snow before.
Wednesday morning, he skied with a 75-year-old man.
“He had no problem,” he said. “This is a sport you can do all your life.”
Ott said he is excited to continue teaching with the new program, and he thinks it will result in more returning skiers and snowboarders.
“As long as we can get more people into the sport, we’ve enhanced their lives too and given them something special,” he said.
Weltz encouraged everyone to come to Seven Springs and Hidden Valley for a lesson.
“We humans aren’t designed to hibernate all winter,” she said.
To read Alyssa Choiniere’s first-hand account of the lesson and watch a GoPro video of the experience, visit www.observer-reporter.com.