academy snowboards is owned by?
Skiing and Snowboarding are becoming increasingly popular despite the current economical state. Many people ( including me ) have spent a lot of time saving up to ensure they get their annual ski holiday.
Since I left school I have had many jobs in the outdoor industry and in 2008 I decided to go the extra mile and train to become a ski instructor. There were many instructor training companies, most of them were located in Canada, New Zealand and Europe ( Alps). I was shocked by the price of all the courses, the average price being around 7000 for 10 to 12 weeks and in some cases this didn’t even include the exam costs. After extensive research I chose a company in Banff, Canada. I had a great time and passed my exams but to this day I wonder if it was worth the money.
Since then I have been working as a ski instructor in Poland. YES! that’s right Poland. Unfortunately for me when I was researching instructor training courses I hadn’t realised that Poland was an option.
Instructor training Academy’s is in Zakopane, Poland offer some of the cheapest instructor training courses in the world. The average price of an 11 week course is just 3250, (including exams ), that is less than half the price of most instructor companies and indeed a considerable amount less than I paid for my course in Canada.
How can Poland be so Cheap?
When I started working in Zakopane, having spent so much money in Canada, I was thinking exactly the same thing.
Firstly of course, Poland is Cheap, currently 1 = 5zl (2010) and for example a loaf of bread will cost just 40p and a beer in a pub/club/on the slopes just 1.20. The price of lift passes are around 10-20 per day rather than 40-60 in other countries.
Secondly most companies own their own Chalets or Hotels, this means that money is not lost in extortionate hotel prices.
Thirdly, some of the worlds cheapest holidays can also be found in Poland. Which means you can get a huge training experience by shadowing one of the ski schools in Zakopane
Finally, you may expect Zakopane to have very few English speaking instructors but you would be wrong. After spending a season instructing in Zakopane, i was amazed to see just how many international instructors were there and the amount of Polish instructors who were fluent in English.
As with all companies in Canada and many other countries, ski schools in Poland mostly prefer to teach the Canadian method of instruction.CSIA ( Canadian ski instructor association) CASI ( Canadian association of snowboard instructors) are recognised qualifications in over 40 countries around the world. There is also a huge advantage of taking exams in Andorra which is a small beautiful country between France and Spain (the only country apart from Canada to certify instructors for the Canadian qualifications). Andorra is far cheaper to get to (from Europe) and the exam prices are the same if not cheaper than in Canada its self.
To summarise, I am not trying to tempt you away from the Rockies or the Alps, I had an amazing time in Canada, I am just trying to make you aware that there is a cheaper option in the Tatra Mountains, that offers very professional and flexible training. Had I known about Zakopane 2 years ago, with my limited funds, I would have definitely opted to do my training in the Tatra mountains.
Skiing and Snowboarding are becoming increasingly popular despite the current economical state. Many people ( including me ) have spent a lot of time saving up to ensure they get their annual ski holiday.
Since I left school I have had many jobs in the outdoor industry and in 2008 I decided to go the extra mile and train to become a ski instructor. There were many instructor training companies, most of them were located in Canada, New Zealand and Europe ( Alps). I was shocked by the price of all the courses, the average price being around 7000 for 10 to 12 weeks and in some cases this didn’t even include the exam costs. After extensive research I chose a company in Banff, Canada. I had a great time and passed my exams but to this day I wonder if it was program do fakturowania worth the money.
Since then I have been working as a ski instructor in Poland. YES! that’s right Poland. Unfortunately for me when I was researching instructor training courses I hadn’t realised that Poland was an option.
Instructor training Academy’s is in Zakopane, Poland offer some of the cheapest instructor training courses in the world. The average price of an 11 week course is just 3250, (including exams ), that is less than half the price of most instructor companies and indeed a considerable amount less than I paid for my course in Canada.
How can Poland be so Cheap?
When I started working in Zakopane, having spent so much money in Canada, I was thinking exactly the same thing.
Firstly of course, Poland is Cheap, currently 1 = 5zl (2010) and for example a loaf of bread will cost just 40p and a beer in a pub/club/on the slopes just 1.20. The price of lift passes are around 10-20 per day rather than 40-60 in other countries.
Secondly most companies own their own Chalets or Hotels, this means that money is not lost in extortionate hotel prices.
Thirdly, some of the worlds cheapest holidays can also be found in Poland. Which means you can get a huge training experience by shadowing one of the ski schools in Zakopane
Finally, you may expect Zakopane to have very few English speaking instructors but you would be wrong. After spending a season instructing in Zakopane, i was amazed to see just how many international instructors were there and the amount of Polish instructors who were fluent in English.
As with all companies in Canada and many other countries, ski schools in Poland mostly prefer to teach the Canadian method of instruction.CSIA ( Canadian ski instructor association) CASI ( Canadian association of snowboard instructors) are recognised qualifications in over 40 countries around the world. There is also a huge advantage of taking exams in Andorra which is a small beautiful country between France and Spain (the only country apart from Canada to certify instructors for the Canadian qualifications). Andorra is far cheaper to get to (from Europe) and the exam prices are the same if not cheaper than in Canada its self.
To summarise, I am not trying to tempt you away from the Rockies or the Alps, I had an amazing time in Canada, I am just trying to make you aware that there is a cheaper option in the Tatra Mountains, that offers very professional and flexible training. Had I known about Zakopane 2 years ago, with my limited funds, I would have definitely opted to do my training in the Tatra mountains.