It was lovely to sit down for a chat with Fourth Form student Ari who has recently qualified as a ski instructor at only 14 years old! Ari was between 5 and 30 years younger than all the other people in the programme, and her course director said she is one of the youngest instructors he has seen qualify in his 27 years of teaching.
How long have you been skiing and what do you love about it?
I’ve been skiing since I was about one! My parents took me out with them and I learned from a young age. What I love about skiing is that I feel really calm and relaxed when I do it.
what made you want to become an instructor?
My dad did it a few years ago and I thought it looked like fun. I went into it without really thinking about it. It wasn’t planned, I just went for it.
How long did it take you to qualify and what was the most difficult part of the process?
I only decided to do it about a week before I started my course, so it was quite a whirlwind! My dad signed me up and I started the training process when I got there. The course only lasts for about three days because you already have to have reached a certain standard of skiing before you start. The hardest part was the teaching because you have to be in control of your group and they were all much older than me, so it felt embarrassing trying to tell them what to do, but it was okay once I got used to it. They listened to me so that was good!
how has the bloxham community supported you in this goal?
My friends have been really supportive when I’ve been telling them about it. Whenever I mention it, they always say it’s really cool and well done. I got a shout out in assembly too!
what is the next goal you hope to accomplish?
I’d like to do the next level of ski instructing which would let me teach adults. I can teach children now, but I can’t do the next level up until I’m a bit older.