Levi and Lapland have charmed skiing instructors from all over the world
The interski congress is held every four years and started at Levi this past Sunday. Almost 1400 participants from all around the globe have come to learn and share knowledge to one another about the intricacies of snow sports. Interski 2023 at Levi finishes on Friday.
The congress comprises almost 300 events spread out over the week. Participants are from 34 different countries and they themselves make the workshops’ and lectures’ content for each other, all the while sharing the know-how of their own countries. The President of Interski, Eric Sheckleton, is very happy with the content of the Interski event and the location halfway through the congress.
“I have gotten only positive feedback from the international teams about the organisation of the event, the snow conditions and Levi as a functioning location for this type of congress. Levi as a village and as a skiing location is the correct type of place to arrange a congress for skiing instructors since it is very easy here for all participants to move around and function together and use local services. Everything works as a tightly knit package,” says Eric Sheckleton.
Taking part in the cross-country skiing parts of Interski is a Polish skiing champion, olympic winner and world champion Justyna Kowalczyk, who has also been an instructor in recent years.
“I have received some very good ideas and thoughts from the workshops such as how important it is to make sure that basic skills are very well taught in skiing. Often in competitive skiing we look at the clock too much, and forget to make sure that all the other bases are covered. Sometimes some of the challenges to do with skiing could be solved by refining basic underlying skills that skiing instructors teach their customers,” states Justyna Kowalczyk.
The theme for Interski 2023 is customer experience and the whole event was created with participant experience in mind.
“The feedback we have received has been very good and it does not just include the event organisation but also the snow conditions and the whole area with its services. The atmosphere has been amazing and so happy. Lapland has offered its best which will truly show all around the globe through social media as photos and video,” says the CEO of Visit Levi and the head secretary of Interski Satu Pesonen.
“Everyone has been very positively surprised by the snow conditions and the quality of snow. So many were taken by surprise at how well we can still ski in March without any slush. Participants got to go down the slopes many times during one of our workshops with our efficient lifts and conveniently long slopes. The slope profile of Levi offers challenges even for the most experienced skiers,” says the chairman of the Finnish Skiing Instructors Association Timo Wesby.
Interski 2023 will conclude on Friday with a closing ceremony and show runs at 18.00-21.00.
What is Interski?
Interski is an international snowsports congress in which ski and snowboard instructors get together once every four years. During the congress international ski instructors show new studies relating to their sport, share experiences and develop the industry together. Interski aims to seize the challenges and possibilities when it comes to snowsports while materials, technology and understanding of human behaviour improve all the time. Interski aims to openly discuss the challenges and to forward co-operation between all areas and organisations. Ideas and technologies are shared in Interski that help solve challenges and to ensure a healthy and sustainable snow sport industry for all. Ever since its foundation in 1951 Interski has had a significant impact on the development and improvement of snow sports worldwide.
Interski 2023 at Levi https://interski2023.com
Interski own website http://interski.org/
