kids

hi there, just a quick question about what age can you start teaching children to snowboard. i see lots of 4 year olds learning to ski in europe but just not sure about boarding. i heard someone mention 7 once because of muscle development for riding a board. not sure though. thanx adam.

Adam I know 5-year olds do snowboard. However, it is an individual thing. You have to see how your child is doing. In most resorts the minimum age is 7. That is because, as you said, muscle strength is better developed but also the and skeletal strength

I'm no doctor or specialist on the human body. A guy I met who said he was from Austria in the 80's said, if they can walk they can ski. I'm guessing it is the same for snowboarding. Getting on and off a lift can be an issue that needs to be dealt with for the height challenged.

thanks perry, what was the youngest you taught snowboarding to? the guy from Austria was correct in relation to skiing however the muscles used to snowboard are very different. i know my boy could likely balance on skis but doubt he could handle a snowboard yet.

I have a technique for first time lessons that is different than the process I was certified (AASI) under. The way most instructors are certified to teach will work at any resort I have seen.

It is much easier to pick a wide run with enough of a grade to accelerate. Kirkwood has the best beginner run that I know of. No turning necessary when unloading off the beginner chair the last time I went. Stopping is achieved by gravity. This is very rare. The beginner only has to stay up, thus leaving the first run to learn turning better. The relatively wide run allows a lot of room to turn (making sure somebody will not clip the beginner going sideways across the run) using gravity again to slow down/stop.

Learning to ski is much easier the first few minutes (at minimum) as the skier has 4 points ( 2 skis and 2 poles) to stay up. The beginner snowboarder under the AASI process has to balance themselves usually on the heelside edge. Balancing on the heelside edge is much, much more difficult than 4 support points. I send them forward down the run which most resorts cannot do. The first time boarder heading straight down the mountain in total control (Kirkwood is the only place I know of that can do this) will have a huge advantage in learning.

Post edited by: PerryRObray, at: 2008/03/24 23:42