Ski Level 4 ISTD Qualification

One of the pre-requisites for the Level 4 ISTD Technical & Teaching courses is 200 hrs Teaching Experience. These hours must be completed between successful completion of the Level 3 ISIA Teaching Course and commencement of the Level 4 ISTD Technical or Teaching courses of the Level 4 ISTD Qualification. It is strongly recommended that the majority of these hours are completed in a mountain environment. A maximum of 50 of these hours can be coaching hours and a maximum of 35 hours can be completed at slopes using Maxxtracks technology, such as Skiplex or Chel-ski**.

Please Note: The 200 logged, signed teaching hours (shadowing hours will not be accepted) must be on your Snowsport School headed paper or other official document and signed by the Snowsport School Manager or Director to demonstrate proof that you have completed this requirement. 

Students should have completed their teaching hours prior to booking the Level 4 ISTD Teaching or Technical course with the office to ensure they are accepted. 

It is recognised that some people may wish to book onto a course before completing all the hours. In order to accommodate this, BASI will accept a booking on theLevel 4 ISTD Teaching or Technical prior to receiving the 200 hours, however it must be stressed that: 

If all the signed teaching hours are not recieved at the BASI office TWO weeks prior to commencement of the course, then you will not be eligible to attend the course and there will be no refund.

For a BASI Log Sheet Click Here

Course Price: £435
This is a 4-day on-snow training and assessment course. 

At the end of the course students must demonstrate the necessary knowledge, ability and understanding to teach skiing to the highest level.

Course Price: £435
This is a 5-day on-snow training and assessment course  with lectures and seminars. The aim of the course is to increase the students technical competency and understanding of skiing.

NB: If you are not quite at the level or would like some additional training be fore attending the Level 4 Technical course, there is an optional, 5 day Training course (Ski Level 4 Performance Training) which we strongly recommend you attend, in preparation for the Ski Level 4 Technical course. Students booking the Ski Level 4 Performance Training course at the same time as the Ski Level 4 Technical course running in the same resort the following week, will receive a discount of £50 off the Ski Level 4 Performance Training. Please contact the office to make your bookings and to get the discounted price.

Course Price: £405
This is a 4 day training course which progresses on from the BASI Mountain Safety course. It trains the student to lead tours out with the ski area boundary and deal with all the hazards which can be encountered while on day tours. Very little time will be spent revising ISIA material, so come prepared. The course can contain long days on the hill with big ascents carrying a rucksack. It may be necessary to be on steep, exposed terrain. A typical ascent may be up to 1000m. 

For a full equipment and reading list Click Here

Level 4 International Mountain Safety Log Sheet Click Here, for Log Book Guidelines Click Here and for the Log Book Policy Click Here

The course will train candidates in the following: 

Before attending the 3-day assessment courses, students must have completed a minimum of 6 days of quality day-touring where students have been practising the role of leading, decision making and navigation. Map reading, snow profiling, transceiver searching and the use of ropes must already be very competent. This log must be given to the Guide at the commencement of the Level 4 IMS Assessment Course.

Level 4 International Mountain Safety Log Sheet Click Here, for Log Book Guidelines Click Here and for the Log Book Policy Click Here

Students will be able to book onto the Assessment course without having completed the logged days, but proof of these logged days must be given to the Guide on the first night at the welcome meeting. If proof of these logged days is not given to the Guide or are not to a satisfactory standard, they may be allowed to proceed with the course however a deferral will be issued and an admin fee attached to the submission of their logbook. This fee is currently £75.

Course Price: £355
This is a 3 day assessment course which if successful, completes the Level 4 International Mountain Safety. This qualification allows the holder to lead tours consistent with the laws of the country they are in. These tours must not include glacial travel, the planned use of axe, crampons or rope, any multi day excursions (using tents, snow shelters, bivouacs, manned or unmanned mountain huts or bothies), or setting out with the intention of leading a group in poor visibility. It is a three day course which may involve one day using uplift and the other two touring away from the ski area. The tours are big days and may contain up to 1000m of ascent carrying a rucksack. There may also be early starts to make use of winter’s limited daylight and stay safe before the sun warms certain slopes. Ratio 1:4 

You will be assessed in all of the techniques learnt on the training course. There will be a written paper on: 

• Knowledge of safety 
• Off-piste skiing 
• Mountain weather and environment 

Should you fail to meet the standard in an area which can be re-sit in 1 day then you will be invited back for the 1 day. 
Failing that, then a re-sit of the whole assessment may be necessary. If a candidate fails 2 IMS assessments then they will be required to redo the training course.

Important Note: Students will be able to book onto the Assessment course without having completed the logged days, but proof of these logged days must be given to the Guide on the first night at the welcome meeting. If proof of these logged days is not given to the Guide or are not to a satisfactory standard, they may be allowed to proceed with the course however a deferral will be issued and an admin fee attached to the submission of their logbook. This fee is currently £75.

ISIA Speed Test  for Ski L4 ISTD

As stated in the Brexit Update on Wednesday 5th May, the CTT (formally known as Eurotest) will be replaced with the ISIA Speed Test at BASI Ski Level 4 ISTD. 

BASI members can enter any ISIA Speed Test event, hosted by other ISIA members, without having to become a member of another association. We will be sharing details on how to enter the ISIA Speed Test on our website over the next few months.  

BASI has also been given authorisation to hold our own ISIA Speed Tests. We are looking into various options for members that would be the most cost-effective and in line with our environmental policy. 

If you have already passed the CTT, this will mean that you do not have to complete the ISIA Speed test. 

BASI will keep a record of those who have passed the CTT because this may support any future bilateral agreements we’re able to make & because we no longer have access to the EU IMI database. It will appear as an ‘optional module’ on our website and in your qualification history for now. 

Any members who have successfully passed the ISIA Speed Test can upload their results under the External Qualifications section by clicking here.

Students are required to submit a research project, as part of the Ski Level 4 ISTD Qualification or the Snowboard, Telemark, XC and Adaptive Level 3 ISIA Qualification. 

It will be marked on the following areas: 

• Length (3,000 to 4,000 words)
• Bibliography
• Quality of print
• Grammar
• Presentation
• Layout
• Drawings/diagrams
• Research
• Accuracy
• Originality
• Personalisation
• Conclusion 

The subject matter for your project needs to relate to the Snowsport industry, but it also needs to be something that would be useful for your peers to read and should relate in some way to the profession of Snowsport teaching. 
If you are in any doubt about the acceptability of your chosen subject matter, please contact the office and we can advise you. 

Exceptional projects may be published in the BASI News. Please send your research project via email to [email protected] and it will be passed on to the correct department for marking. 

BASI reserves the right to reproduce any submitted projects for the purpose of publication, research, (copyright remains that of the author).

If possible, it is best to try to submit projects in the Summer rather than Winter.

Written projects submitted for the first time will be assessed free of charge.

The marking of re-submitted written projects will be charged as follows:

• Second attempt £30
• Subsequent attempts £30

Click Here for Project Conditions

Click here for the Written Project marking sheet

Written Project to be replaced with the  PDP 

The Written Project will be phased out of the Ski and Snowboard Level 4 and Level 3 (Adaptive, XC and Telemark). The module will be replaced with the Professional Development Portfolio (PDP). The PDP has been in development for several years, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh.  

The PDP is a record of your development as a snowsports teacher. Engaging with the PDP will help you be a more successful teacher. The aim of the PDP is to use your teaching practice to think about your role as a snowsports teacher, to think critically about your teaching practice and to use that thinking to demonstrate your learning and development.

The PDP will be officially launched in June 2022. 

The final date for Written Project submissions is 31st December 2022.  Therefore, any members who have started work on their written project will have until this date to submit to BASI for marking. If you have completed the Written Project, you will not be required to submit the PDP.