no. 08/09 - GstaadLife print edition

Local news
gstaadlife.com · Thursday, April 30 2009
Saanen ski teachers display their world class
at the ISIA World Championship in Maribor
During last year’s Swiss Snow
Happening in Davos, the
Saanenland demo team qualified
for the World Championship of
the International Ski Instructors
Association (ISIA) in Maribor,
Slovenia.
At the beginning of March 2009,
a group of our ambitious ski
instructors traveled to Slovenia in
order to compete with the best ski
instructors in the world. In an
interview with Anja Moosmann
for the Anzeiger von Saanen, Jan
Brand speaks about their
The Demo Team Saanenland
with the Swiss color-bearer :
at the opening event of the
ISIA World Championship in
Maribor.
ambitions: “We did not want to
go to Maribor just to participate,
but rather to give the best of
ourselves. I was expecting a place
among the first ten, but we knew
the competition would be very
tough”. “Next to ours, there were
four other Swiss teams and a Swiss
delegation with two teams: the
Team “White” and the Team
“Red”. “We were aware that if
there were National Teams from
other countries at the
Championship, our chances to get
a medal would be close to zero”,
says Gery Moosmann.
Achieving an impressive sixth
place, they have proved that they
are world class. Next to that -
Björn Brand from Lauenen,
brought back the World Champion
title to the Saanenland, with the
Swiss Snow Demo team and a
World Championship silver medal
in skicross for the individual
category.
Back in Switzerland, they are not
ready to forget this excellent
experience: “The ambience
among the Swiss delegation was
outstanding. And also the
exchange with skiers from other
countries was enriching”, explains
Gery Moosmann.
Snowsports teachers’ Swiss
championships 2009
From April 16 - 19, the Saanenland
Demo team further took part in
the Snowsports teachers’ Swiss
championship, Swiss snow
happening. Unfortunately one of
page 6
The Saanen ski teachers at their return from Slovenia : Martin
Grundisch (behind), Dominik Matti, Tom Moser, Tom Sumi,
Björn Brand (middle from left), Hanskurt Ummel, Jan Brand
und Gery Moosmann (front from left.)
their competitors got injured
during training and the team had
to find an alternative. The team
reached the finals without
problems and achieved the eighth
position. The competition went
much better for the Saanen
women’s team, as they brought
back the silver medal.
Translated and adapted from the article
by Anja Moosmann, AVS 24.03.09.
Beat von Allmen succeeds Katrin Espiasse
as the new head of the Ski School
From May 01, Beat von Allmen
(from Thun) will take up the
position of head of the ski school
at gstaadsnowsport.ch. The 47
year-old from Thun will replace
Katrin Espiasse, who has played a
significant role in the success of
the local snowsport school for the
past seven years.
Many new projects have been
realized during the time Katrin
Espiasse spent as the head of the
ski school. The former skier has
worked on the development and
optimization of the ski teachers’
instruction and further training.
It was also through her efforts
that the Saanenland demonstration
team has been created. She
further successfully organized the
yearly Snow Nights and jubilee of
the Snowsports School Gstaad.
Her follower, Beat von Allmen, is
strongly linked to the Saanenland
region. His parents owned a chalet
in Schönried where he spent his
weekends and holidays. He learnt
to ski in the Schönried ski school,
became a member of the
Schönried JO and competed in
national ski races. Although he
lived in the “flat country”, he
trained as a patented ski teacher
and gave ski lessons for ten years
at the Schönried ski school during
his holiday and weekends. During
that time, he completed his studies
of sport teaching at the University
of Bern.
In 1992, he moved to America
with his wife to be and completed
an MBA at the university of
Denver. Although far away from
Switzerland, he managed to keep
a strong link with the ski scene.
After Sepember 11 2001, he came
back to Switzerland where he
worked in tourism. The position
as head of the ski school has made
a deep impression on him. “It
closes a circle for me. It has always
been an aim for me to link sports
and tourism in my professional
life,” he told the Anzeiger von
Saanen. Translated and adapted from
the article by Anita Moser AVS,
24.03.2009.
Katrin Espiasse and her
succesor as head of the ski
school, Beat von Allmen
Photos: zVg
Photo: Anja Moosmann