Month: September 2020

AO training guidelines for 2020-21 season

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has published Alpine Official training guidelines for the 2020-21 season designed to keep us healthy and COVID-19 free.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard COVID-19 Alpine Domestic Competitions Guidance

Some highlights from the guidance include:

  • All training this season will be done virtually. IMD will use Zoom as its training platform and will put up a schedule soon of available Update and Review sessions. Pre-registration will be required and each training session will be limited to 20 participants. If your last update year is 2019, you must attend an Update and Review training session this year.
  • Testing for advancement in AO specialty areas (TD, RF, CR, CC, RA and TC) will not be available during the 2020-21 season.
  • TD Workshop session will be scheduled for IMD TDs who are required to attend an update each season. That Zoom session will also be scheduled and require pre-registration.
  • The Competition Official Course and Quiz are available for download now from Alpine 101. This course is a required pre-requisite for attending any AO specialty area course and testing. While there will be no specialty area testing this season, you can complete the CO course and get that requirement out of the way.

Please watch this news item for updates and changes as the season progresses. The pandemic requires us to be fluid and ready to change as the situation develops.

If you have questions, you can post them in the Alpine 101 COVID-19 Forum and we will do our best to field them.

Required CO course and quiz are up

The Competition Official downloadable online course and quiz for the 2020-21 season are now available.

Get them here.

The course and quiz must be completed by all new Alpine officials (those officials who do not have an AO classification in any specialty area). It is a mandatory prerequisite for attending any Alpine officials clinic.

The 2020-21 Update and Review is also available in the same Alpine 101 General Discussion Forum. The Update and Review course will be provided this season only via Zoom online clinics. It is required of all Alpine officials whose last update year is 2019. If you are behind and your last update year is 2018, you also should attend.

Alpine Officials should renew their memberships now

IMD Alpine officials who have not renewed their memberships for the 2020-21 competition season should do so now.

Because of COVID-19, it is taking longer than usual to complete background checks. Expect this delay. Reduced operating hours in our courts and government offices are two of the contributing factors.

If you wait until the race season begins you may be pending for most of the season.

Login to my.ussa.org to renew.

Also, watch this space for updates, new regulations and operating procedures for U.S. Ski & Snowboard events. Guidelines and requirements for putting on Alpine events are expected around the end of September 2020.