Why spend time race training just to teach people how to snowplow or to take an instructor exam?

You might hear rumblings of fellow instructors who say race training isn't necessary to become an instructor. Sure, if you only want to work part time during the holidays for lower wages...you should continue to ignore one of the largest divisions in alpine skiing and one of the quickest ways to level up your personal ski technique.

Race training is not something to be shunned by ski governing bodies and should be encouraged at every level training to be an instructor. The ability to be able to put down a clean run in a slalom or a giant slalom course is a basic skill that is required of most major ski bodies in Europe order to become fully certified. Why?

Because it's not subjective. The timer doesn't lie. To lay down a clean run in a giant slalom you need incredible technique, courage, physical strength, and experience. It is decision making in the moment to push it to try to go as fast as you can...or to slow down in parts of a course where a change of rhythm might toss you out and disqualify you.

In short: ski race training is an effective way for skiers to improve their TACT:

Timing skills, Adaptability, Competitiveness/ability to perform under pressure, and Technical precision.

Racing provides opportunities for instructors to ski in a variety of snow conditions and terrain (steeps, flats, rollers, icy snow, slushy snow, grippy snow, etc), which helps them to become more adaptable and better able to handle challenging situations on the slopes in general.

Good racing requires skiers to perform complex maneuvers with exact timing and precision in a course, something that can only be achieved with repetition of movements in training.

Finally, it's no mystery that the end result of learning how to race is learning how to be the fastest...and win. Ski racing involves competing against others, which can help instructors to learn to perform under pressure and prepare for the high-pressure environment of the highest level exams (competing against yourself and pushing yourself to the level you are capable of without falling apart is harder than it seems).

Overall, ski race training can provide instructors with a well-rounded set of skills and experiences that can help them succeed in passing their exams and increasing their technical skills on the slopes...and it's also really fun.