SELF-ASSESSMENT AMONG SKI INSTRUCTORS WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF BASIC ALPINE SKIING SKILLS

Abstract

Ski instructors need to have adequate knowledge and skills in assessing sports techniques as a condition for successful intervention that will lead to improved performance. The purpose of this research was to assess how instructors with different levels of performance evaluate their skiing skills. A total of 58 Instructor candidates were rated with a score of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) by Examination Board in 7 elements of basic alpine skiing technique: Gliding straight (basic position), Wedge swinging, Wedge curves, Basic turn, Basic swinging, Wide corridor and Narrow corridor. After the practical exam, all candidates completed a self-assessment form on the same scale of 1 to 5 for each individual skiing element. The average practical grade of all seven skiing techniques, awarded by the Examination Board, was taken as a criterion for grouping. Three groups of high, intermediate and low skiing level were defined. The high performance group consisted of a total of 16 candidates with an average grade above 4. The mid-level group consisted of 26 candidates with an average grade between 3 and 4, while the low-performance group comprised 16 candidates with an average grade below 3. The results obtained from the Examination Board and the Self-Assessment were compared to determine the degree of coincidence expressed as a percentage difference between these two scores. From the results obtained, there is an evident difference in the objectivity of the self-assessment between groups. The high performance group showed the smallest percentage difference (9.79%) in the scores obtained by the Examination Board and the Selfassessment.The mid-level group showed a percentage difference between the two scores of 21.95% and the low-performance group of 54.04%. The high-performance group was recorded also by several individuals who underestimated their performances, which is not the case with the other two groups. There is a significant overrated self perception in the intermediate group and especially in the low skills group. The conclusion is that the higher level of performance increases the degree of objectivity of self-assessment. This rate of self-estimation and awareness of body position is probably due to the higher skiing experience of the candidates with the highest level of performance.