The SIA Snowboard Instructor Gap Course in Austria is the ultimate powfest for anyone wanting to spend a season shredding the gnar!
Kaprun – Zell Am See is our Austrian Basecamp and HQ, part of the massive SkiCircus Area. 400km+ of playground awaits, peaking over 3000m into the ski heavens, this snowy wonderland is yours to explore during your awesome Gap season.
Our eleven-week Gap program is the Gnarzilla, the Chronicles of Gnarnia, the Gnar Wars: Return of the Shredi of snowboard instructor courses.
Our flagship, all-mountain program is unrivalled in both quality and excitement. Rammed full of expert snowboard coaching to maximise your time on the slopes our 11-week Gap Course includes level 1, level 2 and level 3 training. You will become a master of the whole mountain as we shred glorious corduroy, pound the perfect powder and smash the rails, kickers and pipes in the parks! Throw in some park coaching, avalanche awareness, biomechanics and strength and conditioning sessions and you are well on your way to becoming a jib guru.
Spanning over a huge 400km+ of pistes the SkiCircus the largest ski area in the Austria and has the most breathtaking views sitting above the clouds, you could almost reach up and touch shred heaven. Your lift pass covers it all and best of all, there are no fewer than 10 (I’ll say that again, TEN) snowparks at your tippy toes!
Off the slopes you are guaranteed a life changing experience meeting your new best friends, hitting the après ski and experiencing Austrian culture to the fullest. Exclusive SIA themed parties, cinema nights, ice hockey trips, SIA casino nights and the occasional city trip will keep you entertained during your time with us in Austria.
Contact us today to find out more about this course or our wide range of snowsports courses.
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Whats Included
Ski Instructor Academy offers the very best value, fully comprehensive and quality filled programmes on the market. Take a look at what’s included in your course fees;
The Training
SIA has one of the finest coaching teams in the world. An international collection of the highest qualified trainers and examiners with decades of experience in the industry… Legends of the slopes!
On this course you will train towards the Alpine Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 snowboard qualifications of Austria, the home of skiing.
This truly all-mountain program provides an unparalleled combination of on-hill coaching including on-piste, off-piste, powder, bumps and freestyle, combined with some awesome off-hill extras such as avalanche awareness, sports science and biomechanics.
Accommodation and Meals
For our 11-week ski instructor course in Austria, you will be based from our very sociable Pension Abendruh with awesome view. The perfect central location allows you to get up into the mountains, hit the après scene or enjoy everything the area has to offer all within a few minutes walk. SIA takes control of the pension for the winter for our Gap Programs making it the perfect location to call home.
If you are worried about having to cook for yourself or put up with basic meals, think again!
Included as standard in your course fees are breakfast each day and evening meals 5-days per week to ensure you have the energy for the days training head.
Absolutely life changing! When I first arrived I was quite unsure of what to expect, coming from a small town in the UK and feeling really nervous. The course exceeded anything I could of ever dreamed of; meeting what are now my best friends and spending 3 months living the ski dream!
I loved every second of it! Fantastic coaches for skiing and boarding, would definitely recommend Ski Instructor Academy to anyone thinking of becoming an instructor or furthering their instructor qualifications.
In my opinion SIA is your only choice to become a ski instructor. For me, it was difficult to chose between all the different schools but I have never regretted the decision to choose SIA. The course was very well planned, organised and worth every dollar I paid for it.
Amazing experience! Loved the people, the skiing and the environment, best choice I ever made!”
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Expert knowledge
Our training team consists of highly qualified and experienced coaches. They will become your mentor, adviser and friend.
Quality Service Assured
We will bend over backwards to make sure you have the very best time with us on and off the slopes. Our in-resort team will be on hand to ensure you have the best experience so you’ll be counting down the days until your next SIA experience.
INTENSE TUITION
Your course will be packed full of training from start to finish with the highest quality, professional coaching. Intimate group sizes will offer you the personal attention you need to improve your skills and motivate you to push yourself further.
SIA Price Promise
Our course offer the very best value, fully comprehensive and quality filled programmes on the market. We pride ourselves on the fact that like-for-like we will not be beaten. If you find a better value course anywhere, we’ll match it and give you €100!
FAQs
You will earn your Austrian Level 1 & Level 2 (Anwärter) Instructor Licence, plus train for your Level 3 (Landes) Licence these are internationally respected instructor qualifications which you can use to teach in most countries around the world.
This program is designed for those who want to maximise their time training and perfecting their technical abilities.
The opportunity to work afterwards is still possible subject to the usual visa / permit conditions. The SIA Recruitment Service is available to all of our graduates to assist them to work in ski schools around the world.
If working as an instructor is really important to you, then perhaps check out our Anwärter SB Instructor Program in Austria.
During these strange times we want you to feel safe and secure when it comes to your course fees and your booking.
Our Covid Confident Money Back Guarantee gives you complete peace of mind and flexibility when it comes to your booking with us.
This means that if your course is cancelled by SIA prior to your arrival date, for whatever reason, you can choose one of the following options:
- Switch your instructor course free of charge to a later date or destination
- Receive a full refund of your fees
Our guarantee applies to all travellers whether you have already booked your instructor course, or are considering booking. Meaning, you can book with confidence and look forward to an amazing season with SIA.
Read more about the Covid Confident Money Back Guarantee here…
2021/22 was the first season post-Brexit and added some red tape to what would historically have been a normal season for students from the UK. To work anywhere in the world now, incl. Europe, Brits will need a visa or permit to work. The Authorities here in Austria have said that they plan to have a ‘seasonnaire permit’ in place at some point in the future to allow workers short-term access to the employment market during the winter season.
Whilst this is potentially great news, there has still – 3 years on – been no further news on this ‘seasonaire permit’ and so it will be highly unlikely that anything will be in place anytime soon, which does still leaves uncertainty on what will be required from UK nationals working in Austria in the future.
As of yet there is still no further news or update on the Austrian ‘seasonnaire permit’ or any other pathway to enable Brits to work in Austria or any other EU country via any independently accessible work visa or any alternative method. (latest update: 1st February 2023)
You must be a minimum of 16 years old before you arrive into resort on our Austrian Courses.
You must be a minimum of 18 years old before you arrive in resort for our Canadian or Argentinian Courses (unless parental consent is obtained).
You must be a minimum of 18 years old to join any of our courses or internships which rely on a working holiday visa or work permit.
Although SIA courses are amongst the largest in the World, we generally manage to maintain very intimate training groups of between 4:1 and 8:1, but with absolutely no more than 10:1 students per trainer in Austria, Argentina, Canada, France and NZ. This allows us to match similar ability levels per group and means no student should ever feel as if they are falling behind, or being held back because of the group they are in.
We have various options for accommodation on our courses, all of which are very comfortable. We use a combination of shared apartments, houses and chalets. There are options to to include a single room, half board meals or both! (subject to availability and supplement). See our Accommodation page for more details on your options.
YES! As an employed instructor, ski schools will offer you subsidised staff housing as part of your employment contract. This is generally basic living, but a fun and very social environment with your fellow instructors and not to mention a very cheap way of living in a ski resort, with most ski schools only charging between €4 and €10 per day.
Note: If your course does not include a Job Guarantee or you do not wish to take up your position then accommodation will only be included during your course dates.
Sure! We love it when friends come together and share this amazing experience – after all sharing is caring! We can make sure you live together and also work in the same ski school together too so you can enjoy the time and make memories forever… just be sure to let us know who you’re travelling with.
We are so confident that we offer the very best value courses in the industry that we have our SIA Price Promise. We pride ourselves that we offer more training, higher quality coaching, better off-hill programs and more fun aprés events than any other course.
That’s why if you find a better value comparable course anywhere, not only will we match the course cost, but we will also give you an additional €100 off your course fees for good measure!
Get in touch to find out more about our Price Promise.
Yes! Once you have booked and paid your deposit then you will have the ability to pay off your course how you see fit as long as our minimum criteria has been met (see T&C’s). You can decide how much and how often you pay to suit your circumstances as long as your course fees are paid in full prior to your course. We do not add any interest charges for payment plans.
As much as we love dogs at SIA the simple answer is no.
Dogs are not allowed within SIA Accommodation. Ski Schools also ban pets from their accommodation.
No problem, you can check out our full FAQ’s here for answers on equipment, training, qualifications, jobs, payments and more.
If you’re still not sure, then Contact Us and we can answer your specific questions for you.