The NSP Senior Program (Exerpts from Chapter 18 in The Ski Patroller's Manual, 14th ed., NSPS, 1997; portions superseded by the new Central Division Senior Manual.)

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The goal of the Senior Program is to encourage all patrollers to improve their ski patrol knowledge and skills through a program of continuing education and evaluation. Through the Senior Program, patrollers should develop increased ability and confidence and, in turn, provide better service to the skiing public. The Senior Program provides an outlet for the patroller who seeks personal achievement through definable goals.

NSP's Senior Program is tailor-made for members who aspire to perform at the upper levels of skiing/snow-boarding, emergency care proficiency, and other skills used while patrolling. The Senior Program is designed to provide a forum in which patrollers can enhance personal skiing/snow-boarding and toboggan-handling proficiency, improve their ability to manage OEC-related problems, and expand their overall patrolling knowledge and skills. In addition, the program prepares patrollers for leadership roles within the NSP.

The Senior Program consists of core and elective requirements. It is designed for Alpine, Nordic, and Auxiliary patrollers with appropriate variations in requirements for each.

Training is an essential part of the program. Senior candidates are expected to spend a significant amount of time reviewing Senior criteria and using the required knowledge and skills to practice scenarios on challenging, Senior-level terrain under various conditions in the patrolling environment. Senior candidates can also take advantage of clinics (pre-courses) in which they receive constructive and corrective feedback on their performance.

Training varies throughout the system, depending on the resources of time, personnel, locations, equipment, etc., but its purpose is the same in all Divisions; to provide suggestions for improvement, and understanding of the required level of performance, and increased awareness of advanced patroller skills. It is unrealistic and inadvisable to participate in any evaluation clinic and expect to pass without training.

Appendices E-H of The Ski Patroller's Manual (see Required Text) include study and training exercises for Alpine, Nordic, Emergency Management (OEC), and Auxiliary components of the Senior Program as well as application forms. Performance on key maneuvers and scenarios are scored by Senior examiners, and these evaluations may either by conducted during a clinic held immediately after a training session for a particular skiing/snowboarding technique, toboggan maneuver, or Emergency Management (OEC) scenario, or at the end of the evaluation clinic process. Some Divisions hold formal evaluation clinics to determine whether a Senior candidate is able to fulfill the Senior requirements.

Senior candidates are responsible for keeping their own records of completing core and elective requirements (Activity Record - Senior Core and Elective Components). Authorized instructors or Region/Division supervisors then verify the completion of core and elective modules and send course records to the national office. It is the Patrol Representative's responsibility to submit to the national office a change of classification form when a member has completed all the Senior requirements. Personnel at the national office then verify the request for a classification change against instructor course records.

Senior Auxiliary patrollers may achieve Senior patroller status by successfully completing the ski/snowboard and toboggan components of the Senior Program and all elective requirements. In other words, Basic ski/snowboard patrollers are not eligible to achieve the Senior patroller classification by way of the Senior Auxiliary Program.

Senior patrollers who wish to reregister as Auxiliary patrollers will forfeit their Senior ski/snowboard patroller classification. To become a Senior Auxiliary patroller, these individuals must complete the Senior Auxiliary core requirements and all elective requirements. Achievement of the Senior Auxiliary classification qualifies a person for a Leadership Commendation Appointment, but does not qualify a person for National Appointment.

Changes instituted in the Senior Program in 1992 have necessitated a few grandfather provisions. Alpine Seniors who completed all the existing Division Senior requirements by June 30, 1992, are grandfathered into the new Senior Program. To maintain their Senior status, all grandfathered Seniors must (have participated) in a skiing/snowboarding and toboggan-handling skill review in a Division-authorized continuing education clinic (i.e., a skiing/snowboarding and toboggan-handling refresher on a Senior-rated hill) by May 1, 1997.

Nordic and Auxiliary Seniors who completed the existing division Senior requirements by June 30, 1993, are grandfathered into the new Senior Programs for those disciplines. All Nordic and Auxiliary Seniors must have participated in a Senior continuing education review, meeting criteria for those disciplines (i.e., refresher) by May 1, 1998.

Senior Certification

Prerequisites

• NSP membership status - patroller (Alpine and Nordic)
• Patrol Representative's recommendation
• Senior Candidate Application (See form in Appendix J.)

Time Commitment

• Each core component includes local and division training clinics
• Evaluation clinics - time commitment varies by division

Fees

National - none
Division - varies
Cost of materials

Credential

• NSP Certificate of Achievement (distributed by the instructor for each component)

Continuing Education/Refresher

• Varies with component. (A patroller who does not complete the continuing education requirements for alpine ski and toboggan must retake those core components to regain Senior status. The Senior Emergency Management (OEC) component need only be completed one time, but as part of membership requirements, OEC is refreshed on an annual basis.)
• Completion of an on-the-hill/trail refresher at the Senior-performance level on a Senior-rated hill once every three years. Senior Alpine and Nordic skiing/snow-boarding and toboggan-handling skills recertification (administered within the division.)

Instructor of Record

• NSP Division-trained Senior instructors
• NSP Division-trained Senior evaluators

Required Text

• The Ski Patroller's Manual, National Ski Patrol, 14th edition, NSP Catalog #501, $15.00

The following tables list the core and elective requirements to become a Senior Alpine patroller, Senior Nordic patroller, and Senior Auxiliary patroller, respectively. Also listed are the requirements for maintaining Senior status.

A Senior candidate need only complete the Senior Emergency Management (formerly Senior OEC) component one time. In other words, a candidate who completes the Senior Emergency Mgt. component but does not complete the skiing/snowboarding or toboggan-handling component need not repeat the Senior Emergency Mgt. component in the next effort to achieve Senior certification.

In contrast, a candidate who completes the skiing component, for example, but does not complete the toboggan-handling and Emergency Management (OEC) components must retake all three in his or her next effort to achieve Senior certification. Furthermore, a Senior Auxiliary patroller need not complete the Senior Emergency Mgt. component when attempting to earn Senior patroller certification.

Each Division has the option to require one of the following electives of its members. These electives represent the approved education* and leadership** credentials.

• Instructor Development (formerly Instructor Development: Phase I)*
• Phase II Instructor Development courses* (all modules required for a specific discipline)
• Mountain Travel and Rescue Fundamentals*
• Level I Mountain Travel and Rescue (formerly Basic Mountaineering)*
• Level II Mountain Travel and Rescue (formerly Advanced Mountaineering)*
• Avalanche Fundamentals and Rescue*
• Level I Avalanche (formerly Basic Avalanche)*
• Level II Avalanche (formerly Advanced Avalanche)*
• National Avalanche School (classroom and field sessions)
• Powderfall* (with documented attendance)
• Leadership Development Seminar (formerly Patroller Enrichment Seminar)**
• Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) full certification (Level III)**
• NSP Instructor Certification (any discipline)**
• NSP Instructor Trainer Appointment (any discipline)**
• American Heart Association Basic Life Support CPR instructor or instructor trainer** (documentation required)
• American Red Cross BLS CPR instructor or instructor trainer** (documentation required)
• Equivalent education programs or division-option elective (submitted in advance through an NSP board-approved application process with review by the National Education Committee)

Disciplines include Alpine Toboggan, Avalanche, Instructor Development, Mountain Travel and Rescue, Nordic, Outdoor Emergency Care, and Leadership Development Seminar.

The Central Division has undertaken the development of a comprehensive Senior Manual. Sections have been completed and are available in the Central Division Web site. For sections not yet completed, see Chapter 18 of The Ski Patroller's Manual, National Ski Patrol, 14th edition for information pertaining to the following Senior Core Components:

• Alpine Skiing/Snowboarding
• Alpine Toboggan-handling
• Nordic Skiing
• Extended Nordic Ski Tour
• Nordic Toboggan Transport and Belay
• Senior Emergency Management (formerly Senior OEC)
• Leadership Development Seminar (The Leadership Development Seminar (LDS) is an approved Senior core component for Senior Auxiliary and a Senior elective for Alpine and Nordic patrollers.)

The appendicies of the Ski Patroller's Manual pertaining to the Senior Program are:

• Appendix E - Senior Alpine Terms and Exercises
• Appendix F - Senior Nordic Exercises
• Appendix G - Senior OEC Scenarios / Exercises (now called "Senior Emergency Management")
• Appendix H - Senior Auxiliary Exercises
• Appendix J - Forms (most of which have been made available on this Web site)

Refer to the NSP Policies and Procedures for the most current components, electives, requirements, etc. relating to the Senior Program. Click here to access the NSP Policies and Procedures via the NSP On-line Member Services.

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