World-class snowboard instructor and ski instructor courses with the Rookie Academy: Wanaka, New Zealand...

The Rookie Academy, based in Wanaka, New Zealand, offers a range of snowboard instructor courses and ski instructor courses specifically developed to provide a range of internationally-recognised snowboard instructor and ski instructor qualifications.

With over ten years’ experience, the Rookie Academy’s mission is to provide practical, high-quality snowboard instructor and ski instructor courses that ensure a complete range of technical and teaching skills, that will allow Rookie Academy graduates to obtain employment at ski schools worldwide.

Rookies share the slopes with the acclaimed Austrian and US ski racing teams, who come to Treble Cone each year for off-season training. It was not, however, just sitting on the chairlift with Austrian superstar Hermann ‘the Hermannator’ Maier that impressed Chris.

'The key is that technically the standard of instructors is better here; I would say these are some of the top guys in the world. They completely pick us apart and then put us back together.'

Rookies were accommodated in new houses and enjoyed excellent snow conditions this season.

The Rookie Academy has been operating in Wanaka for thirteen years and recently expanded into off-season operations at the massive American field, Keystone, in Colorado. Keystone has long been a destination for Rookie grads with about 35 working there last season.

Academy directors Dean Hunter, 37, and Garett Shore, 33, are the first in New Zealand to operate training courses where students can sit New Zealand as well as either British or Canadian exams in one season. The pair found that young snowboard and ski instructors were more attractive to employers if they had multi-national qualifications