2026-04-27

Taking the Technical Prize Ski Test (Part 2)

This is a continuation of my previous post on taking the Technical Prize Ski Test. After failing horribly last time, I decided to give the test another go at Gala Yuzawa, my home resort. The test took place on 2026 March 29th and the pre-test course was March 28th. Both days were warm and spring skiing was in full force.

I had been focusing primarily on my short turns + moguls since the Hokkaido test. Short turns as they were my worst score by far in my previous attempt. Moguls because spring is the season for bump skiing.

Pre-Test Course

Although I could have skipped it, I took the pre-test course just like last time, reasoning that the relatively low price (8000 yen) for 4 hours of feedback was worth it. They brought in a total of like 8 instructors so that the nearly 100 people in the pre-test Course (~60 for the technical prize and ~40 for the crown prize) could get a reasonable amount of feedback. I'm glad they managed to bring this many people.

Similar to the Hokkaido pre-test course, we were free to ski whatever event we wanted feedback on. We could choose between Long + Short Turns in the morning and then Moguls + Free in the afternoon. I did all the events at least twice, but mostly did Long Turns + Moguls.

Moguls were done on the same course as the Short Turns. However, in the afternoon, we ended up making the course with combined power of the 100 or so students. The pitch (distance between the bumps) was EXTREMELY small for the pre-test course. I think the instructors screwed up a bit and the first 10 people or so crashed out of the line, one of the instructors gave it a go. Indeed, even the instructor was thrown a bit off balance; naturally, they still managed to finish the course though.

The general feedback I got was something like this:

• Long Turns on Groomed Terrain: Turns were too shallow; turns got shallower over time. Hips + Legs were out of alignment especially in the beginning of the turn. Right legged turns not enough angulation
• Short Turns on Groomed Terrain: Needs to make turns (i.e. not just slamming the skis to the side) + increase turn speed. Use more femur rotation towards the inside (内旋) to make sure the body is in the right position
• Moguls: Too much weight on the inside leg. Upper body rotating with the lower body. Too slow.
• Free on Groomed Terrain (総合滑走): Use the entire course instead of just part of it. Make the rhythm change more apparent.

Day of the Test

As a general reminder about the scoring, +0 is passing, +2 means you're ready for the next level, and -2 means you should go back the previous level. Unlike Level 1 where 70 is the passing score per event, the Technical Prize requires a 75 per event (300 total) to pass. However, 71 on the Technical Prize is almost assuredly worse than 70 on the Level 1 test.

There were 88 people taking the test that day (+20 compared the pre-test course). The event ordering was Long Turns, Short Turns, ~1 hour of everyone making the mogul course, Moguls, Free. I got someone to be my cameraman. They managed to lose their lift ticket in the morning, but thanks to the 1 hour where everyone was making the mogul course (+ given a 1 run inspection), they were able to get a replacement lift ticket during this period. The moguls we made were much more normal sized.

In my previous attempt, I did no better than -2 in any event. Even though I had practiced my short turns a bunch since the previous test, I was pretty sure I had no chance to pass. My impression was that I was still too slow downhill. I had hopes that my long turns and moguls could get the passing score.

Results:

Here's the footage if you want to judge yourself (probably need better zooming next time)

My personal self-evaluation

• Long Turns on Groomed Terrain: I hadn't realized how out of alignment my hip and my left leg were in left legged turns. On my right legged turn, my outside leg is really far from my body.
• Short Turns on Groomed Terrain: Looked better than I expected. I'm decelerating a bunch on my right legged turns. Ideally, don't want to stand up so much in the transition.
• Moguls: Way too much upper body rotation, especially on my right legged turns.
• Free on Groomed Terrain (総合滑走): Didn't use enough of the course. Same issues as the long turns.

Conclusion

I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to pass in even one of events, which was my goal of the season. Thanks to the video though and a bumps lesson I took more recently, I think I know what I need to work on for next season to get the job done. Until next time.

Any error corrections or comments can be made by sending me a pull request.

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