WSSA - SKI TECHNIQUE LAB UK TOUR 2025
Formulated over 20 years by working with thousands of skiers, the Warren Smith Ski Academy has developed an off-snow skiing system involving a series of simple screening tests measuring specific movement patterns and key actions to perform the sport efficiently. This formula helps to make a skier biomechanically sound, reduces the risk of injury, and makes for faster development when on skis.
These programs will educate people on how the 3 Way Lineage works for skiers of all levels to improve themselves.
SKI TECHNIQUE - How our body can move to get the best out of the equipment.
BIOMECHANICS - How our body can move in its best and most efficient way to maximize technique.
EQUIPMENT - This can help or hinder our chances of achieving the best results in any given terrain.
All attendees will be assessed in the Ski Technique Lab’s 6 Way Foundation tests, focusing on Mobility, Stability, and Flexibility drills. You’ll be left with enough data and knowledge to build your own technique development program off snow and dramatically change your skiing before the winter season starts.
THE 6 WAY FOUNDATION TESTS
ANKLE FLEX RANGE.
By taking a measurement of how far each person's ankle allows them to flex, we can tell early on if the simple mechanics of the sport will work or not. The ideal test range for safe skiing is between 10 and 15cm with equal range on the right and left ankle.
Many skiers taking the test don’t meet the range needed and also show a difference between left and right.
SKIER SYMMETRY
Symmetry describes how skiers manage their width of stance from the feet up to their hips and maintain a consistently symmetrical position. To test this range we use our simple 10-second test, where attendees try to pull their feet together on a slippery surface in a slow controlled movement without their knees dropping in.
A weakness in this range is usually evident with most skiers and training is needed to get to the 10 second goal.
LEG STEERING RANGE
This describes the ability to inwardly rotate the outside leg of a ski turn. So, if you are turning left, it would be your inward rotation of the right leg which is measured, showing how effectively the ball is rotating inside the socket joint of the hip. Most people show a difference between left and right and many people show blockages on one side that directly effects their turns in one direction.
Learning the correct action and understanding how to activate the outside leg is essential to achieving edge grip and pressure during your turns. Most people don’t ski with the available range they have and also have a difference between left and right. This test highlights this and shows how to develop quality in stability and mobility.
LEG FLEXION EXTENSION
Learning the correct action and understanding how to activate the outside leg is essential to achieving edge grip and pressure during your turns. Most people don’t ski with the available range they have, and also have a difference between left and right. This test highlights this and shows how to develop quality in stability and mobility.
BODY ANGULATION
Learning how to move laterally and create angles in the body is a key factor in skiing and a movement range that many people struggle with, especially on one side of the body. This test identifies your limitation and also the difference between left and right. It also gives you a chance to learn to move in this axis in a controlled manner with your hips in the best position for your physiology.
CORE STABILITY
Creating awareness of core strength and how to keep it activated whilst skiing helps deal with the pressure that skiing puts through the middle of your body. You’ll be tested on a LOW, MEDIUM or HIGH core stability rating based on how you perform on the test. Exercises are provided to help develop this area.
The simple fact is, specific movement ranges are required for skiing. Our findings demonstrate that the majority of skiers go to the mountains without these required ranges, especially when you compare the left and right sides of the body. If the range isn't there off snow, then it certainly won't be there on snow!
THE SKI TECHNIQUE LAB allows you to understand these ranges and gives you a clear direction for development and success with specific mobility, stability, and flexibility exercises.
At the Ski Technique Lab, we aim to educate individuals to develop these ranges and utilise additional movement-based drills to establish a solid physical foundation ahead of the upcoming winter season. By logging the scores and keeping in touch with the Academy team, we can continue to monitor people’s progress!
