Aled’s jetting off to Canada as a ski instructor

Aled Bowen played rugby for Crymych and in more recent times with Tenby United as a very good try scorer who could play almost anywhere in the back division. But is now putting away his rugby boots and donning skis in an exciting new venture which has seen him recently jet off to Canada to take up a post as a ski instructor.

It is certainly a huge career shift from his previous work as a theme park engineer and before Aled jetted off to the ski resort at Mount Seymour, in Vancouver, we caught up with him to find out a little more about this dramatic transformation in his life.

Started on ski holiday

“I first learned to ski when I was 15 during a ski holiday with my family,” said Aled, whose father Geraint was one of the best known rugby players to come out of Pembrokeshire as a Wales B cap, Llanelli regular and long-term Narberth captain.
“Dad and mum (Sian, who was also a very good all-round sportswoman and worked with the disabled for Sport Pembrokeshire in County Hall) have always encouraged me to play sport and at 16 I had that competitive instinct that saw me wanting to ski better than my sister Catrin (now a PE teacher in Cross Hands).

“She was better than me then, but now things have changed,” said Aled with a smile.
“I went skiing with my family and friends when I was 20 and again at 23 with girlfriend Nichola, and I thoroughly enjoyed every visit to the slopes.”

Rugby before that

It was natural for Aled to play rugby and at seven years of age played for Narberth juniors before playing rugby at Ysgol y Preseli under the watchful eye of Gethin Vobe, and with the county team coached by Andy Grey, amongst others.

He then moved on to play outside half for Crymych Youth and was part of a very successful team which included Dan Griffiths and Emyr Williams, and which twice won the Youth League and also picked up the Griffiths Cup in Neyland.

He moved straight into the first team from there and helped the Preseli Men start their climb up the table with promotion a couple of times before he had several injuries and missed out for a while. But then he joined Tenby because it was very close to Folly Farm, where he worked, and settled in immediately with a good crowd of lads at Heywood Lane. He finished off in style because his last appearance was in the surprise win over Whitland in the Knock Out Cup.
“We really enjoyed that game,” admitted Aled.

Chance start to skiing

But a former colleague, who was working in Switzerland as a ski instructor, came to visit him in 2011 and Aled caught the skiing bug for real, and decided he wanted to give it a try, so looked at ski companies.
“I decided I'd make it a trip of a lifetime and travel to Canada for 11 weeks, with the Wintersports Company, from Cornwall, which is run by husband and wife Steve and Karen. Several of us travelled as a group and we all met in Gatwick Airport before flying to the Sun Peaks Resort, which is located in British Columbia, five hours east of Vancouver.”

Sharp learning curve

“It was very enjoyable,” said Aled, “ but as in any sport you need to take positive criticism to improve yourself –and we had video analysis weekly to see where we were doing well and where we needed to improve.
“As a Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance (CSIA) member, you have four different levels of instructor and Level One was achieved after four weeks – but it took six weeks of training to get to Level Two, which involves two days of skiing and three days of instructing.
“The instructor needs to be able to ski at least to the standard of the level he is teaching, as a lot of emphasis is on providing accurate demonstrations as well as great patience.”

Other qualities needed

As well as completing his first two levels, Aled also carried out his first level of Canadian Ski Coaches Federation.
“I came out of this three-day course a different skier, able to greatly improve my high speed technique and carving skills. I took this three-day course five weeks into the programme and this encouraged me to compete in the Friday Race Series at Sun Peaks and I ended up 2nd in my class men's 25-30.”

“I also completed my Level One in the Canadian Association Disabled Skiers of British Columbia, and the course was a real eye opener into how able-body skiers can help skiers of all abilities to ski.
“During the course we were taught how to ski visually impaired, how to use a sit ski, for people with no use of their legs, or fully disabled.
“I highly recommend doing these extra courses as different ways of learning things as well as guest service skills and how people of all abilities can enjoy skiing.”

Hard work pays off

“Beginning was difficult, skiing every day and altering your skiing technique as well as developing ski fitness so it was important to take days off to let the body recover, but I still skied a total of 66 days out of 77.
“Friends I made during my time in Canada are now working in ski resorts around the world, like Australia, New Zealand, Austria and Japan.
“Job searching resulted in my being offered a full time job at Mt Seymour, Vancouver, a place which enjoys up to 10 metres of snowfall annually, with amazing outdoor views from my office! I will be moving to Vancouver on the 5th of December. At present I do not know anybody there but I'm sure plenty of friends will be made.”

We are sure that Aled Bowen will make a great success of his exciting new career because he is a smashing young feller who will be hugely popular as a ski instructor.
“I have been given full support by my family and girlfriend, who will certainly enjoy free lessons when they come out and visit,” finished Aled with a typical chuckle!