Snow Factor Freestyle (SFF)

Your Child can discover Freestyle with a qualified instructor this winter!  Snow Factor have launched a 9 week JNR Freestyle Block, starting on Saturday 8th October.

This block is designed to teach children to use the features in our weekly snow parks under the watchful eye of our specialist Freestyle instructors.

Snow Factor will host a children’s Freestyle Assessment Day on Saturday 1st October.  During this assessment the successful candidates will be grouped together based on ability.

Please note that children who have not attended the assessment day will not be able to join the block.   There will be no charge for the October 1st session if the child is not of the required standard yet.

Book your child’s place at our Assessment Day, call our Customer Care Team on 0871 222 5672.  You can also email CustomerCare@snowfactor.com for further details.

Please Note:  The slope is closed to the public for the first hour between 8am and 9am so the groups will have private use of the slope at this time.

Price

This product is not available as individual sessions.

Important Information

This 9 week block is open to Children aged 11-15 years old.

Minimum Ability

Snowboard:  Riders must be able to confidently link turns from the top of the main slope. Riders may have attempted a small box or jump previously.

Ski:  Skiers must be able to confidently ski parallel with speed from the top of the main slope.  Skiers may have attempted a small box or Jump previously.

Class Size

There will be a maximum ratio of 7 children to 1 coach for both Ski and Snowboard.

Slope Features

There will be at least 2 freestyle features out on the slope each week for the class to use.  These features will be small in size and dictated by the park plan each week. The features may differ from week to week although they will always be of a similar level to Small Kicker (Jump) + Flat box or Roller + Flat-Down Box

Coaching

The coaching team consists of 8 fully qualified freestyle coaches. There will be one coach per group each week, The coaches will not always be working with the same group every week.  Please note that classes may not always be working on the features as some times it is more beneficial to work on the slope.

Feedback

Coaching is different to instructing. The Snow Factor coaches will seek to encourage more student input than on lessons and will focus on working together with each student to achieve agreed individual goals for the block. There may be weeks where individual students receive less feedback from the coach because there is seen to be more benefit from personal practise. The coaches will be filling in report cards to detail what is being worked on over the 9 weeks.

Coaches

Rio Peterson

My name is Rio, I’m 27 and have been snowboarding since I was 18. I love snowboarding because it is fun, challenging and a great sport to enjoy with your friends. I learnt to snowboard in the dome and quickly became addicted so spent the next 3 winters out in Canada becoming an instructor and freestyle coach. I’ve been teaching and coaching ever since both in Snow Factor and on local mountains for freestyle events and clubs.

I’m also very keen to keep progressing my own riding so most of my Thurs/Fri nights are spent in the park in Snow Factor trying new tricks. I like to compete in rail jams and competitions when I can and have been lucky enough to win some of these and gain sponsorship from different companies over the years. I’m currently the Burton Girls UK Ambassador which has been an awesome privilege so far.

I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to snowboard all year round in Snow Factor. It’s great helping people discover snowboarding and progress their skills and I love that I can pass on my enthusiasm for the sport.

James Bowman

My name is James, I’m a 20 year old snowboard freestyle coach, I learned to snowboard when I was 10 at Glenshee and have snowboarded every weekend in the winter at Glencoe since then. I became an instructor in 2012 and a freestyle coach in 2014. If I’m not working I’m usually found riding on a Thursday or Friday night in the park, my favourite tricks to do is a front lip on rails or a nice big backside 360 on the jumps.

Marc McClement

Hey, I am Marc but most people call me “Gladis”. I’m 22 from Bearsden, Scotland. I grew up snowboarding on Bearsden’s dryslope and occasionally riding in the indoor (Sno!zone at the time) I have always been obsessed with freestyle and in 2009 got my instructors qualification. I started working in Snowfactor in 2013 and have been here ever since!

Andy Robinson

Yo Yo, I’m Andy, I’m 28 and have been snowboarding since I was 15. I have worked at Snow Factor since it started and worked at Sno!Zone before that so have been in the dome itself since 2009. I’m a snowboard instructor, freestyle coach and park shaper here and its tank! Snowboarding is the most fun you can have and I’m super lucky that I get paid to do it with my mates!

Kate Woolley

I am 25 years old and I have skied since I was 4. I became an instructor when I was 18 and then became obsessed about freestyle soon after. I have done ski seasons in Scotland, Japan and New Zealand.  I started working in Snow Factor in 2013 and got my freestyle coach qualification in 2014.

I really enjoy working at Snow Factor as it is great to have a facility for skiing that is open all year round, so you can always progress and work on new tricks. My favourite go to trick is a big mute grab off a kicker or a ski slide to two out on the rails.

Duncan Chalmers

My name is Duncan and I’m a ski instructor and coach at Snow Factor. I’ve been skiing since I was 5 years old and learned in the USA. In the last few years I have really gotten in to freestyle skiing and am enjoying it. My favourite trick to do is a 360

Struan Leonard

Hey I’m Struan! I’ve been skiing since I was a bean sprout and haven’t really stopped since. I was first introduced to freestyle skiing at Bellahouston, which is where I skied as a wee laddy.

Since working at Snow Factor I’ve become a bit ski daft and have a lot of passion and enthusiasm for the sport. Skiing on every freestyle night to try and improve and have as much fun as I can. For me skiing with mates or as part of a group makes everything so much more fun and at the end of the day having fun is what it’s all about!

Sadly I’m not cool enough yet to do any seasons abroad as I’m currently at university, but maybe one day.

Daniel Bryan

I learned to ski in Snow Factor when I was about 13 and then never skied again until I started working there in 2013. Since then I’ve been doing freestyle almost religiously every Thursday and Friday night. I love it because it allows you to make skiing your own, be creative and learn the tricks you want to learn. It’s a great way to socialise and there is nothing better than shredding with your friends.