Excelente! Level 1 & 2 Candidates Roll On in São Paulo, Brazil

by ICP Examiner Asha Kirkby, ICP Sao Paulo December 2016

Exactly a year ago I skated in Sao Paulo for the first time and it felt very familiar returning again to Ibirapuera Park and the wonderful smooth, covered skate area of the Marquis (built in 1955 for an exposition by the famous Brazilian architect Niemeyer).

I conducted two different certification courses; Level 1 for skaters becoming instructors of beginners and Level 2 for those who certified Level 1 last year and who wanted to expand their teaching and problem solving abilities to train intermediate level skaters. The newly certified Level 1 instructors are already leaders of their local skate groups owning skate schools and already growing the sport by developing their local skating talent. After the course they feel legitimately more confident and able to better serve their growing groups of skaters.

As always skaters travelled from far and wide.  We had one candidate from  Argentina others from around the State of Sao Paulo and even Curitiba.

It is always impressive to watch skaters invest in their futures and see the opportunities which can be gained within the growing industry of teaching skating in South America. It has been a very financially challenging time in the region these last few years.  However, it is very inspiring to see how the candidates are choosing to come to these courses and understand the benefits of the investment in their own skating businesses. 

Never have I been more grateful for a covered space as each day began with glorious sunshine until lunchtime and then a strong wind would bring torrential rain. This did bring it's own challenges with our teaching space becoming smaller and smaller as the drips and wet patches grew around us. But as in real life, one has to adapt to the circumstances we are faced with.

I saw a steady improvement in the skating level of all the candidates, confirming that an ICP course does indeed produce instructors who skate better than before.

The Level 2 course went very in-depth into teaching sequences and thinking strategically about the cause of various skating problems. Everyone's existing teaching experiences helped them analyse their students and create effective changes, despite the more challenging skill set of the intermediate syllabus.

I am happy to report that skating in Sao Paulo and Brasil in general is still growing. If local groups have the benefit of certified instructors to lead them, there is a great structure in place for skating to become a very viable and strong industry in Brasil, despite the turbulent times.

A special thank you to Cissa Spadoni Rodrigues for your dedication to the promotion of ICP in Brazil. We truly apprciate your enthusiasm for the sport and your effort to grow the awareness of the ICP in Brazil and beyond!