Did you know we have several independent instructors on our platform that have had professional skiing careers, some even participating in the Olympics? And yes, you can book a lesson with them! 

It is amazing how many of the instructors on the Maison Sport platform come from a background in ski or snowboard racing. So many of them started skiing when they were just three or four years old and proceeded to compete nationally or internationally, deciding then to become instructors, but a few of them went on to compete for their National Teams, and some became olympic athletes, and then moved on to teaching. Here are all the ex-professional athletes on the Maison Sport platform you can book as your instructors:

Graham Bell 

Almost everyone in the UK will know who Graham Bell is, either by his Olympic career, his career as a TV presenter especially for the BBC’s Ski Sunday, or in later years for his participation in Dancing on Ice. Graham has been recognised as one of the best downhill skiers in the UK and was named Ski Champion of Britain eight times. During his career Graham represented Great Britain 5 times at the Winter Olympics before his retirement in the late 90’s. A few years ago Graham Bell signed up to the Maison Sport platform as an independent instructor and has taken quite a few bookings with some lucky first time skiers. He’s based in the Tarentaise and therefore can reach resorts like Val d’Isere, Tignes, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Sainte Foy, La Rosière, Courchevel, Meribel, and Val Thorens. 

Book your lesson with Graham here  

Ella Alpiger

Ella is an ex-worldcup Swiss ski racer who now offers private lessons in Chamonix Mont-Blanc. Ella competed for quite a few seasons, her last one being in Val d’Isere where she finished in 23rd place for the women’s downhill. Along with this discipline, she also competed in giant slalom, slalom and super g. Clearly she knows all the tricks and tips to go skiing. Now she’s an independent instructor of almost all disciplines; with Ella you can book a lesson in skiing, telemark, cross-country skiing, and ski touring. Whether you’re a complete beginner looking to learn with an ex-worldcup racer or an advanced skier wanting to challenge yourself and try a new discipline, a lesson with Ella will undoubtedly take your skills to the next level.

Book your lesson with Ella here

Léna A.

Léna is a French cross-country instructor that competed in the French Biathlon team for 5 years. If you don’t know what Biathlon is, it’s a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and shooting, the participants ski through cross-country trails divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not timed, but depending on the competition, missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant’s total. During her career Léna won two gold medals at the junior world championship, and several other medals at the European championship. After becoming a biathlon coach for a few years, she decided to retire from the sport and become an independent instructor concentrating on nordic skiing (cross-country skiing) and, if you are interested, a demonstration in  biathlon too! Book your lessons in Val d’Isere with her today and discover a truly new discipline. 

Book your lessons with Léna here.

Alphonse G

Another Olympic skier, Alphonse competed in the 1992 Winter Olympic for the Senegal team and raced in three different categories: Super-G, Giant Slalom, and Downhill. He has now put all his knowledge and skills towards teaching others in three different disciplines, skiing, snowboarding, and ski touring. Don’t miss your chance to learn from a true veteran of the slopes.

Book your lessons with Alphonse here

Emily Sarsfield

Emily has had a long and successful career as a competitive skier for England. At just the age of 13 she was selected to ski for England and after a successful alpine career she decided to change disciplines and entered a new freestyle event at the time, Ski Cross, and in her first ever ski cross competition she came in 6th place. From then, Emily had a career high World Cup ranking of 20th, career best of 11th in ski cross world cup finals and a career high of 16th in Freestyle Skiing World Championships. Emily is a multiple British champion and Britain’s no.1 ski cross athlete. On top of all of this she also made history by becoming the first British female skier to win an Europa Cup race and she participated in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Today Emily is a ski coach, commentator, presenter, and motivator. Even with her extremely busy schedule she still finds time to teach during winter, and through Maison Sport you could have the chance to find a free slot in her calendar for your next lessons.

Now you know who on the Maison Sport platform was an ex-Olympic or professional athlete and we do recommend you book them with plenty of time in advance since they don’t tend to have all the season available for lessons. If you book with any independent instructor on the platform, rest assured they’ll have an incredible story about how they began their skiing career and before you know it you’ll realise you are being taught by a gold medalist, an experience you won’t forget!

The Independent Instructors on Maison Sport are Waiting for You!