Our history

Short and Long-Term Goals:

1.   Organize InterTele in a thoughtful time-cycle, time of season, location, and format for maximum participation and benefit of Tele instructors around the world

2.   Influence the way that Tele is supported at InterSki, through an understanding of which countries are the key players (innovative, new materials/ideas), how to organize indoor sessions, and support Tele culture at InterSki

3.   Support the sharing of ideas regarding Tele outside of events (InterTele and InterSki), through some mix of e-mail, social media and other means of connecting.

History – How IT Began

Tele’ers have been attending the quadrennial celebration of InterSki since the 70’s. This event, while great on many levels, wasn’t designed for, and didn’t always meet the needs and expectations of Tele’ers. We had 30ish Telemarkers at InterSki Crans-Montana in 2003. Prior to the Interski 2007 in South Korea, due to some atomic testing in the Sea of Japan, PSIA (USA) pulled out, and was not in attendance. We had 57 Telemarkers at InterSki St. Anton in 2011. 

We wanted to create something that was designed by Tele’ers and for Tele’ers, at an amazing venue, easily accessible from distant points of origin, affordable, with a dynamic format that would optimize formal and informal networking and interaction opportunities.

InterTele 2013 was born. Held at Snowbird, Utah, USA in late April, the event was graced by 42 Telemarkers. Presenters applied to present, were approved by a Presentation Committee, and received a credit for presenting.

Demographics – Who IT is For

1.   National Team Members/Examiners/Trainers and instructors – to share best ideas/practices between countries and instructor associations. InterTele is for certified instructors and associations that support Telemark the world over. Due to the limited number of country instructor associations, and the limited support for Tele’ers to participate in ISIA events like InterSki, InterTele is an open door to certified Telemark Instructors who want to be in tune with the latest developments internationally to learn and grow their ability to share their passion for Telemark.

2.   Talent/Leadership Development – Because the depth in many countries is often thin (Example: In the US, there are probably close to 800 Examiners for Alpine, but more like 50 for Tele. In other Countries, this might be more like 50, and 5. Access to higher level learning may be in short supply, and somewhat inbred (like marrying your cousin ; ) …so InterTele can serve as talent development/idea expansion for those coming up through the Tele ranks in their individual country’s association’s education process. This is partly why we had some who were not Demo Team members at InterTele.

Organization – How IT Works

The InterTele Committee, first formed in 2013 at Snowbird, UT, USA was composed of multi-national representatives to promote the ongoing support for international Tele-specific events. The InterTele Committee will determine future InterTele events, facilitate the programs for Tele’ers at events such as InterSki, and foster the ongoing opportunity for Tele instructors to engage with one another on an international level.