Club Med recently celebrated the grand opening of a premium skiing and snowboarding school powered by Club Med and the world-leader Ecole du Ski Francais (ESF, French Ski School) at Beijing Star Mountain Ski Resort.
Leading up Beijing’s hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Liu Peng, president of the Chinese Olympic Committee has projected that China will have 300 million Winter Sports Enthusiasts by the time of the Olympics. In order to support this government objective, there is a high demand for quality winter sports facilities and instruction in China. Currently, less than half of ski instructors in China have GASC certification.
ESF has 73 years of experience across 230 ski schools in France, ESF has developed and perfected its own advanced teaching method with special considerations for young skiers. ESF’s 17,000 instructors already train upwards of 2.5 million skiers annually. As the first Ski Academy powered by Club Med and ESF in China, the new venture now promises to take ski and snowboarding instruction in Beijing to a world-class level.
The new opening answers to a high demand in China for Winter Sports facilities. More than 700 ski resorts have opened across the country as Beijing prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Bookings at Club Med’s two ski resorts in Beidahu and Yabuli alone have more than doubled in just two years – from 11,000 in 2016 to 24,000 this year.
Aerial view of Beijing Star Mountain Ski Resort
The Star Mountain Ski Academy powered by Club Med and ESF along with a sister academy at Daikini ski resort in Chongqing will both offer the high-quality instruction developed by Club Med and ESF to cater to all ages and ability levels. The collaboration model has the Ski Academy operated by the Beijing Star Mountain Ski Resort with a Club Med-ESF trainer permanently based on-site to work side-by-side with the Ski Academy Director and professional instructors.
Ski instruction for youth begins as young as three-years old. “Club Piou-Piou” is designed as a fun and protected experience for 3-5 year-olds. “Club Stars” has several levels for 6-14 year olds to develop their skills, and Adult courses are available for all levels and with a multitude of terrain and technique options.
Moving forward, Club Med and ESF seek to expand instruction across China and welcome enquiries from interested ski resorts for the coming winter season.
