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How To Prepare For Your CASI Level 2 Snowboard Exam
The riding, the teaching and the mindset you need on exam day, built around CASI's own course guide. Think of it as your pre-flight checklist before the big day.
By Rik Dyson · Last updated 4 November 2026
Inside
1 Qualified to employable
2 Am I ready? CASI's own test
3 Between Level 1 and Level 2
4 How we train you for Level 2
5 The four days, hour by hour
6 The four riding manoeuvres
7 What the teaching examiner marks
8 What trips riders up
9 Your last five days
10 If you don't pass first time
11 Your exam week sheet
12 Questions we get every season
Level 2 Is Where You Go From Qualified To Employable.
Level 1 proves you can get a beginner sliding safely. Level 2 asks whether you can take a rider who already links turns and make them measurably better, and whether your own riding holds up on steeper, rougher ground.
CASI describe the course as developing a skills-based teaching approach for novice and intermediate snowboarding. Pass, and you are certified to teach snowboarders on intermediate (blue) terrain, including carving to an intermediate level, basic terrain adaptation and basic freestyle (CASI, 2025). That's the jump that changes what a snow school can do with you, and it's the gateway to Level 3.
Here's the bit most people miss. It is not Level 1 with steeper runs. Riding and teaching are marked separately and you need to meet the standard in both. A brilliant rider who teaches like a lecture doesn't pass, and neither does a brilliant teacher whose switch looks like a newborn foal on ice. If you want the whole CASI ladder first, read CASI, explained properly.
4 daysA minimum of 24 hours, evaluations included
16Minimum age on the first day of the course
45+ hrsTeaching CASI recommend before you attempt it
2 marksMeets Standard or Below Standard, in riding and in teaching
Source: CASI Level 2 Course Guide (CASI, August 2025).
Before anything else: read the current course guide
CASI revise the Level 2 course guide, and the current version was updated in August 2025. Read it yourself alongside this page, on the CASI Level 2 page. Everything here is about preparing well. The definitive list of what's assessed comes from CASI, not from us, and definitely not from the rider in the bar who passed in 2019.
Am I Ready? CASI's Own Test.
CASI ask candidates six yes-or-no questions before they book. We've turned them into a tick list. Be honest, nobody's watching. It saves on this device.
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CASI's view is that six ticks means you're likely ready to get the most out of the course. Gaps aren't a no, they're a to-do list. If you're short on teaching hours, fix that first. On an internship the hours come with the job. On a course, every mentor day, shadow and practice teach is your mileage, so treat them like the real thing. See how our internships in Canada build those hours in.
Between Level 1 And Level 2.
The dust settles on your Level 1 and the obvious question is what next. Five things worth doing before Level 2 training starts.
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Ride for the fun of it
The pressure is off for now. Get off the groomers, explore the mountain and find some powder. If you've done nothing but snowboard for weeks, give your legs a proper rest instead.
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Log in to your CASI account
Read your evaluator's comments from the Level 1 course and let them shape what you work on next. Your account also opens the pro deals portal.
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Tell people
Call home and post the photo of your instructor pin. It saves a lot of repeat phone calls. Tag us too, because we like following along.
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Take an honest look at your first few weeks
Were you thriving or just surviving? Chasing first chair and last call every day? Missing the odd training session? Is your kit holding you back, or is there a niggling knee a physio should see? Now is the time to fix it, not in exam week.
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Tell us what would help
If there's anything we can do to support your next step, ask. That's what we're here for.
How We Train You For Level 2.
Level 1 training is short, sharp and scripted, because it has to be. Level 2 training is longer and more exploratory: less a checklist, more a journey through the real situations you meet teaching intermediate riders. If it snows on a carving day, we spend it on terrain adaptation instead. That's deliberate.
01
Teaching: whole, part, whole
The biggest change from Level 1, where you follow CASI's five-step QuickRide system. Your trainer delivers sample lessons in the whole, part, whole method for intermediate riders, and you build simple, effective lesson plans you can use on the course and in real lessons.
02
Analysis and improvement
Often skipped by training programmes, and critical on the course. Spotting what holds an intermediate rider back, then giving feedback that changes their riding, can't be learned in one session. We work on it right through the programme, and go back over CASI's skills framework in more depth, so you understand how the skills (the movements) drive the core competencies (the outcomes).
03
Riding: off the groomers
More actual snowboarding than Level 1. You dip a toe into black terrain, ride bumps and switch, control speed on steeper pitches, and consolidate carving and short turns until you can demo them with confidence. Moguls are the best self-analysis tool on the mountain, because they find the flaws a groomed run hides. If you can ride bumps with a smile, your legs will thank you on the next powder day.
04
A little freestyle
Gentle side hits, small park jumps, and flatland tricks like ollies and tail presses, because intermediate students ask for them. It isn't a freestyle course, and Level 2 alone doesn't let you teach in the park. If you want Park 1 as well, we can help you make it happen.
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The final weeks: course standard
We work systematically through the mandatory manoeuvres and the lesson types you may be asked to present. Nothing is new by this point. Feedback shifts from general improvement to the course standard, and each rider gets tailored notes on their strengths and the gaps still to close.
Where this section comes from
With thanks to Sam Riley, Winter Sports Company snowboard instructor, whose training notes this section is built on. For the week-by-week shape of Level 1 training on an internship, see the internship guide.
The Four Days, Hour By Hour.
Knowing the shape of the week takes a surprising amount of fear out of it. This is CASI's standard agenda. Times move with the weather and the mountain.
Day 1
Riding, from the first run
Registration from 8.30, and riding retests join here. A warm-up built around guest service and guiding, then Riding Skills Improvement session one. The afternoon is the Analysis & Improvement presentation, then the daily review.
What it means for you: they are watching your riding from the start. There is no settling-in lap.
Day 2
The teaching tools
The morning is the QuickRide Teaching presentation, CASI's system for new riders. The afternoon is Introducing New Skills, then the daily review.
What it means for you: know QuickRide cold before you arrive, so you spend day two refining it rather than learning it.
Day 3
You teach
Registration at 8.30 for teaching retests. The morning is practice teaching: Introducing New Skills. The afternoon is the Developing Intermediate Skills presentation, then the daily review.
What it means for you: this morning is where your lesson structure gets tested in front of real people.
Day 4
You teach again, then results
The morning is practice teaching: Developing Intermediate Skills. The afternoon is Riding Skills Improvement session two, then the course results.
What it means for you: your legs need to last until the final afternoon. Pace the week like a marathon, not a sprint.
Three rules that catch people out
The online preparation workshop is mandatory. Do it before you arrive. The link is in your confirmation email.
Attendance at every part of the course is mandatory. Miss any portion and you are not eligible for evaluation, however well you ride.
Helmets are compulsory on all CASI courses, and CASI ask you to arrive ten minutes before each start time (CASI, 2025).
The Four Riding Manoeuvres.
Every Level 2 candidate rides the same four mandatory manoeuvres. Here is what each one is, where you ride it, and what a pass looks like in plain English.
| Manoeuvre | Where | Corridor | What passes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short radius sliding turns | Groomed blue or black, depending on conditions | 3 to 5 m | Consolidated. Speed control, round shape, rhythm and symmetry, with power and intensity. The odd minor fault is allowed. |
| Novice turns, forward and switch | Groomed green, at low speed | 4 to 6 m | Refined. Started with the lower joints, minimal edge and speed, in both directions. You demo this to students, so it has to look deliberate. |
| Intermediate carved turns | Green or mellow blue | 7 to 15 m | Consolidated. Round turns on toe and heel edges with a pencil-line track. No pivot, no skid. |
| Ollie | Green, from a flat base | None set | Consolidated. Fore and aft plus vertical movement, landing on two feet. Faults on some attempts are fine, not on most. |
Source: CASI Level 2 Course Guide (CASI, August 2025). Corridor width is the width of the strip your turns stay inside.
The three things running underneath all four
01
Centred and mobile
Weight centred over both feet, relaxed as the terrain gets rougher, and even flex through hips, knees and ankles. Folding at the waist and calling it flex is the classic giveaway.
02
Turning with the lower body
Knees and feet turn the board, not arms and shoulders. In short radius turns the board should pivot around its centre, not swing its tail.
03
Balance along the working edge
Pressure managed so the board doesn't chatter, the new edge engaged above the fall line (CASI describe it as roughly 2 and 10 o'clock), and a clean edge when you carve.
Consolidated and refined, in plain English
You'll hear these two words all week. Consolidated means it works reliably in easy conditions and still mostly holds up under pressure. Refined means it has been polished with deliberate, precise adjustments.
Think of it like handwriting. Consolidated is legible every time. Refined is legible and neat. Your novice turns need to be refined because you demo them. The other three need to be consolidated.
Eight solid turns beat one great one and a wobbly one. The examiner is marking what you can do every time, not what you managed once.
What The Teaching Examiner Marks.
CASI's teaching standard is effective snowboard lessons from beginner to intermediate level. It breaks down into six areas.
01
Guest service and safety
Terrain that is safe and suits the student, and a positive, student-centred lesson. Taking a nervous intermediate somewhere too steep is a teaching error, not bad luck.
02
Communication and lesson structure
Clear explanations in a What, Why, How format, and a lesson that follows a structure. If your group can't tell you what they're working on and why, it wasn't clear.
03
Demonstrations
Clear, and adapted to the student's level. That covers sliding turns, basic carving, basic terrain adaptation and basic freestyle: switch riding, flatland tricks and small straight airs. Demo at their level, not yours.
04
Analysis and improvement
Spot what is actually causing the difficulty, then give positive, relevant feedback tied to the lesson goal, and say why it matters. Watching from below, above, following and the side shows you different things.
05
Technical content
Presented correctly and completely, in line with CASI method. Use language you can stand behind. Plain and correct beats technical and vague every time.
06
Professionalism
It runs through the whole course. On time, kit sorted, how you treat your group and the person having a bad day. It has ended courses.
Two lesson shapes worth knowing
Building block stacks a new skill in stages: static, active, free, then experiment. CASI use it for introducing new skills like carving, ollies and riding bumpy terrain.
Whole-part-whole starts with the student's riding, pulls out one part to work on with a drill, then puts it back into their riding on similar terrain. CASI use it for developing intermediate skills. Know which one you're using and why, because the examiner will ask.
Know QuickRide Before You Arrive.
Day two is built on CASI's QuickRide system for teaching new riders. Five stages, in order.
| Stage | Goal | Progression |
|---|---|---|
| I. Basics | Use the kit and move around with one foot attached | Equipment, mobility |
| II. Sliding | Get comfortable standing on a sliding board | Straight running |
| III. Control | Control speed and direction with both feet attached | Sideslipping, pendulum |
| IV. Turning | Change edges in the fall line | Beginner turns |
| V. Flow | Explore the mountain safely | Novice turns |
Source: CASI Level 2 Course Guide, QuickRide Teaching Presentation (CASI, August 2025).
CASI note that you may be asked to perform many of these manoeuvres switch. So practise your pendulums, garlands and J-turns on your weaker stance too. It's like signing your name with the other hand. Nobody expects art, they expect it to be readable.
What Trips Riders Up.
Almost none of these are about talent. They're about decisions made in the week before, or in the first thirty seconds of a task.
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Leaving switch until the last week
Switch is mandatory in your novice turns and can come up in QuickRide demos. Ride it every day, on green, until it's boring.
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Skidding the carve
A carve that breaks loose halfway reads as a skid, and the standard says no pivot and no skid. Slow down until the line stays clean, then build speed.
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Riding short turns too fast
Speed hides nothing. If your rhythm falls apart above a certain speed, that's exactly the speed the examiner is interested in. Stay inside the corridor.
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Talking for three minutes before anyone rides
Short What, Why, How, ride, feedback, ride again. If your group is cold, you've been talking too long.
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Demoing at your level, not theirs
The standard asks for demos adapted to the student. A fast, dynamic demo to a nervous intermediate teaches them nothing except that you can ride.
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Skipping the online workshop or part of a day
Both are mandatory. Miss part of the course and you are not eligible for evaluation, however well you ride.
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Arriving cooked
A big park or powder day two days out has ended more exams than bad technique. Tired legs make an inconsistent rider, and consistency is what's being marked.
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Changing your set-up in exam week
New angles, new stance, new board. Each one feels small, and every one of them lets you down exactly when you get nervous.
How To Spend Your Last Five Days.
Consolidation, not improvement. The aim is to arrive with a smaller, more reliable set of things you can do on demand.
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Five days out: your weakest manoeuvre, on easy terrain
Usually switch or the carve. Drill it somewhere too gentle to punish you. Garlands and the static edging exercise from the course guide are a good place to start.
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Four days out: get filmed
From behind and from the side, all four manoeuvres. What it feels like and what it looks like are two different things, and only one of them is marked.
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Three days out: a full mock, in order
All four manoeuvres back to back with a friend calling them cold, then a ten-minute lesson. Doing it in sequence exposes the pacing and nerves that single drills never will.
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Two days out: teach twice, ride lightly
Two short lessons, two different people, two different problems. Make one a building block and one a whole-part-whole.
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The day before: nothing new, and an early night
Edges sharp, base waxed, bindings tight, kit laid out, alarm set twice. Sleep is a technical advantage and this is the day to buy some.
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On the morning: eat, arrive early, warm up properly
CASI ask for ten minutes before each start, so be there earlier. Three proper warm-up runs, because your first run is already being watched.
If You Don't Pass First Time.
It happens to good riders, and the system is built for it. Here's how CASI's retest rules work.
Pass one half and not the other, and you only retest the half you missed. You have two calendar years from your original course to do it. A riding retest means joining days one and two of a scheduled Level 2 course. A teaching retest means days three and four. Some resorts also run dedicated Level 2 retest days (CASI, 2025).
Miss both halves, or let the two years run out, and you redo the whole course. Retests are at your own cost, as per your quote. And know this before the results meeting: CASI do not change results, and they don't accept candidate videos as evidence. The evaluator's call is the call.
The feedback is the useful part. Write it down the same day, take it back to the hill, and give yourself proper time to work on it. Evaluators assume you have.
The Nerves Are Normal. Expect Them.
You already know how to pass a CASI course, which means you also know exactly how much is riding on this one, and that changes the morning.
The locker room before a Level 2 has a particular sound to it. Nervous laughs, quieter than usual, the odd joke that lands a bit flat. Breakfast is full of people eating less than they should and talking more than they need to. If the banter feels thin, that's not a bad sign. That's just what this morning sounds like.
It also produces a small crop of mystery ailments. A dodgy stomach, a knee that was fine yesterday. Some are real. A good number are nerves finding a way to be noticed. Know it happens, to you and to the people around you, and it stops being alarming and starts being funny.
Keep it safe. Keep it fun. Keep it moving.
That's the whole approach, in order. Ride within yourself so a bad moment doesn't become an injury. Remember a good instructor is a fun one. And when something isn't working, don't sit in it. Adjust and carry on.
The Pass Rate Question.
We get asked this constantly, so here's a straight answer rather than a comfortable one.
CASI don't release course-by-course figures, and our own pass rate moves year to year with the cohort, the resort and the snow, so a single number would be a guess dressed up as a fact. What we'll give you instead is our honest range: 92 to 97 per cent, our lowest years to our highest, across our own candidates. Some years we've come in under it, some years we've beaten it.
The pattern behind the number is simple. Riders who arrive having ridden a lot of days and taught real people usually pass. Riders who arrive with the certificate as their only goal usually find Level 2 is where that catches up with them. Hours on snow and hours in front of students are the variables you control. Not sure where you stand? The snowboarding ability guide gives you an honest read.
Your Exam Week Sheet.
Tick it on your phone, or print the guide and stick this on the fridge. Printing also adds a daily notes page at the end, laid out like CASI's own.
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Questions We Get Every Season.
The ones that come up on nearly every call, answered the way we'd answer them on the phone.
Do I actually need Level 2 to get a snowboard instructor job?
No. Level 1 gets you hired at most Canadian snow schools. What Level 2 changes is what happens after that: more hours, better lessons, higher level groups, and the route to Level 3. If your goal is one paid winter, Level 1 is enough. If your goal is a mountain career, Level 2 is the one that pays for itself.
How many teaching hours should I have before Level 2?
CASI recommend at least 45 hours of teaching as a Level 1 instructor before you attempt it, and their own readiness checklist puts it at 40 to 60. It isn't mandatory, and every Level 1 member is welcome on the course, but the hours are what make the teaching half feel familiar rather than terrifying.
Can I do Level 1 and Level 2 in the same season?
Yes, and our internships are built around exactly that. The reason it works is the gap in between. You qualify at Level 1, then teach real beginners for weeks before your Level 2. Doing both back to back with no teaching in between is much harder.
How long is the course?
Four days, totalling a minimum of 24 hours, evaluations included. Some resorts run an extended evening format over five sessions. Same content, different clock.
Is there anything I have to do before the course starts?
Yes. The online preparation workshop is a mandatory part of the certification. The link is on the CASI website and in your course confirmation email. Do it properly, not on the bus up the hill.
What happens if I miss part of the course?
Attendance at every part is mandatory. If you are not there for any portion of the training, you are not eligible for an evaluation at the end. Illness happens, so talk to us early if something goes wrong.
How is it marked?
Two marks only: Meets Standard or Below Standard. You need Meets Standard in both teaching and riding to pass. You are assessed and updated daily, and the results come at the end of day four.
What if I pass the riding but not the teaching, or the other way round?
You only retest the half you missed, and you have two calendar years from your original course to do it. Riding retests join days one and two of a scheduled course, teaching retests join days three and four, and some resorts run dedicated retest days. Retests are at your own cost, as per your quote.
Can I appeal a result or send in video?
No. CASI do not change or adjust results, and they do not accept candidate videos as supporting evidence. If you have feedback about the course itself, CASI have a feedback address in the course guide.
Do I really have to ride switch?
Yes. Novice turns in both directions are one of the four mandatory manoeuvres, and CASI note you may be asked to perform many QuickRide manoeuvres switch too. Ride it every single day before the course.
Do I need to be a park rider?
No. But your ollie from a flat base has to be consolidated, and your teaching demos include basic freestyle: switch riding, flatland tricks and small straight airs. Comfortable and clean beats big and sketchy.
What terrain will I be riding?
Intermediate groomed and ungroomed terrain. Short radius turns are on groomed blue or black, depending on conditions. Novice turns and the ollie are on green, and the carve is on green or mellow blue.
What can I teach once I've passed?
CASI certify Level 2 instructors to teach snowboarders on intermediate (blue) terrain, including carving up to an intermediate level, basic terrain adaptation and basic freestyle.
Is CASI Level 2 easier than CSIA Level 2?
Different, not easier. The riding tasks and the teaching progression are their own thing, and the switch and freestyle expectations catch out people who assumed snowboarding was the softer route. Anybody telling you one is a shortcut to the other hasn't done both.
Should I pay for a session with an evaluator first?
CASI list it as helpful but not mandatory. The test is simple. If you know what's wrong and can't fix it, a session is excellent value. If you don't know what's wrong, one session of diagnosis is worth it, then go and drill it yourself.
What kit actually matters?
A helmet, because it's mandatory on every CASI course. After that, the board you know with a fresh tune, bindings checked, boots that fit, and goggles for flat light. Nobody has ever passed because of a new board.
Will nerves on the day count against me?
Being nervous is expected and evaluators see it daily. What costs you is what nerves make you do: talking too much, riding too fast, rushing the brief. The fix isn't to be calmer, it's to have rehearsed the sequence enough that the nervous version of you still does roughly the right thing.
About the author
Rik Dyson, Director, Winter Sports Company
Rik has spent his working life between the mountains and the ocean. Superyacht captain, water sports professional, and now Director of Winter Sports Company, sending people off to a winter in the snow every year. He is also the one who picks up the phone when they get there. All of this material comes from 16 years of phone calls, meetings, lift chats, morning coffees, and the odd tall tale in the evening.
Where Next.
Keep going while it's fresh.
CASI, explained properlyEvery level, what each one lets you teach, and how the ladder fits together.→
Internships in CanadaTrain and teach in the same winter, with your teaching hours built in.→
CV & interview guideWhat snow school managers look for once you have your Level 2.→
The skier's versionPreparing for CSIA Level 2, if a friend is doing the two-plank route.→
Every courseCourses and internships, side by side.→
Still Not Sure You're Ready?
Tell us how many days you've ridden and how much teaching you've actually done, and we'll give you an honest view rather than an encouraging one.
Sources. CASI Level 2 Course Guide, last updated August 2025 (casi-acms.com). CASI Level 2 Instructor course page (casi-acms.com, 2026). WSC candidate records for the pass rate range. Course rules change, so check the current CASI material before you book.
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