The British Association of Ski Instructors (BASI) acted quickly to distance the organisation from a national newspaper report claiming there had been an outbreak of covid among a group of 26 British skiers on a BASI course near Chamonix in mid-January.
The Daily Mail named the organiser as Peak Leaders and the article raised questions over whether the students had travelled against UK government advice. The group had to go into in isolation in France after 16 of them tested positive for Covid.
BASI issued a statement making it clear it was not involved in organising the event and in a separate statement Peak Leaders maintained that all participants had travelled in accordance with UK regulations and had entered France in accordance with advice from the French Consulate in London.
The full statement from BASI said: “For gap courses, BASI is only responsible for providing the exam component of the gap course itself. We are not involved with the logistics surrounding travel to and from resort, nor is BASI actually selling the gap course or collecting any money from students. It is the gap provider who does this as they are the ones operating the business.
“For the avoidance of doubt, were this to have been a BASI run course, our terms and conditions would entitle members to a refund; BASI has provided all members on BASI run courses that were impacted by Covid-19 with refunds when requested since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Moreover, we have also refunded examination fees to business partners running gap courses which had to be cancelled.
“Throughout the pandemic, BASI has continued to adjust how and where we run courses to ensure we comply with local, national and international guidelines and restrictions. BASI qualifications are part of a career pathway for our members and we have an obligation to help them progress with their career if it’s safe and legal to do so.
Over the last year BASI has made a number of changes to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those taking a BASI exam, including:
- Ensuring all our trainers undertake COVID Officer training and are well equipped to run courses safely
- Amending our booking terms and conditions to give members flexibility and the peace of mind when booking courses during the pandemic that they will not be out of pocket if their exams need to be cancelled at the last minute
- Adopting a flexible approach by moving courses when rules change to try and give our members the best chance to attend
- Reducing the capacity of some courses to comply with local rules, often causing the course to run at a loss
“Gap courses aside, BASI continue to operate our own courses in Switzerland because there are a number of members living there and they have expressed an interest in progressing with their career. We are using local examiners to satisfy a local need; we are not encouraging members to travel internationally to attend courses under the current restrictions and we have ensured we are compliant with all local rules and restrictions.”
The statement from Peak Leaders said: “There have been a number of cases of Covid in a group of trainees on a course in France.
“They had just arrived to start their qualifications with BASI as well as their Outdoor First Aid qualifications.
“All had travelled in the UK in accordance with UK regulations and then entered France in accordance with advice from the French Consulate in London. All trainees travelled with negative PCR tests as required by French law.
“A few days after arrival one trainee felt tired and slightly unwell, so was immediately tested. This test was positive and all the trainees were immediately isolated and then tested. Despite the absence of symptoms in many trainees there were a number of positive results.
“At every point we have followed the guidance of the medical services here in France and the trainees have been excellent in cooperating and helping with the track and trace procedure.
“We continue to follow French rules on quarantine and are working with the authorities here to help contain the situation.”
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