Coaches

All our coaches are registered under the “Protecting Vulnerable Groups” (PVG) scheme in Scotland, or have provided proof of a “Criminal Records Disclosure” (CRD) certificate for the remainder of the UK, and hold valid first aid qualifications.

Gary Whatford – Head Coach

I began teaching people to ski over 30 years ago, qualifying as BASI Grade 3 (new Level 2) in 2001 and went on to become ISIA qualified in 2005. My learning continues and I still attend Professional Development Courses, Race Training and Refresher courses regularly.

I joined Gordon Skiers over 10 years ago, becoming a member of the coaching team soon after, bringing a varied experience having worked with several clubs over my career. A steep learning curve led me to become Head Coach, 2 years later. As Head Coach, my role is to engage with members and ensure we have a development plan that delivers on our members needs, both for children and adults, with Gordon Skiers coaching skiers from age 6 – 50+ and having mentored 10 racers through to a career in Ski Teaching.

  • BASI L3 ISIA (Alpine)
  • UKCP L2 (Alpine)
  • BASI L4 European Mountain Safety
  • SSS Tutor & Coaching Mentor
Fraser McLeod

Fraser McLeod

I started skiing in 1975 with Bearsden Ski Club, racing and instructing for the club before moving to race for Strathclyde University in the late ’80’s, when I also began teaching for Carrbridge Ski School on Cairngorm. I continued to teach for many years with Carrbridge and then The Ski School (Cairngorm), along with periods in Italy and in Les Portes Du Soleil, France.

After qualifying as a club instructor with Bearsden in 1984, I gained my BASI Grade 3 (now Level 2) in 1994 and Grade 2 (now BASI Level 3) in 1995, completing the additional ISIA requirements in 2001.

While my teaching career has been varied, covering all age groups and abilities, CPD remains a core part of my skiing, maintaining my qualifications in line with latest practice and learnings.

  • BASI L3 ISIA (Alpine)
  • UKCP L2 (Alpine)
  • BASI L3 Mountain Safety

Beth Whatford

I grew up in a ski crazy family, beginning my skiing journey at the grand old age of 16 months, with my “home” slope being split between the Lecht and Courchevel. I joined Gordon’s skiers over 10 years ago as one of the Bairns, when my love for ski racing took off!

My ski racing career includes many successes, including top spot in many of the home races (Scottish Children’s Champs, Scottish Bairns Champs etc). This has been alongside racing on the UK alpine circuit over many years, achieving results in the Scottish, English and British Alpine Championships in France and Italy, which led me to achieving entry to the Scottish Development Squad.

I continue to race on the FIS circuit, combining this with progressing through my coaching qualifications. This resulted in gaining my BASI L1 (Alpine) in the summer of 2017, when I began coaching for Gordon’s skiers, along with teaching at Alford Ski Centre. My BASI L2 (Alpine) followed during the autumn of 2018, and I am now working towards my BASI L3 ISIA (Alpine).

I am fortunate to have been coached, have shadowed and worked with many high performance coaches and instructors over the years, allowing me to develop a wide and deep knowledge and understanding of performance skiing.

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
  • UKCP L1
Malcolm Campbell

Malcolm Campbell

While serving in the Army in the 70’s, I qualified and worked as a cross-country instructor, (NSFGB L3, now BASI Nordic), in Germany and Scotland. Several winters were then spent at Bellahouston, Glasgow, working on their dry may and snow, prior to qualifying as a BASI Grade 3 (now L2) before moving to Aberdeen’s Kaimhill dry slope where I was Head of Snowsports for 10 years.  A sideways qualification pathway beckoned, resulting in me qualifying in the Snowboarding and Adaptive disciplines, where I continue to work with Special Needs and Visually Impaired athletes on a regular basis.

My personal development continues, undertaking additional courses annually, with the aim of increasing my learning and knowledge.

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
  • BASI L1 (Snowboard)
  • BASI L2 (Adaptive)
  • UKCP L2 (Alpine)

John MacRae

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
  • BASI L1 (Adaptive)
  • BASI L3 Mountain Safety
  • UKCP L2 (Alpine)

Alex Budge

As one of the newest recruits to the Gordon Skiers coaching team, I’m excited to get to know everybody and see all the great things that happen within the club. I’ve been skiing since the age of 5 and teaching for the last 6 years, both on snow and dry mat, meeting a variety of different levels and types of skier. Over this time, I’ve worked with a lot of different instructors and coaches and enjoy seeing the range of teaching methods that people use.

I gained my BASI level 2 qualification in 2014 and have been lucky enough to teach in France, Italy, and Scotland over the years. Having also found a passion for racing through the university club, I’ve continually developed my knowledge in this area over the last 4 years and am always keen to attend a training day or weekend whenever possible – my most recent being a race setting course on  Cairngorm Mountain.

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
  • UKCP L1 (Alpine)

Mark Rasmusen

I came into skiing late at the age of 18; however, I’ve made
up for my late start having spent a lot of time on skis. My passion is
off-piste skiing and I have been very lucky to have skied all over the world –
there are still a lot of places to go!

Whilst working for Cardrona Ski School, near Wanaka on the
south island of New Zealand, I gained my first instructor qualification in 1992,
the NZSIA Level One. I worked there for two seasons, in between returning to
Europe to work in Les Gets in France as one of two guides for Ski Total. Before
returning to work in the oil industry I was lucky enough to get a job with
Carrbridge Ski School, spending the 1994 season working full time at Cairngorm,
whilst working the following season part-time at weekends.     

My introduction to the Gordon skiers was through my children,
Vicky and Erik, they absolutely loved their time with the club. Their
enthusiasm got me interested is teaching again, so I sat my BASI 1 in 2105, and
with encouragement and help from Gary Whatford started to run gates. I completed
my BASI 2 in 2018. To continue my professional development in skiing, the next
course for me will be a coaching coarse, probably the UKCP L1. 

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
Jamie Robertson

Jamie Robertson

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)

Andrew Simpson

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
 

Gail Ross

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
  • UKCP L1 (Alpine)

Andrew Campbell

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
  • UKCP L2 (Alpine)
  • BASI L3 Mountain Safety

Lucy Scott

Lucy trained with Bearsden for 13 years as well as the CDC Performance and West Scotland Race Training (WSRT). She was a member of the Scottish Alpine Ski Team for thee seasons training allover Europe, with impressive results including: Overall Female Scottish Schools Champion 2016; Scottish Universities Dry Slope Champion 2017; 3rd place at the British Universities Dry Slope Championships 2017; and 2nd Overall British U18 FIS Female at English Championships, Bormio 2017. Lucy is delighted to be supported by local business Ski ‘n’ Boardroom as a sponsored athlete. Since qualifying as a coach, Lucy has worked with Bearsden, as well as with Gordon Skiers in Aberdeen – where she is studying for a degree in Social Sciences at Robert Gordon University. Lucy is currently recovering from knee surgery, and once she has completed her studies she hopes to spend time coaching abroad.
 
  • BASI L1 (Alpine)
  • UKCP L1 (Alpine)

Mentored Instructors

Rachael Morrrison

Rachael Morrison

  • BASI L1 (Alpine)

Erik Rasmusen

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)
  • UKCP L1 (Alpine)

Vicky Rasmusen

  • BASI L1 (Alpine)

Kathleen Ray

  • BASI L2 (Alpine)

Sophie Ross

  • BASI L1 (Alpine)

Graeme Campbell

  • BASI L1 (Alpine)