Mountain Sports Conference, Niseko skifields, Japan

Imagine snowboarding in beautiful light powder, cutting fresh tracks down the mountain, whilst feeling your board floating in thigh deep powder. You bank in bottomless powder to check your speed, as you decide whether to continue your fresh tracks down a long natural halfpipe, through the trees or into a clear run down to the gondola for your next ride. 

After a day full of amazing snow conditions, you snowboard down to your luxury accommodation only 100m from the chairlift, have a quick onsen (Japanese bath), and head in to enjoy some fantastic education on mountain sports related topics.

You can start to feel your stomach telling you that you have done loads of exercise, and need to refuel, so decide to head with the group for some Ramen (noodles) and Sake.

Does this sound like your ultimate holiday? It does to us! We had such a good time with the Pilates for Sports Conference organised by Physiotherapy Healing Solutions in February 2009, that we had to head back to this amazing place for round 2. Check out our photos of the last trip....

 The Mountain Sports Conference, to be held in Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan in 2011 promises to be the trip of a lifetime. We have a passion for adventure, and love education, so combined the two for this Physiotherapy conference right on the skifields.

Presented by Physiotherapists Russell Wright and David Pope, with a number of guest lecturers, the Mountain Sports Conference will dive right into totally practical education focused on (amazingly enough) Mountain Sports! Not only will you finish the conference a brilliant snowboarder or skiier, but will have assessment and treatment tools you can apply with all sorts of mountain and non-mountain related sports injuries. 

Bring your education onto the slopes, with practical on-snow sessions of  "Snowboarding Motor Control for the pelvis and hip", "Video analysis of snowboarding/skiing", "Visual analysis of snowboarding and skiing control patterns" and "Lower Limb Biomechanics on the Snow". Learn practical assessment and treatment of conditions commonly seen on and off the snow, including sports such as mountain biking and hill running, skiing injuries, new techniques in ACL reconstruction and mountainitis (ok, we made that one up). If that's not enough, we will also have sessions related to building "Mountains of clients".

Flights leave Sydney, and arrive in Sapporo, Hokkaido via Tokyo, where we will spend our first night in Japan enjoying the Sapporo Snow Festival . This annual event, which lasts seven days, turns Sapporo into a winter wonderland of artistic ice and snow sculptures. After spending the night here, we catch an early bus directly to Grand Hirafu, Niseko, where we alight at our luxury accommodation and course venue, The Freshwater Apartments , only a few minutes walk from the ski lifts.

We now get to spend the next 9 days and 9 nights here, enjoying the snow and the conference, before flying via Tokyo to Sydney for the conclusion of the Mountain Sports Conference. If you feel like some sightseeing in Tokyo, you are also able to stopover there and enjoy some more of the Japanese culture, cuisine and Sake.

As you will notice, conference attendance fees have been priced very low, basically covering conference costs. We have chosen this conference to be about fantastic education while having a great time; and for your money to go towards the experience on and off  the snow, making it achievable for all (or most) budgets. On our last trip we had such a fantastic and friendly group experience, and this time we want it to be the same - so enjoyable you won't be able to wait to tell all of your friends all of your stories. Because of this, we have limited the total group numbers to 21 people. Due to the high demand for this accommodation, the resort requires that all bookings  close on September 27, 2010. Booking now will ensure your place on this fantastic adventure.

Once you register for the conference, your details will be forwarded to Rika Rosewarne at Travel Managers Australia immediately so you can confirm your travel arrangements. Unfortunately it is not possible to organise your own travel arrangements and travel separately to the group, because the package rate entitles the whole group to discounts on flights and accommodation. The package is a great deal, with lots of inclusions and fantastic accommodation.

Conference fees are payable through www.physiohealing.com.au at the time of booking, and all travel and accommodation payments will be made to Travel Managers Australia.  A deposit of $1000 is payable to Travel Managers Australia at the time of booking, and the remainder of your travel package is due 60 days prior to the trip ie 5 December 2010. The conference fee is $440, and includes the entire 9 days of the conference. If your partner or friends want to join you on the trip, bring them along, we would love for them to come. We think it would be unfair to charge them any conference  fees when they just want to come along for a good time with friends and familiy - their place is totally free, with the same accommodation and travel price as yours.

All accommodation will be in Studio rooms but should your wish to upgrade, this is possible for a small upgrade fee, (subject to availability, and organised directly with Rika) but we strongly recommend you do this prior to 31st July 2010, when prices to do this will increase substantially - hotel rules, nothing to do with us....   

So I want to enrol, now what?

1. Register as a Conference attendee or non-attendee on www.physiohealing.com.au

2. Rika will call you on the same or next business day to confirm your booking and organise the deposit

3. Get yourself some Travel Insurance, through Rika, or on your own

4. Kick back and picture yourself in natural half pipes covered in thigh deep powder. Even watch some Warren Miller films if you are so inclined.....

5. Pay the remainder of your travel fee to Travel Managers Australia by 5th December, 2010

6. Tell all your friends on Facebook that you are going snowboarding in Japan, and watch them go green with envy

6. Blast off to the snow on 6th February

Full costs and inclusions of the travel package can be found by clicking on this picture