Professional standards
The professional status held by a certified coach, the ethical standards that govern practice, the quality assurance applied to assessment, and the recognition of existing qualifications.
Coach Status
ARCI separates what a coach has earned from whether they are currently active. Inactive is a normal pause — not a disciplinary label.
Qualification Status
Trained
Required training completed; full certification requirements not yet complete.
Certified
All relevant certification requirements met. Course attendance does not automatically equal certification.
Current ARCI Status
Current
The coach holds Current ARCI Status for this season.
Inactive
Professional participation paused — for a season, a career break, family reasons or other circumstances. The qualification remains valid.
Valid Combinations
Training complete; certification in progress; Current ARCI Status held.
Training complete; professional participation paused.
All certification requirements met; Current ARCI Status held.
Fully certified; professional participation paused.
Reactivation
For normal inactivity of one or two seasons, reactivation is simple, with no full re-examination and no automatic course repetition.
Renew Current ARCI Status
Acknowledge current Ethics / Professional Standards
Complete mandatory professional updates issued during absence where relevant
Public Coach Directory
Inactive coaches remain visible publicly, for example “Advanced Race Coach · Certified · Inactive”. A coach is only removed from public visibility for disciplinary reasons, and is then not shown simply as Inactive.
Disciplinary standing (Under Review / Suspended / Revoked) is separate. Detailed disciplinary information remains confidential unless ARCI explicitly decides otherwise.
Education completed with ARCI is recorded as ARCI Education Credits. They stay in the coach's learning record and may contribute toward later ARCI education and training, subject to the requirements of each program. ARCI uses no gamification, badges or activity scoring. Professional maintenance is kept simple: Current ARCI Status, mentoring, mandatory updates, ethics, quality assurance and professional engagement.
Professional Standards & Ethics
Coaches hold trust, authority, influence and responsibility — especially with young athletes. Ethical decision-making is a core ARCI coaching competence, present in every certification level.
ARCI Code of Professional Ethics
Ethical Decision-Making by Level
Race Coach
Athlete welfare and safeguarding
Boundaries and fair treatment
Discrimination, bullying and harassment
Working with minors and parents
Privacy and confidentiality
Safe training decisions
Escalation and professional conduct
Advanced Race Coach
Selection decisions
Conflicts of interest
Parent and club pressure
Athlete welfare vs performance
Injury return
Anti-doping
Competition integrity
Confidentiality and team dynamics
Reporting
Elite Race Coach
National-team, Olympic and World Championship selection
Athlete autonomy and power relationships
Staff management
Medical confidentiality and performance data
Commercial pressures, sponsors and media
Federation pressure and conflicts of interest
Anti-doping
Institutional responsibility and leadership accountability
Ethical competence is developed through case-based professional judgment, not memorized rules.
Confidential Professional Reporting
ARCI provides a confidential reporting channel for concerns about ethics, safeguarding, Course Leader conduct, assessment integrity and professional standards.
Case details are handled internally and are not exposed publicly.
Independent Certification Review
Advanced Race Coach includes independent review by a second authorized ARCI reviewer. Elite Race Coach uses a stronger independent review panel.
Race Coach assessment is kept proportionate and simple.
ARCI Quality Assurance
Quality assurance keeps ARCI education consistent and credible. It is kept practical — no excessive process, no points system.
QA Pillars
Anonymous course feedback
Course Leader review
Assessment consistency
Curriculum delivery review
Standardization
Complaint handling
Corrective action
Course Feedback
After each course, candidates can give confidential feedback across the areas below. Feedback is used for internal quality assurance and is not automatically published as reviews.
Course Leader Standardization
Course Leaders stay aligned through regular standardization activity — not a points system.
Course Leader Professional Status
Internal Course Leader status may be Active, Inactive, Under Review or Suspended. A non-authorized Course Leader cannot be assigned to lead certification. Internal investigations are not exposed publicly.
Recognition of Prior Learning
ARCI can recognize verified prior qualifications and experience. Each case is reviewed individually, and remaining ARCI requirements are defined accordingly.
What Can Be Recognized
National qualifications
Federation qualifications
FIS coaching experience
Europa Cup experience
World Cup experience
Olympic experience
World Championship experience
National-team work
Athlete-development roles
Technical responsibilities
Course-setting experience
Coach-education experience
Professional references
Possible Outcomes
ARCI Alpine Ski Race Coach
Fully convalidated where the verified experience is equivalent.
ARCI Advanced Alpine Ski Race Coach
Fully or partially convalidated depending on the background.
ARCI Elite Alpine Ski Race Coach
Competencies recognized where appropriate; remaining requirements completed as individually defined.
Recognition of prior learning is separate from the World Cup Coach Bridge, which aligns experienced international coaches with the ARCI framework and language.