Burton’s Shaun Cattanach Honored with Distinguished Service Award

In recognition of his continued service to PSIA-AASI and helping ski and snowboard instructors advance their snowsports careers, PSIA-AASI awarded its Distinguished Service Award to Shaun Cattanach during 2019 Team Training in Breckenridge, Colorado on October 29^th.

Cattanach, a former AASI Snowboard Team member (2000-04) who currently works as Burton’s global experience manager, received the award for his dedication to growing participation in snowboarding through instruction and new technologies for beginners.

“What makes PSIA-AASI so special is our members’ dedication to learning and helping others be better skiers and riders, so everyone can have more fun on snow,” said Nicholas Herrin, PSIA-AASI’s CEO. “It’s great to recognize members who have gone above and beyond.” He added that PSIA-AASI national awards inspire learning.

Cattanach brought a freestyle approach to the AASI Snowboard Team and worked to bridge the gap between the snowboard industry, the instructor community, and resorts. During his time on the team, he modernized the national standards by refining the freestyle specialist credential to maintain AASI’s credibility – which simultaneously ensured snowboard instruction stayed true to snowboard culture.

“I am humbled and honored to be recognized by such an amazing organization,” Cattanach said. “Getting people into snow sports has always been a passion for me and I have been lucky enough to work towards that goal with some amazing people.”

He added, “To date, highlights have included being a member of the AASI National Team, being involved with several education projects, mentoring up and coming instructors, and just last spring, helping the current team break down barriers in Bulgaria at Interski through the Riglet program. Hopefully this award is a milestone in the journey.”

Many of today’s AASI leaders, including AASI Snowboard Team Coach Scott Anfang, who presented Shaun with the award, credit Cattanach as a mentor who inspired them to build a career in the industry.

“The night was massive for me to be up presenting such an awesome and well deserving award to Shaun alongside another mentor, my former coach Lane Clegg,” said Anfang. “I can’t express how amazing it was to be able to represent the organization, other instructors and all the people that Shaun has reached with all his personal efforts and Burton initiatives over the years.”

Cattanach moved to Burton to develop its Learn to Ride (LTR) program. His experiences working as an instructor informed his approach as he helped design equipment around children’s learning preferences and needs. “This made the job of the instructor so much easier,” said Clegg.

Current AASI Snowboard Team member Chris Rogers said Cattanach’s unique perspective was instrumental in the successes of Burton’s “Kids Can Snowboard” program.”

Find out more about PSIA-AASI’s Awards & Recognition Program.