We Are American Ski and Snowboard Instruction
The Professional Ski Instructors of America – American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) is an educational and professional development organization with 34,000+ individual and 300+ school members. PSIA-AASI members are incredibly passionate, committed to sharing their love of skiing and snowboarding, and undergo rigorous training to become experts in instruction. The positive, professional experiences they provide to ski resort guests are critical to welcoming and developing the next generation of winter enthusiasts, and to ensuring a healthy future for the snowsports industry. We firmly believe that more skill equals more fun!
Local Roots With a Global Reach
PSIA-AASI creates lifelong adventures through education. More specifically, we establish certification standards for instructors and develop education materials to help members deliver the highest-quality lessons and reach their certification goals, provide members with innovative and practical professional development resources, and inspire lifelong passions for the mountain experience. Through our eight regions, hundreds of education staff members, and thousands of annual local events, we are active year-round in every state with a ski area. Our credentialing programs cover the five major disciplines (adaptive, alpine, cross-country, snowboard, and telemark) with additional certificates focused on teaching children and freestyle. The professional skills we offer are highly transferrable, allowing members to advance their careers both on snow and off.
Priority Outcomes (Our “Ends”)
Our organizational “ends” guide the work we do to serve our membership as an education association. The broadest outcome we aim for is that PSIA-AASI Members receive innovative, inspirational, and accessible professional development to enhance their careers and leadership potential in the snowsports industry.
Our Staff
PSIA-AASI national headquarters is located in the Denver metro area. Members are also represented and served across the country via eight regions. If you see us on the hill, say hello!
Governance
PSIA-AASI works every day to improve and innovate, and we couldn’t do it without the dedicated core of professionals making up our national board of directors, national staff, regional executives, educational leadership teams, plus topic-focused committees, task forces, advisory councils, and others. Representing all corners of the nation, from the biggest resorts to the smallest ski areas, these individuals work together to ensure that information flows freely through the organization while also leading on educational innovations and helping the operational staff achieve success.
Our History
Since 1961, PSIA-AASI has carved a way of life out of sharing the gift of skiing and snowboarding. From the breakthrough instructional psychology of student-centered teaching in the 1970s to adaptive, cross-country, and women’s instruction in the 1980s to the game-changing advent of snowboarding and explosion of freestyle in the beginning of the 20th century, PSIA-AASI has built an international reputation as one of the most imaginative and continuously evolving international organizations in all of sports. This video traces our history by following the book American Snow, which outlines how PSIA, and later PSIA-AASI, has been at the heart of U.S. snowsports instruction for more than 60 years.
MORE ABOUT OUR WORK AND IMPACT
Beyond just developing the world’s best ski and snowboard instructors, PSIA-AASI aims to have a positive impact on the whole snowsports industry by supporting its next generation of guests, instructors, and leaders.
PSIA-AASI Education Foundation
The PSIA-AASI Education Foundation is the nonprofit arm of our organization. It provides education resources and training for professional ski and snowboard instructors and volunteers to enhance their personal growth, further their career paths in instruction, and ultimately improve their students’ experiences on the mountain.
Equity and Inclusion in Snowsports
PSIA-AASI is committed to inclusion and helping everyone advance (and stay) in the snowsports industry. Via scholarships, partnerships, and special events, we work to promote strategies and best practices to ensure educational opportunities and increased representation at leadership levels for historically underrepresented groups, from women and people of color to veterans and adaptive skiers and snowboarders.
Sustainability
A winter environment that sustains snow is crucial to the future of skiing and snowboarding, the profession of snowsports instruction, and, ultimately, a way of life. By working within its sphere of influence to provide suggestions for a sustainable future for the environment and for snowsports, PSIA-AASI will do its part to protect natural resources and have a positive impact on maintaining alpine snowpacks
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