PSIA-AASI Partners with Vail Mountain, Town of Vail to Host Interski 2027

The Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI), in partnership with Vail Mountain and the Town of Vail, Colorado, will host the Interski Congress April 3-10, 2027, welcoming snowsports instructors from around the world to share the association’s vision to create lifelong adventures through education.

The news was announced this morning following an international vote of Interski member instructor associations representing more than 30 nations and three international specialized organizations. The Association of Italian Ski Instructors (AMSI), along with the town of Livigno, Italy, presented the competing bid to host the event, which takes place every four years at different locations.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to host this fantastic educational event in cooperation with Vail and look forward to welcoming our colleagues from around the world to an incredible week of learning and sharing,” said PSIA-AASI Chief Executive Officer Peggy Hiller. “We also want to thank AMSI and the beautiful town of Livigno for presenting such a compelling alternative option.”

In addition to PSIA-AASI, Vail Mountain, and the Town of Vail, the Vail Interski 2027 committee consists of the Vail Valley Foundation, which has been the organizer of the Birds of Prey World Cup event in Beaver Creek for decades; the Vail Valley Partnership Tourism Office; the Hythe Hotel; and Ski.com.

“Vail Mountain is honored to be selected as the host mountain for Interski 2027. Vail’s commitment to professional skiing and snowboarding has a long history that we are proud to continue,” said Vail Mountain Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Beth Howard. “I appreciate all the hard work that went into this bid. What a wonderful demonstration of community collaboration and passion in bringing this world-class event to Vail.”

“Vail Mountain Ski and Snowboard School is a proud partner with PSIA-AASI and together we are committed to innovation and leading the industry,” added Vail Mountain Senior Director of Skier Services Greg Willis, Sr. “By hosting Interski 2027, we hope to inspire snowsports professionals from around the world on our world-class mountain.”

PSIA-AASI is proud to have been part of Interski since the 1960s and also to be an active member of all three pillar associations of international snowsports instruction: the International Ski Instructors Association (ISIA), the International Association of Education in Science and Snowsports (IAESS), and the International Federation of Snowsport Instructors (IFSI). The association’s involvement in these organizations has made PSIA-AASI stronger and fueled the association’s passion to give back to the community by working hard to produce the best Interski to date.

“PSIA-AASI has a long history with Interski, even from the first Interski Congress held outside Europe, which was in Aspen, Colorado, in 1968,” said Interski President Eric Sheckleton. “Interski has always given PSIA-AASI the chance to explore new ideas and test our own on the world stage. The cycle of our National Team selection aligns with the Interski Congresses, so that our teams use this important event as a tool for developing content, training at the highest level, and delivering polished messages to our members and the world.”

Sheckleton, who served as PSIA-AASI Board Chair from 2010-2014 and is a former member of the AASI Snowboard Team, added, “It is an honor to be a part of PSIA-AASI and the Interski presidium, and I am thrilled that the Interski Congress is being brought back to the USA and with an amazing venue like Vail. The next four years will be full of exciting new ideas, partnerships, and opportunities. The world will get to see PSIA-AASI at its very best and our members will benefit from this process and event.”

Former PSIA Alpine Team Coach and member Mike Porter, who was recently named to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, said Interski has proven to be a pivotal testing ground for PSIA-AASI’s best teaching practices, including breakthrough technical tenets of the Skills Concept in the 1970s and more recently the continued refinement of the Learning Connection Model, which at Interski 2023 in Levi, Finland, built on the importance of pairing the teaching, technical, and people skills of good instruction with sound decision-making.

“After PSIA was formed in 1962, they immediately sent delegates to Interski, then hosted the event in 1968 in Aspen, which gave credibility to our association both internally and internationally,” Porter said. “We used Interski as a platform to demonstrate what we felt about teaching, and in Aspen made a big statement by having six women demonstrators on our team, which was one of the first times.”

As a leader in guest-centered instruction and innovative approaches to snowboarding, telemarking, freestyle skiing, cross country, and adaptive lessons, PSIA-AASI and the association’s more than 33,000 members continue to benefit from both the preparation for each Interski, as well as all the best new teaching ideas attendees bring to share back home.

“Every Interski we attend, our association takes our best ideas to share with the international snowsports instruction community,” Porter said. “Then we take that feedback from Interski to re-inform our manuals and what we present on snow. We feel bringing that international community back with us to Vail will give those international instructors an even clearer picture of where those ideas come from, and how they inform why we teach the way we do.”

Pairing the premiere destination and world-class amenities of Vail with PSIA-AASI’s state of the art teaching standards will also allow more PSIA-AASI members to view the event, including each delegation’s demonstration runs, while also enjoying the international atmosphere in town celebrating the joy of great snowsports instruction.

As more information becomes available on Interski 2027 in the coming months, please refer back to PSIA-AASI’s Interski page. Also, for insight into the only Interski Congress held on American soil, the 1968 event in Aspen, access “PSIA-AASI Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Aspen Interski” in the Fall 2018 issue of 32 Degrees (requires member log-in).