32 Degrees: Member Profile – Deb Armstrong
This excerpted “Member Profile” Q&A, written by PSIA-AASI Lead Writer Peter Kray, appears in the Fall 2024 issue of 32 Degrees. You can read the entire article here.
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Meet former PSIA Alpine Team member and Olympic Gold Medalist in the giant slalom at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, Deb Armstrong, who was honored with the PSIA-AASI Distinguished Service Award during PSIA-AASI National Academy 2024 in Big Sky, Montana. Here, she discusses the award, lifelong learning, and the meaning of “ski culture.”
CAN YOU SHARE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR LIFE IN SNOWSPORTS AND HOW SKIING HAS SHAPED YOUR WORLDVIEW?
My dad was a psychologist at the University of Washington. Mom was a full-time mom with a physical education degree. Movement was important to them, and that led them to the mountains and skiing. Dad became the technical director of the ski school, so there was intrigue with the mechanics and the technical side of things, which I got from him. Skiing became my favorite sport. After I made the U.S. Ski Team when I was 18, I competed in the World Cup with the best in the world on the best conditions in the world, and it was just flippin’ cool.
Skiing is like life. Every metaphor, every story, everything that’s important, I can relate back to skiing. The cycles I went through as an athlete, the ups and downs, all happened on a very intense, condensed time line. But it’s the same as in business and relationships. I always related skiing to life in general terms, and it equipped me for life. That’s what it’s given me.
WHAT CAREER CHALLENGES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAVE MEANT THE MOST TO YOU?
They’re exactly the same. I don’t view them in a binary way. They’re profound experiences that I learn from and are meaningful to me. When I was at the U.S. Junior National Championships, I had a series of races where I fell, and was crying uncle. It was devastating. The next day I won the Junior National giant slalom by four seconds – leading by two seconds in each run! So that moment was both: It was crying uncle, then having amazing success.
YOUR DESIRE TO TRY OUT FOR THE ALPINE TEAM AFTER WINNING AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL IS A STORY MANY INSTRUCTORS LIKE TO SHARE. WHY WAS MAKING THE TEAM AN IMPORTANT GOAL?
Making the team wasn’t an important goal for me. Just like winning a gold medal wasn’t an important goal to me. Going through the process – that’s who I am. Having my career lead me through the Olympics and winning a gold medal is the same thing as the process of entering PSIA because I wanted to learn about ski instruction and communicating skiing to people.
I don’t want to be a gold medalist skier and be viewed as somebody who doesn’t know how to communicate skiing mechanics and doesn’t know how to teach skiing. I didn’t like that feeling. Making the National Team and winning a gold medal was a result of being a student and learning and working hard at what I do.
