What Is the PSIA-AASI National Team?
PSIA-AASI National Team Selection 2024 will take place Sunday, April 21, through Friday, April 26, in Big Sky, Montana, with dozens of talented, experienced snowsports instructors from across the country competing for a spot on the 2024-28 team. They will be instrumental in advancing the association’s educational curriculum, creating new teaching resources, and working personally with PSIA-AASI members to help them reach their professional goals and continue to refine their own teaching and riding techniques.
“The PSIA-AASI National Team serves as a multi-year think tank for guiding our association toward the high-water mark for instructional performance,” said PSIA-AASI National Team Coach Jeb Boyd. “They serve as an invaluable resource for our members and benefit them in multiple ways: through events, digital content, and also in-person as they travel across the country to visit other instructors at their home resorts.”
He added that “National Team veteran (and newly elected member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame) Mike Porter said it best – that team members work to serve as inspiration for every instructor. And that ‘their number one mission is to create great experiences.’”
A PSIA-AASI Team member exemplifies the highest level of skill performance in the following areas: People Skills, Teaching Skills, and Technical Skills. They are comfortable adapting in a variety of situations when it comes to subject matter, social settings, travel, and varying environments. The ONEteam concept, based around the Learning Connection, encourages collaboration through learning and growth across all snowsports disciplines.
The following discipline groups make up the PSIA-AASI National Team:
- Adaptive: May include adaptive alpine, snowboard, and cross country members
- Alpine
- Cross Country
- Freestyle Specialist: May include at least one ski and/or snowboard member
- Snowboard
- Telemark
Team Selection is a comprehensive process through which candidates participate in extensive evaluations including presentations on snowsports instruction, teaching, coaching, and technical skills on-snow – all under the watchful eye of selectors assigned to separate the very best from the best.
Team members are responsible for promoting, supporting, and assisting with the development of PSIA-AASI education materials, programs, and activities at all levels. They set the standard for U.S. snowsports instruction and embody the ski and snowboard experience.
The team was originally created as the “PSIA Demonstration Team” to serve specifically as the U.S. contingent for Interski, the international snowsports instructors congress which takes place every four years and brings instructors together from around the world to share innovations and core beliefs. PSIA-AASI, through its national team, has the opportunity to compare the American Teaching System with educational approaches of other countries and bring home ideas that help PSIA-AASI members improve and evolve.
As the association embraced adaptive, cross country, snowboarding, and telemark teaching in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the team became a multi-discipline focused entity, with members from all around snowsports working together to create a better on-snow experience.
Learn more about Team Selection 2024
Learn more about the current PSIA-AASI National Team
