PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up again with Kyle Wilson, the snowsports school director at Nordic Mountain in Wisconsin. Nordic Mountain is a family-oriented place with 300 vertical feet. Nordic Mountain applied and received the Small Snowsports School Scholarship during the 2022/23 season. Upon learning that Nordic did not receive the scholarship this season, the lead instructors offered funds to provide a level 1 certification course to 13 instructors in January 2024. Kyle mentions that the community that came from receiving the Small Snowsports School Scholarship made this year extra special since lead instructors at Nordic found the value in providing this experience to others. Of the 13 new instructors at Nordic, 6 of them were adults and 7 of them were teenagers. Kyle has a lot of plans for the rest of the season as well including getting more events completed and more instructors trained.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Ying Liu, a PSIA-AASI certified instructor and member of the PSIA-AASI Women's Advisory Group, aka, The Women's Council for Equity and Inclusion. Ying was a 'late-bloomer' in the ski instruction world and found herself part of the Women's Summit in 2023. Ying mentioned that the idea of mentorship was a hot topic at the 2023 Women's Summit. The idea of having someone to instill courage and support is a major factor in creating opportunities for women in snowsports. Ying wrote a feature article in the winter issue of 32 Degrees on Finding Community and Mentor Magic at Women's Summit. Ying goes on to say that the Women's Summit was more focused on community rather than competition. The Women's Summit this year is coming up at the end of February from Feb. 25-28 in Solitude, UT. For more info and to register, go here: https://thesnowpros.org/events/womens-summit/

First Chair Podcast host Goerge Thomas catches up with Randi Sidman-Moore from OnTheSnow - a web and app-based platform that offers weather reports and lifestyle content. Randi has been skiing since she was young thanks to her athletic father. Randi ski raced through college and is now a ski instructor at Deer Valley Resort. Randi is also a photographer. Learn more about Randi and OnTheSnow by heading to onthesnow.com.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with PSIA-AASI National Team member Chris Rogers. George is beginning a "boots on the snow" type series that covers a range of topics including class management. All classes aren't related equally and sometimes there are 'trouble students'. Chris speaks on how to overcome some of these situations and how the Learning Connection Model comes into play. Chris talks about some fundamentals in the snowboard handbook and emphasizes the importance of the SCARF model. George questions Chris on how to avoid spending too much time with certain students and losing the interest of other students and how to avoid this.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas chats with Curtis Herbert, the creative mind behind the Slopes App. Curtis chats how how Slopes started and what the goal is for the future. PSIA-AASI and Slopes are collaborating on a fun member-facing challenge. This challenge is tracking your vertical stats for the month of January 2024. If you ski or ride 100K vertical feet while using the slopes app, you get a free annual subscription to the slopes app. There will be micro-challenges as well through the month so make sure you're using the slopes app at all times while your out on the mountain! The slopes app tracks your speed, the number of runs you've done, your vertical, and much more. The Slopes App is essentially a skiing and snowboarding journal. Goerge and Curtis talk about the challenge and the benefits of tracking your day on the hill. Have fun! Learn more about the slopes app by heading to GetSlopes.com or by searching for "slopes app" in your app store.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas brings you through the story of Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Happy Holidays from PSIA-AASI.

First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Melodie Buell from Oregon Adaptive Sports in Oregon. George and Melodie chat about why Melodie has such a passion for adaptive skiing and riding. Melodie goes on to explain how she found purpose through adaptive snowsports and what resources are available to PSIA-AASI members and how to find them. They talk about how to overcome nerves of failure and why that's an important element of learning.

First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Dr. Pete Allison - a professor at Penn State University. PSIA-AASI and PSU have been collaborating since 2016 on standardizing and unifying the assessment process for exams across the country. Starting January 2024, you will be able to earn up to 9 college credits through PSU's World Campus by completing the Professional Snowsports Education Certificate. George questions Dr. Allison on what comes from these courses and what is covered. Dr. Allison mentions that this is a completely online education option that can be done anywhere. The courses are catered to the outdoor and leisure industry, comes with a PSIA-AASI Level I certification, and a course on leadership development. All three courses are meant to onboard, train, and outboard snowsports instructors. There are plans in the works to create more courses towards Level II and Level III certifications. For people who are already Level I certified, they can sign up for one of these courses to supplement their education. Dr. Allison talks about the process of working online to earn your credits than going on snow to earn your level I at a ski area near you. You can earn your Level I in whichever discipline you like. Learn more:

First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with the PSIA-AASI National Team Head Coach, Jeb Boyd. George and Jeb talk about the consistent examing skillsets that have been talked about this year. Regional Trainings have been ongoing across the country which provided a consistent content message across the United States. Jeb talks about how the Regions are aligning to create a premier member experience for the PSIA-AASI membership. George questions Jeb on what examiner skills are and Jeb explains that it's just training examining teams on working with the assessment forms, performance guides and national standards that are available. Jeb talks about how the National Teams planned on how to deliver this message.

First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Duncan Pawson with G3. G3 is “Genuine Guide Gear” which focuses mostly on backcountry gear based in Western Canada but available worldwide. G3 offers several different "families" of ski options, as well as skins, splitboards, poles, probes and shovels. Duncan is one of the engineers on staff at G3 and helps design the perfect skis. George and Duncan talk about the mechanics of skis and splitboards including lots of information on the camber - which allows for good edge hold on the slopes. They go into detail on the tip shape and the importance of the side cut of the ski. As the engineer on staff, Duncan provides a wealth of knowledge on the design and shape of the skis provided at G3. Learn more about G3: https://us.genuineguidegear.com/