PSIA

PSIA - Profesional Ski instructors of America

www.thesnowpros.org

PSIA is the certification and education body for ski instructors in the United States of America. PSIA is a subsidiary of the lesser known American Snowsports Education Association (ASEA), which encompasses the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI).

PSIA-AASI is broken down into 9 divisions:

Eastern - www.psia-e.org

Central - www.psia-c.org

Rocky Mountain - www.psia-rm.org

Northern Rocky Mountain - www.psia-nrm.org

Inter Mountain - www.psia-im.org

Northern Intermountain - www.psia-nim.org

Northwest - www.psia-nw.org

Western - www.psia-w.org

Alaska - www.psia-ak.org

The Eastern Division has the largest membership followed by the Rocky Mountain Division.

Members are both members of the National Body and their local Division. The national body is responsible for producing educational material while the local divisions are responsible for providing clinics and certification.

The pathway for instructors is similar in most divisions. The national body creates the guidelines for all of the certifications up to Level 3. Divisions are responsible for all certifications beyond Level 3

Level 1- Level 2 - Level 3 (Full Cert)

Most Divisions require that members achieve their Childrens Specialist and Freestyle Specialist designations before passing Level 3. Once Level 3 qualified, members can apply for their ISIA stamp, however for most US instructors their is no need to.

Beyond full cert, members can be divisional clinic leader (DCL) or trainers before being hired by their divisions to become examiners or members of the education staff.