PSIA-AASI

Looking to enhance the educational value you get from 32 Degrees: The Journal of Professional Snowsports Instruction ? You’ve come to the right place! Here, in “Web Extras,” you’ll find additional insights, information, and links relating to the wide-ranging content in the magazine.

32 Degrees, Spring 2010

Focus on First Lessons

In “Give Beginners the Ability to Ski into the Future,” author Tom Legare emphasizes just how mission-critical a person’s very first lesson is, and offers some great pointers for beginner activities, progressions, and keys to learning. Plus, he calls to mind a gem of an article on the subject by former PSIA Alpine Team member Terry Barbour—“Right from the Start: Fundamentals of Skiing Are Taught in the Very First Lesson” (The Professional Skier, fall 2002). 

Featured Letter

In “On the Ball (of the Foot)”—the featured letter to the editor in the spring 2010 issue of 32 Degrees—instructor Larry Dean weighs on a spring 2009 article titled “Turn Initiation 101: Start with the Ball of the Foot.” And author Patrick Hunter offers a response. Want to get in on the discussion? Go to the Member Forum and look for the “On the Ball (of the Foot)” thread in the Alpine category.

32 Degrees, Winter 2010

Women of PSIA-AASI

In “Where Are the Women?,” PSIA member Angela Patnode makes the case for encouraging more women to become involved in training roles and other leadership positions within PSIA-AASI. Some of the women who have risen high in the association’s ranks represent top-quality ski and snowboard instruction as past and current members of the PSIA or AASI Teams. Here’s a list of those women whose technical skill and instructional savvy earned them a spot at the top. 

Women on PSIA-AASI Teams (since 1968)

ALPINE
  1. Katie Fry (2004–12 teams manager, 1996–04 team member )
  2. Robin Barnes (2008–12 team member)
  3. Jennifer Simpson (2008–12 team member)
  4. Megan Harvey (1996–08 team member)
  5. Deb Armstrong (2004–08 team member)
  6. Jill Sickels Matlock (2000–04 team member)
  7. Mermer Blakeslee (1996–2000 team member)
  8. Nancy Oakes (1992–96 team member)
  9. Dianne Golden (1991 Interski Team; St. Anton, Austria)
10. Dee Byrne (1984–88; 1992–96 team member)
11. Carol Levine (1980–88 team member)
12. Ellen Post Foster (1980–88 team member)
13. Elizabeth “Betsy” Glen (1968 Interski Team; Aspen, Colorado)
14. Joan Hanna (1968 Interski Team; Aspen, Colorado)
15. Bonnie Pond (1968 Interski Team; Aspen, Colorado)
16. Jean Weiss (1968 Interski Team; Aspen, Colorado)
17. Carolyn Teeple (1968 Interski Team; Aspen, Colorado)
18. Elizabeth “Betty” Voltz (1968 Interski Team; Aspen, Colorado)

NORDIC
  1. Debra Ackerman Willits (1992–2004 team member)
  2. Nancy Fittler (1980-84 team member)

SNOWBOARD
  1. Belinda Mehlschmidt (1998–2000 team member)
  2. Jane Mauser (1988–1996 team member)
  3. Kerri Hannon (1988–1996 team member)

Boardsliding on Ice

In “Tips from the ICE Coast,” AASI member Erica Marciniec explores all the nuances of riding the shiny stuff. If you want to add a little freestyle focus to the adventure, she offers these slick tips to help get the thrills and chills without the spills:
• First, pick a trajectory and stick to it. Sudden, unplanned direction changes can lead to falls on ice just like they do on boxes or rails. Start with an easy trajectory like a straight glide and move on to more complex lines when you feel comfortable.
• Maintain a flat board.
• Stay light on the ice. A great way to do this is to envision a cushion of air between your board and the ice. The “cushion of air” metaphor can give you and your students a powerful mental image of just how little pressure you want to put on the board. Retracting your knees and tracing the shape of the feature with your board can help create such a “cushion.”
• Make sure to approach the ice with enough speed to clear the feature, just like in the park. 

(Photo of AASI Snowboard Team member Gregg Davis by Erica Marciniec)

Featured Letter

In “Show Me the ‘How’”—the featured letter to the editor in the winter 2010 issue of 32 Degrees—Juris Vagners offers a detailed perspective on how skiers move their center of mass forward and diagonally from the inside of one turn to the inside of the next turn. Want to add your two cents to the discussion? Go to the Member Forum and look for the “Show Me the ‘How’” thread .