Encyclopedia > Professional Ski Instructors of America
The Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) is an organization offering training and certification for U.S. Ski Instructors. Ski areas around the United States frequently host PSIA training and testing/certification events using their slopes/facilities.
The PSIA provides Clinic Leaders and Examiners who can train and test at all levels from the entry level part-time children's instructor up to the high level private/racing/off-piste focused instructor. Many ski areas base their hiring and pay scales on the PSIA certification levels of their instructors. This is a list of ski areas around the world. ...
Having a nationwide organization such as this allows clients/students to know they can move from lessons from one instructor to another, and one ski area to another - and find common threads of progression that tie the lessons together.
The PSIA also has an offshoot, the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI), which offers the same services and standards for Snowboard Instructors.
And the PSIA has an Adaptive program for training instructors to teach those with physical and/or challenges. A Nordic program focused on Telemark and cross-country skiing, plus a children's instructor program. Telemarker Telemark is a type of skiing that originates from the technique first developed by Sondre Norheim. ... Skiing by free technique/skating Cross-country skiing (aka XC skiing) is an adventure and fitness activity as well as a competitive winter sport popular in many countries with large snowfields, primarily in Europe and Canada. ...
Skiing or snowboarding outside a ski resort's boundaries, also known as out of bounds skiing, is illegal in some ski resorts, due to the danger of avalanches on the un-patrolled areas; or the cost of search-and-rescue for lost or overdue skiers.
Skiing technique is difficult to master, and accordingly there are ski schools that teach everything from the basics of turning and stopping safely to more advanced carving, racing, mogul or "bump" skiing and newer freestyle techniques.
Ski troops played a key role in retaining Finnish independence from Russia during the Winter War, and from Germany during the Lapland War, although the use of ski troops was recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century.