From refining our core programs to officially launching our new Big Mountain course, as well as preparing for international courses, here’s a look at what’s ahead for the 2026-27 season. This year, our focus is on continuous improvement, ensuring quality control, and maximizing the value of your training and membership. Here are the key highlights and updates you can look forward to:

Behind The Scenes

Our technical philosophy focuses on long-term consistency. We always prioritize taking the necessary time to thoroughly analyze updates and comprehensively test them on-snow before finalizing any curriculum modifications. Changing even a single technical term requires a meticulous update across our entire suite of educational material and we look at every change from all angles to ensure it is built to last. Once a change is officially implemented, it is communicated and rolled out to our membership to maintain high quality control and standard alignment across all regions.

Maintaining Our Framework

With the only exception of the return of the *Level 3 Instructor Training exam day, all existing courses will be maintained in their current format to allow recent updates to settle. *See more details in Level 3 section below.

Continuous Content and Resources Refinement

We are conducting an ongoing content review across all CASI materials and programs to implement updates based on direct feedback from the National Technical Team (NTT), evaluators, CASI staff and members. All modifications and updates will be communicated on an on-going basis via this blog and our online modules when they are implemented.  You can also expect the continued refinement and development of our online training modules to support your pre-season preparation and ongoing learning.

Level 3 Certification

Return of the Instructor Training Exam Day

The Level 3 Instructor Training (IT) module format is aligning with the riding and teaching components by adding a dedicated exam day. This ensures better alignment with the Level 4 program and offers candidates more time for development during the module without immediate evaluation pressure. The Instructor Training module will now serve strictly as a training and learning module, after which you will register for a separate, single day for the exam component.

For everyone who started their Level 3 journey, what’s crucial to keep in mind is that the assessment itself isn’t changing; we are assessing the same criteria. If you completed the module last season, you maintain your component. If you need to retest this component, you can either head directly to the separate exam day or opt to redo the IT learning module, which will be very similar to your previous experience minus the evaluation portion.

For those who took the Level 3 Instructor Training module last season, we will be communicating with you directly to ensure this format transition and answer your questions. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Program Managers. 

INTERNATIONAL Level 3 Programs

These programs will be continuing to run through our local international course providers (ICP) and you will be able to see the offerings of Level 3 modules and exams when each ICPs release their schedule(s).

Technical Project – New Assessment Grids

We are currently working on developing a new assessment grids and marking scales that integrate the I.A.C.R.CV. (Initiation, Acquisition, Consolidation, Refinement, Creative Variation) model. Our evaluator team will be testing this tool across various course levels this season. Please note that this is a resource to support our evaluators in the field, however it does not change our existing course assessment criteria. 

Big Mountain Course

Following a successful pilot in Whistler, the Big Mountain course will officially launch this season with limited scheduled offerings. 

Note, this course features some additional pre-registration steps and pre-requisites. Further details about how to sign up for this course; including the application process and prerequisites; will be communicated throughout the end of the summer as we launch our course calendar. 

Performance Camp

Heading East this season!

Following the success of our inaugural Performance Camp at Big White last season, we’re looking into bringing a development and a performance camp to the East next season!

Stay tuned—we can’t wait to share more details about these special CASI events! 

Diversified Member Sessions

We are working closely with our Operations Team to continue to offer a diverse assortment of session topics. 

It’s important to note that member sessions are added throughout the season, and are released in for registration in 3 “batches” at strategic times during the season. Make  sure to check the member session schedule often, that way you can select the topic you wish to learn about or train on, and you can also plan ahead for the session that you wish to attend.

Instructor Mentorship Program

Entering Season Three!

We are super proud to continue with our Instructor Mentorship Program for its third consecutive season! Feedback from our recent participant surveys and community coordinator debriefs shows that this program has become an invaluable tool for our community. As we grow, we are constantly adapting to the demands of a fast-paced industry and unpredictable winters. It remains an incredible pathway for connecting members to support each other’s professional and personal development as instructors and riders. 

Having nearly doubled our participant numbers last season compared to our first year, we want to say a massive thank you again to all the amazing volunteers who dedicate their time to make this program possible!

Stay tuned for the official announcement of this fall’s application dates and timelines.

Road to Interski 2027

With Interski coming to Vail in April 2027, our National Technical Team is ramping up preparation. Interski Training Camp #2 will take place this November in Banff in conjunction with Evaluator Training, followed by Camp #3 in January 2027. Keep an eye out for opportunities to join special member test-group sessions alongside these camps to check out what the Team is preparing!

Dropping Next Podcast

Curious about how our “underground tech forces” collaborate during the off-season and also during the season on an ongoing basis to research, innovate, and develop our educational material? Check out our “Dropping Next” podcast episode on the subject! We sat down with representatives from the National Technical Team and our Program Managers to break down how we work behind the scenes to keep our curriculum cutting-edge.

INSERT EPISODE HERE

As always, please feel free to reach out directly to our staff team or National Technical Team if you have any questions. 

Have a great rest of your summer or Southern Hemisphere winter!

Geneviève Pilotto

CASI-ACMS Director of Education & Programs