Well, it’s already August and you know what that means…only 100 or so days until snowboarding starts! We’ve been busy getting ready for our 25th anniversary season, and there have been quite a few changes in store for CASI over the past while.

Changing of the Guard

Firstly, our long-serving Executive Director & CEO, Dan Genge, has moved on to retirement and we wish him the best after 25 years of leadership to our association. With this, we welcome our new Executive Director & CEO, Simon Holden! Many of you know Simon, as he’s been a fixture on CASI certification courses and technical events for many years.

On the regional front, former Alberta/Saskatchewan Regional Coordinator Andrew McCraney has moved regions and will now be operating Level 1 / Park 1 courses in Ontario/Manitoba. This move left a vacancy in Andrew’s previous region, so we would also like to welcome John Smits as the new Regional Coordinator for Alberta/Saskatchewan.

A New Home

After many years in Cambridge, Ontario our Head Office has moved locations. The CASI Head Office is now located at #201-186 Hurontario Street, in Collingwood, Ontario. If you’re in the area – stop by and say hi!

25 Years!

Wow…it’s been 25 years since CASI was first created in 1994, and we want to celebrate this milestone during the upcoming 2019-20 season. Still in the planning stages, but watch for some exciting anniversary events happening this season, as well as some new promo items available at our online store – hats, stickers, toques, apparel, and more! Also, as a current member during our 25th year, you can take advantage of a couple ways to save and celebrate our 25th:

• Once you’ve renewed your member dues, check your email for a special discount code that will get you 25% off CASI swag at our online store.
• Also, to commemorate this milestone, CASI courses will feature a $25 discount for the duration of the 2019-20 season (excluding Level 1 courses). Our goal is to reward all of our current members by helping you to take that course you’ve been thinking about. Why not try the newly designed Park 1, or step up to your next level. This is the year to do it!

We’d love to see you get involved in the celebration by posting photos of any CASI-related events or memories to your Instagram feed…tag your post with #casiacms25 to get in on the celebration!

Technical Updates

Your National Technical Team has been working on improving our training courses and programs, as well as finding ways to enhance your skills as a CASI snowboard instructor. Some of the key initiatives and changes for 2019-20 include:

• Improved Kids Teaching Resources: Watch for a special Teaching Kids guide available for download to all CASI members starting this fall. This condensed guide will give you some new and updated ideas for teaching kids how to snowboard more effectively. Along with this, watch for a new on-snow module that will provide CASI instructors with a new toolbox of ideas to use in teaching kids, including the use of specialized equipment, terrain assisted teaching, as well as skills and drills.
• Park Instructor 1: For many years, CASI has offered a Park Instructor 1 course for instructors who want to take students into the park safely and teach the fundamentals of freestyle riding. For 2019-20, the Park 1 course has undergone a complete technical review, and the course content has been updated. With the help of senior Park Evaluators, the course content has been re-designed to be presented in a more effective way that will provide instructors with better skills and abilities overall. If you haven’t taken this course yet (it’s open to all members Level 1 and up), you’ll definitely want to take it this season!
• NEW - Level 3 Park Pre-Requisite: As part of our effort to provide better-trained high-end instructors to the industry and support Level 2’s to be successful at the Level 3 certification, the Park Instructor 1 certification will be a pre-requisite to the Level 3 Instructor course starting in 2019-20. This means that in order to participate in the Level 3 Course, you will first need to have successfully completed the Park Instructor 1 certification. Some notes regarding this change:
  • For those who have already completed the Level 3 Instructor course, but have not yet completed the exams, you will be permitted to continue through the Level 3 certification process without the Park 1 pre-requisite. We encourage you to take the Park 1 course to help you achieve the Level 3 Instructor certification.
  • Park Evaluators - There will be a mandatory training day scheduled for January 2020 to update you on the new Park 1 course presentation, as well as an evaluation of skills appropriate to presenting this new course. Check the course schedule in the fall for these dates.
  • Watch for an updated and re-vamped Park Instructor 2 certification course, coming soon as well, which will be a pre-requisite for the Level 4 certification (2020-21).
• Level 3 Riding Evaluation: In light of the above change to adopt the Park 1 certification as a pre-requisite to the Level 3, the riding evaluation on the Level 3 exams will be adjusted, and the following riding manoeuvres will form the basis for this evaluation:
  • Large Turns (groomed intermediate terrain)
  • Short Turns (groomed advanced terrain)
  • Short Turns (off-piste intermediate terrain)
  • New: Intermediate Sliding Turns in the forward and switch directions (groomed intermediate terrain)
• Mandatory Training Hours (all courses): Starting this season, Course Guides for each certification or training course will indicate the minimum training hours required. Participants are reminded that attendance and participation in all required training hours is a requirement to receiving an evaluation result at the end of the course.

 Enjoy the rest of your summer! Stay tuned to our social media channels (Instagram, Facebook and YouTube) for details on all of these initiatives in time for the 2019-20 season!