By Nigel Loring – CSIA Managing Director
Dear CSIA members,
I think almost all of us recognize and appreciate what an outstanding ski season most of the country enjoyed this past winter. After a tough go the previous seasons, the ski industry needed a banner year and that’s exactly what we got. Preliminary data from the Canadian Ski Council indicates ski area visits increased by over 8% in 2024-25 to reach an estimated 18.5 million. Likewise, CSIA saw record growth of 8% in program registrations over last year, reaching 17,275 registrations. Wait, it gets even better… for the first time in 15 years, the CSIA counts over 21,000 active members…A big thank you to all our members, for your trust and engagement this past year! As you could imagine, this is a remarkable achievement for the Alliance, its members and community stakeholders. Congratulations to everyone. These numbers, of course, reflect a good snow year, but they also demonstrate that CSIA’s certification and training programs continue to be the top standard for professional ski instructors in Canada.
It is always nice to share good news and celebrate success. As we all know, its not just 1 or 2 people that do it all, but it takes a whole, big team, to ensure the success of an operation of this scale. The strong performance of this past season’s programs and membership were not simply a matter of good luck and snowy weather, but in fact the results of a lot of thoughtful and industrious work that was started over 12 months ago. It is amazing how far we’ve come in the past year and what has been accomplished. With the energy and skill of our professional staff, the dedication and commitment of the many volunteers on the national board, the regional boards and the various standing committees, and of course members at every level, who all joined together to refocus on the core purpose, mission and values of the Alliance. Answering questions such as “who we want to be?” and “what do we want to do?”, was the critical starting point in the formation of a new strategic plan that was developed with the direct insight and input from members. The plan was then turned into action and operationalized to give a clear road map on what we are going to do over the next couple years. I believe our success this year is in large part a result of good planning. That means including people – the members, staff and stakeholders in the planning process and the delivery of new ideas to bring about the desired results and expected outcomes.
Thank you everyone who completed the annual membership survey. The analysis of the 1178 survey responses received (5.6% of members) is still under review and will be shared once completed. As with last year, we will have a detailed annual report available for members for this fall’s AGM, with all the facts, figures and commentary. For now, however I can tell you the CSIA is in a very good place having met or exceeded our annual goals in program offering, enhanced educational content quality and clarity, membership recruitment and renewal, along with keeping our financial health in balance and in good shape.
Looking ahead, we continue to see our strategic plan in action with some 50 projects actioned bystaff and working committees this summer. Here is a snapshot of just a few of these: Course conductors have already been sent dates and locations for next fall and winters’ training schedule; a new front-end website is currently under development, which we expect to showcase this fall with an improved web presence and functionality we hope will be welcomed by new and returning members alike; we will be adding a new staff member to our marketing and communications team to improve the content quality and the relevancy of our communications and promotional activities; the newly minted 2027 Interski team will be integrated into various national and regional member activities this coming winter, with dates planned for locations across the country.
Speaking of Interski, the CSIA and its Team Canada partners, CASI and CANSI remain committed to the purpose and promise of Canada’s participation. A sign and photo on a trail map for the “North American” in Aspen, CO that commemorates the resort’s hosting of the 8th Interski Congress in 1968, and the first ever held outside of Europe has a caption reading: “A gathering of teams’ whose purpose is to compare rather than compete in showing their techniques to improve and grow the sport of skiing.”. A good reminder of what Interski is all about. Interested CSIA members will be invited to “Come along” and join in the experience with an opportunity to travel to Interski 2027 as we will offer a limited number of special Team Canada lodging, lift and meal package available for purchase later this summer.
As one of CSIA’s core values, community has always been an integral part of our essence. In my opinion, the strength and energy of this community has reach new heights this year and I am confident in its continued upward trajectory over the coming years. Each of us have our own experience, but what I have appreciated most from members, I met or connected with over the past season, was the sentiment and confidence that we were moving in the right direction and a clear optimism for continued improvement in our quality, clarity, and service, that defines us as the proud and esteemed CSIA we are.
As summer heat now takes hold in most parts of the country, the memory of the remarkable ski season fades, and we pivot our thoughts and energies to our other off-season activities. In doing so, please know our staff, dozens of volunteers and other stakeholders are working on the development and delivery of plans to ensure next season’s results are as strong or stronger than this past season.
Lots of exciting things to come in the year ahead including our AGM on Monday, November 24th at the Banff Park Lodge, AB where CSIA members will be confirming the election of 3 new additional directors-at-large to the national board. If you believe that you or someone you know would be a great addition to the national perspective, please consider putting in a nomination or urging the person you know to do so. As always, I am grateful for every single one of our staffs’, course conductors’ and volunteers’ continued efforts and support in making the CSIA the best Alliance ever! Until we next connect, please enjoy a save and pleasant summer.