“Skiboards go to PSIA School”
Copper Mountain, CO
Skiboards can’t start, but they sure can finish. That’s the consensus from a recent meeting of the Professional Ski Instructors of America. PSIA members, who gathered at Copper Mountain recently, said skiboards are excellent for racers who need to fine-tune their balance and for intermediates who are working on edging skills and making round arcs. But for beginners, instructors said they wanted another tool between skiboards and shaped skis.
” The first time beginners get on skiboards, they say, ‘Hey, I can do this’. But they can’t go from the beginner run right to up the mountain,” said former PSIA steering committee chairman Jack Copeland of Mammoth Mountain. “What we’ve been looking for is a product like a skiboard that performs more like a ski. As an adjunct to someone who presently skis, it’s a wonderful tool for helping that person understand skiing better, ” said Dave Merriam, ski school director at Stowe Resort. “They’re really good as a learning tool because they give immediate response to your input. You know right where you are on the things. The instructor doesn’t have to say a thing.”