Dear ISIA Members, dear Friends,

while I’m writing many of you are already active on the slopes enjoying the snow that came abundant everywhere. The season in the Northern hemisphere had a very promising start and we all look forward to a successful winter.

2019 has been a very rich and intense year, under many different aspects. In terms of events, I’m glad to say that the ISIA Members have been the main actors at Interksi in Pamporovo: the Congress highlighted that the ISIA Instructors are the worldwide elite in terms of research, concept, demo and on field delivery for snowsports.

On the regulatory side, Europe has now a new framework ruled by the Delegate Act, in force since last March. It is a new situation, and as already announced during the Assembly of Delegates 2018, ISIA is taking into account the way to embed the regulation into its standard, in order to make sure the ISIA qualifications are always up to date and worldwide recognised. ISIA will provide support to all the members that are interested in the new regulation and need help in order to properly interpret and meet its content. Our General Secretary Peter Hennekes already prepared a guide to the Delegate Act that is available for every Member Association. The Technical Commission, in cooperation with some of our Members, is planning to run a pilot test that will be useful to verify how to apply the new rules on field.

Aiming to deliver new and better services, ISIA launched last winter a Member survey (the result of it has been presented in Pamporovo), that has been very useful in order to address the priorities for the future. The first result has been the new voting system approved by the Assembly of Delegates 2019 in Pamporovo, that established a better and more balanced relationship among the Member Associations.

As per the outcome of the survey, the Board and the Commissions are working on a number of new projects. Among the other ones, it is worth to mention an ISIA quality standard for the ski schools, a new blue level that would be very useful to recognise the candidate ski instructor as belonging to the ISIA community, and the ISIA World Forum that will be the new formula for the ISIA World Championship. This has to be a new exchange platform hosting, beside the races, other events aiming to gather the snowsports stakeholders, in order to share experiences, improve what we do, and envision, all together, how to develop further and how to establish new and stronger relationships in the interest of the whole Membership.

With the goal of a better communication among the Members and the Association, as well as the aim of a better worldwide coordinate identity, every Member Association has now available a new email address on the domain isia.ski (in the form “nation@isia.ski“). Every Member already adopted the new address. It is an important tool that helps to suggest the idea of a united worldwide community of the professional snowsports instructors.

There is much more that we can do together for ISIA and our Members, that is why the Office, the Board and myself are always available to listen to your input and to discuss your ideas. Please do no hesitate to get in touch for anything you want to point out.

I’m looking forward to meeting you hopefully on the slopes during this season, and definitely at the next Assembly of Delegates that will be held in June in Budapest (check your isia.ski email for the official date communication from our General Secretary!).

I wish to all of you successful winter season, full of positive experiences and emotions.

Enjoy the snow!

Vittorio Caffi
ISIA President