Far West Skier's Guide 2010-2011 - (Page 34)
The Association’s Snowsports Builder Award is made to a person or persons who have made an indelible positive impact on snowsports. The builder honored may be for achievements in athletics, the press, publishers, historians, industry, humanitarian work, area development, technology; in short, for any indelible contribution to snowsports. Doug Pfeiffer has made such an indelible contribution to snowsports as a teacher, innovator and integrator of many facets of snowsports over the past six decades. In December of 1998, Skiing Magazine fittingly included him among the 25 most influential people in skiing during the last 50 years. Quite a tribute, to add to his inclusion as an Honored Member of the USA National Ski Hall of Fame, and his receiving of the North American Snowsport Journalist Association’s Golden Quill Award. He has also been inducted into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame as one of the sport’s great innovators. In the fall of 1999, SKI Magazine included him among the 100 most influential skiers of the century. Early on, he wanted nothing more than to be a ski instructor and his teaching career dates back to 1946 in his native Canada. He emigrated in 1951 to Squaw Valley to instruct under Emile Allais. He then, came to South-
Snowsports Builder Award - 2010
Doug Pfeiffer, Big Bear Lake, California
by John Watson
History Chair, FWSA
ern California and joined Tommi Tyndall at Snow Summit in 1953. His relationship with Snow Summit extends to this day. He also helped grow the skier base by teaching dry land classes on carpets in gymnasiums, on shaved ice, pine needles, and just grass in many parks of Southern California. “Over a period of several weeks, we even taught almost 500 military personnel on the sand dunes at the Naval Ordinance Test Station at China Lake." That was when he and Tyndall were attempting to build a skier base for a resort they had hoped to develop near Onion Valley in the Inyo Basin just west of Independence, California. On the basis of his experience in several instructors organizations over a decade, he integrated this experience into the concept of a national instruction organization. Pfeiffer served as an examiner for many years and in 1961-62 as President of the Far West Ski In-
structors Association. This affiliation led to co-founding with Bill Lash and five others the Professional Ski Instructors of America, an association now numbering over 26,000 ski teachers across the USA. Always an avid student of serious ski technique, yet he advocated that learning must be helped with a large helping of fun. He introduced many improvements and refinements to ski teaching methods and techniques. He cites as some of his contributions such actions and phrases as: hockey stop; edge control; control by pressure on front, middle, and/or tail of skis; anticipation, tip-thrust, differential edging, and a whole host of phrases related to freestyle skiing moves. PSIA now provides certification in snowboarding and adaptive skiing. Doug is certified to instruct snowboarding. Doug has had several careers running sequentially, as well as, concurrently. For over ten years from 1962 to the late 1970s, he published several ski-related magazines. Doug shifted course in 1963 to become National Editor of Skiing Magazine. In 1966, as editor in chief of it and several other related magazines, he led it and its several associated ski publications through a decade of innovative journalism, pioneering in graphic presentations of new developments in ski technique, in objective testing of each year’s new skis and in the selection and encouragement of skilled ski journalists like John Jerome, John Henry Auran, and Al Greenberg. He and his staff were one of the main forces in raising ski journalism to a polished professional level in the 1960s and 1970s. His reading of Dr. Fritz Reuel’s (“royal”) 1929 book “New Possibilities in Skiing" led him to experiment with trick skiing during the course of which he invented some of the basic ballet freestyle moves in use until quite recently. His basic competition format, with the exception of ballet skiing, has gone on to become a Winter Olympic gold medal sport. He and Tommy Corcoran basically invented freestyle skiing at Waterville Valley in 1971. He is considered the “Father of Freestyle Skiing.” Integrating his many backgrounds in skiing, he founded the International Ski History L Association in 1991. L
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Far West Skier’s Guide 2O1O - 2O11 / See the Digital Edition of the Far West Skier’s Guide at www.fwsa.org.
http://www.fwsa.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Far West Skier's Guide 2010-2011
Far West Skier's Guide 2010-2011
Contents
Board of Directors, Trustees
President’s Message: FWSA Offers Many Benefits, Activities & Travel
FWSA Committee Chairmen and Other Representatives
Far West Benefits from National Ski Council Federation
2011: A Season to Remember
Council Information
Communications: The Key to Success
FWSA 2010 Newsletter & Website Winners
Get the Most of Your Snowsports Program
FWSA Individual Membership Form
Order Form / FWSG
FWSA Travel Program
FWRA Board of Directors
FWRA Program
FWRA League Race Chairs
FWRA Race Schedule
FWSA Athletic Scholarship Program
Far West Ski Foundation Announces Partnership Program
FWSA 2010 Convention
FWSA Convention Industry Programs
FWSA 2010 Man & Woman of the Year
FWSA 2010 Convention Sponsors
Silent Auction & Travel Expo Participants - 2010
FWSA Recognizes Clubs with Over 50 Years of Service
FWSA Club History Recognition - 2010
FWSA 2010 Safety Person of the Year
FWSA Western Ski Heritage Award
FWSA Snowsports Builder Award
Snowsports Leadership Academy
FWSA 2011 Convention
Public Affairs - 2010 Update
Club Charity Involvement
But, Where Are The Other 9O%?
Common Snowsport Injuries
Far Off The Beaten Path
FWSA Plans Future Conventions
Facebook!? MeetUp? LinkedIn!? Tweeter?
Lodging Guide
FWSA Council & Club Information
Regional Ski Shows
Far West Skier's Guide 2010-2011
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