In his October letter to what’s left of the Snowsports Industries of America, President Nick Sargent announced that the SIA is now opening membership to “include retailers, reps and resorts,” because, well, what else can the organization do to increase revenue?
With our mission to “help the industry thrive, “ we believe that it is imperative to truly speak to the entire industry so that together, we can find common areas of alignment within our key initiatives: climate advocacy, participation, research, education, and B-to-B events to drive the entire industry forward. We are excited about this new, more collaborative direction for SIA.
Hopefully, there are still winter sports retailers and reps left who will ante up. What do they get exactly for this membership? You’ll have to read the rest of the letter to figure that out ’cause we have no idea.
While fall is finally here, we’ve been working hard all summer to deliver the most value to our members in 2020. That said, I have several important updates for you.
Today, we’re formally announcing an exciting new development in SIA’s membership structure, to better align the industry and foster inclusivity and broader collaboration amongst all of us. With the approval of our Board of Directors, SIA has opened our membership to include retailers, reps and resorts, which includes board eligibility, voting rights and a host of benefits.
With our mission to “help the industry thrive, “ we believe that it is imperative to truly speak to the entire industry so that together, we can find common areas of alignment within our key initiatives: climate advocacy, participation, research, education, and B-to-B events to drive the entire industry forward. We are excited about this new, more collaborative direction for SIA. We are also pleased to announce our initiatives for 2020.
Events. Another big announcement is the return of the SIA/WWSRA on snow demo to Winter Park on February 3-4, 2020! From great snow conditions to increased lodging options, we look forward to a successful demo and welcoming the industry back to Winter Park and Devil’s Thumbs Resort. Details can be found on http://snowsports.org/sia-wwsra-on-snow-demo/
Education. Industry + Intelligence is a year-round educational platform that features webinars, podcasts, and original content, as well as the traditional full day of learning before the Outdoor + Snow Show. We have already launched several webinars on a range of subjects from e-commerce in China, China tariffs and EPA regulations on ski wax. and more topics will be rolling out in the coming months. Check https://snowsports.org/education/ for archived and scheduled webinars and podcasts, as well as the most up to date schedule for I+I at the Snow Show as it becomes available.
And on a related note, the online binding mechanics, waxing and tuning education platform “Ski Mechanics Learning Center” is now free to all that register at https://smw.snowsports.org. This is a great resource for shop/rental employees to grow their expertise with the goal of a better customer experience.
Research. SIA’s Participation Report and monthly NPD topline retail data reports will be dropping soon! Also, look for data-specific webinars later this month to help you navigate the NPD data and better understand how you can benefit most from all of it.
Participation. SIA understands that increased participation means increased business. We are excited to announce a new partnership later this month that will have a direct impact on growing participation and provide avenues for our members to directly get involved. Stay tuned…
Climate Change. Addressing climate change is a major focus of ours this year and we’re excited to be partnering with OIA and NSAA on the Outdoor Business Climate Partnership (OBCP). OBCP represents thousands of outdoor retailers, manufacturers, suppliers, sales reps and resorts across the country – the $887 billion outdoor business sector, and a powerful economic voice for strong climate policy. We’re headed to Washington later this month to speak to the new Senate Climate Caucus, to help Senators on both sides of the aisle better understand climate change’s impacts on the outdoor industry.
We hope you are as excited about this new direction as we are. Together we are United by Winter.
As always, I look forward to your comments and feedback.
Best,
Nick
