Two Whistlerites honoured by CASI

Two Whistlerites are about to be inducted into the Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors (CASI) Hall of Fame.

Greg Daniells and Yukiko Kawada have devoted decades of their lives to instructing the next generation of snowboarders and instructors. They come to the distinction with different paths but carry the same passionate pursuit for education and representing Canada’s first national snowboard instructor association. A ceremony for Kawada and Daniells is slated for Dec. 4 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Whistler Brewing Co.

The ’relentless’ Greg Daniells

Greg Daniells has been with CASI since the organization’s early days, joining in 1994 as B.C.’s regional coordinator when the scrappy association first opened membership. It’s a position he’s held until this year, a testament to his commitment to the sport and the organization.

Along with his storied career with CASI, Daniells has owned his own summer snowboard camps, is a published author in household names like Transworld Snowboarding and Snowboarder Magazine, and he wrote the first ever snowboard instructional book.

If that wasn’t enough, he also holds the title of the first of two snowboard instructors hired by Whistler Mountain way back in 1989.

But to get to where he is now, we have to go back to the beginning. Daniells knew he wanted to make a full-time living out of a seasonal job, and he worked “relentlessly” to make that happen.

“I wanted to make a living, and because I love the sport, I wanted to work full-time. It would allow me to not just make a living, but give back to the sport and make it as good as I can,” he said.

“I was relentless. The hard part about the ski business and snowboard business is it's seasonal, [but] I was 100-per-cent committed to having a year-round job.

“If you want to work in the snowboard business year-round … you have to be a little bit creative. Maybe you have a separate side business, or maybe your business is such that it's big enough that it is year-round.”

His writing career, which formed part of his income, was well-matched with his value of sharing knowledge that’s useful for wide audiences.

“I've always wanted to share the information with people, whether it was a snowboard tip article, whether it was a feature article, or whether it was an interview with just explaining the sport in some way, representing it in a positive way," Daniells said. "So, print media was a way to reach more people and promote the sport.”

A cross-cultural teacher, Yukiko Kawada

For Yukiko Kawada, her relationship to Whistler echoes many others who first set eyes on the ski town. She moved here in 1996-97 from Japan to spend a season.

“Of course, I decided to stay. Typical,” she said.

While on her working visa, she wanted to work for the mountain but couldn’t afford a ski pass. By happenstance, she already had her CASI level 1, having taken the course the year before when she first visited Whistler. The resort was hiring, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Kawada has worked as a snowboard instructor and trainer for the resort since 1996.

“I really liked the idea of meeting people from all over the world. And I liked snowboarding," she said. "I noticed I was good at teaching it and I really enjoyed it. It was a good challenge at first because of my language skills, but also the social aspect of meeting people and learning about their cultures helped me keep going."

Kawada can teach in Japanese, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, and she’s travelled to Chile, Argentina, France, Austria and Japan to impart her knowledge.

In 2016, she was Trainer of the Year at Whistler Blackcomb.

She said the induction caught her off guard.

“I was quite surprised. I know people who are inducted into CASI Hall of Fame, [like] Greg Daniells is a legend,” she said.

30 years of CASI

This year, CASI celebrates its 30^th anniversary. Jeff Chandler, executive director for the association, said it’s an achievement.

“We’re a snowboard-only organization, which is pretty unique in the world of teaching bodies, because most snowboard instructor certification systems [are] under the umbrella of a ski-instructor certification. So, we're really proud of the 30 years that we've had of continuous improvement,” Chandler said.

The organization has grown along with the sport itself.

“Back in the early '90s, when snowboarding started, there was always the comments like, ‘How long is it going to be around? Is it a trend?’" Chandler said. "It hasn't been a fad or a trend. Here we are, 30 years later and stronger than ever.”

Choosing members for CASI’s Hall of Fame comes down to impact they’ve had on the association and the industry as a whole, according to Chandler.

“Greg Daniells was our regional coordinator for British Columbia for 30 years, and was also the original snowboard instructor at Whistler Blackcomb, which is pretty incredible … he was the first one of thousands to follow after him,” he said.

“Yuki as well, she’s been a Whistler Blackcomb employee for [almost three decades] and has been really impactful within CASI in terms of driving our course content and providing feedback and input into training and certification courses.”

Read more at casi-acms.com/hall-of-fame.