Written By Conrad Niven
Having grown up dreaming of big mountains and gliding through endless powder fields, it seemed I would be relegated to life as a hardback skier in New Zealand. My dad pushed it and we were from a skiing family, I had a urge to try more board sports growing up on the shores of the sunshine coast in Australia, but it seemed I wouldn’t get the chance.
On our second ski trip to Wanaka, our family had a run in with a PSIA-AASI Instructor from Mammoth and she convinced us to at least give it a go. I was 12 at the time, not knowing what had been set in motion, I loved every minute of the lesson. The strong connection she created to the sport and clear enthusiasm wore off on me, I took it and ran never looking back on the two planks of the past.
It seemed innocent and just a fun lesson at the time, but that day shaped the course of my life today. Now I have taught snowboarding in three countries for over 10 years and have become a pro snowboarder… kind of. The foundation of movements came through my level I and II which allowed me to manipulate my turns and gave me confidents to try new thing. In my case, that was jumping off large cliffs and landing on my head, back and side….anything but my feet.
As my confidence grew, I realized that I was more able to perform in high stress situations like exams more easily as I had been pushing myself to the edge of my abilities in every spare minute when I wasn’t teaching on the beginner slopes. This translated into a steep progression in the industry and more comfort in the uncomfortable. This led me to be the youngest person to attain the snowboard trainer level in the Rocky Mountain region and has led me into the Rocky Mountain Education staff as well as the final round for the PSIA-AASI National Team selection.
One day, a colleague said I should try and compete, which seemed ludicrous at the time. I could barely do 360s and had the arm style of an inflatable arm man from the gas station corner. But my friends wanted me to join, so I did. Having mixed results in my seven years of competing, I finally placed second in the Americas for men’s snowboard, which qualified me for the Freeride World Tour (FWT) 2025! This was truly a dream come true.
The season was one of a dream, you know the one, where you keep falling for no reason and you’re not sure why. That summed up winter for me. It wasn’t until the last competition of the international season that I understood why. I wasn’t concentrating on my turns anymore, I wasn’t creating performance from my board, I was wrapped up in doing cool things and wasn’t focused on the basics that got me there. Those basics were symmetry, edge control and tactical decision making.
Just as sometimes happens with assessments in PSIA-AASI, I had lost sight of what makes a good show. It’s not just the big backflips and cork 7s — it’s all the small stuff in between: the subtle slashes, the speed control, and the arcing topside turns that viewers also appreciate. These elements make it feel like you’re riding for yourself.
I know I would have never gotten to have these experiences if it weren’t for the foundation laid by the world of instruction and assessment and it laid the groundwork for a well-rounded snowboarder to specialize how he eventually did.
Thanks to all the organizations out there that shaped me CASI, SBINZ and PSIA-AASI. The tools you provide can truly be taken to whatever level you are willing to go.
Conrad Niven
Rocky Mountain Education staff, Snowboard Committee Member, Lover of Airtime