The Global Association of Professional Boot Fitters
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About US
The Full Story
The Global Association of Professional Boot fitters has been in the minds of a few people for a good while and has finally come from the drawing board into reality, we hope that there will be an evolution of this over future years, but we have to start at the beginning. The association has been formed to have a number of roles
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Boot fitting has for many years been thought of as a seasonal job for transient workers rather than as a profession, as an association we want to promote the fact that ski boot fitting can be a well paid year round profession and not just an unskilled position in retail.
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In any industry knowledge is power though building connections between boot fitters and the suppliers we aim to share that knowledge utilizing industry professionals offering their expertise in presentations either on line or in the future in person.
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Paying it forward, one of our long term aims is to offer training grants to allow fitters coming full time into the industry to attend trainings courses from recognized providers either free of charge or at subsidized cost, with moneys raised by the association being used for this and other ways of promoting the industry and boot fitting as a whole.
The Global Association of Professional Boot Fitters is a non profit organization (501-C), as such, after operating costs have been covered, any proceeds will be reinvested into the scholarship program and the promotion of better boot fitting.
Who Are We
As an association we are very much focused on working together , the current board of trustees of the association is below, we are always seeking people with an open mind who would like to help promote the profession of boot fitting and help us move our industry forward. As the association grows we will grow the board of trustees appropriately.
Brent Amsbury
C.Ped
Brent Amsbury started ski racing in 1979 at Stevens Pass as a USSA junior and continued racing in college at Western Washinton University. In 1988 he started his own ski shop (World Cup Skier Service) in Bellevue,WA. During his tenure of 18 years as owner of World Cup Skier Service, which he sold in 2005 to begin a new venture, Park City Ski Boot. During the autumn Brent tours the northern United States providing stance / alignment services, and gives lectures on the bio-mechanics of ski boots to PSIA groups from Big Sky, Montana to Buck Hill, Minnesota. Park City Ski Boot in Park City, Utah provides fitting services for entry level skiers to U.S. ski team members and coaches. During the summer months, Brent exercises his Pedorthist license by building foot orthotics for all types of sports.
Christian Sigvartsen
Christian Sigvartsen is the head bootfitter at Steep & Deep. A special ski shop, and the official collaborator to the Danish power center for race skiers. Located north of Copenhagen, Denmark, Christian specializes in off-mountain bootfitting, working only by appointment. Christian is known for his uncompromising approach to make the boot fit before sending his customers 1400 km away to ski the boots. Christian has been working in outdoor and ski shops since 1996 and has been working with bikefitting in the summer season since 2012.
Colin Martin
C.Ped
Colin is a career boot fitter who started in the ski industry with a part time job aged 15,in a Glashow ski shop, after training as a carpenter and the company he worked for going bust he came back full time to the ski industry in 1991working first for a dry ski slope then the first ski hall in the uk, running their rental, workshop and overseeing the boot fitting for the retail store before moving to a full time boot fitting role in another store in 1997. In 2002 he certified in Pedorthics at Eneslow and NYCPM and in 2005 started his current business Solutions 4 feet, specializing in ski boot fitting for all levels of skier from beginner to Olympic gold medalist, when not at the fitting bench Colin spends some time consulting with a number of major ski boot brands on product development. Summer time is more relaxing but still involves building orthotic footbeds for hikers, bikers, golfers & runners
Jules Kehoe
Jules is a Ski Race professional and got her start in the ski industry in 2007, in Michigan. While her eventual shop responsibilities included managing the entire shop, her passion was in bootfitting and creating a real solution to skier's fit issues. Bootfitting has taken her all over the US and as far as New Zealand, and now to Australia searching for the endless winter. When she's not at the boot bench she's probably on the mountain coaching ski racing
Billy Kaplan
C.Ped
Billy Kaplan’s involvement in the ski business started full time in 1981 and has continued to this day with his many contributions to the sport. He worked in house for Blizzard North America & Technology & Tools in the 80’s & 90’s. While at Blizzard, he designed their ski warehousing, warrantee process and distribution channels for the United States & Canada. He was also deeply involved with their technical, racer & dealer services. At Technology & Tools, Billy worked side by side with Doug Killham, John Kennedy, Kurt Blaum and Fred Schwacke as a technical service representative for the US and was fortunate to be involved with them. Technology & Tools complimented him and his interest in custom boot fitting. (as well as having hard to fit feet which acted as a springboard in his fervent desire for out of the box solutions with boot fitting). In 1996, Billy became a board certified pedorthist to further his knowledge and desire to help those needing his specialized services not only in ski boot fitting, but in a broad range of pedorthic services. The formation of Performance Pedorthics Inc. was a natural progression in Billy’s aspiration for an individualized solution to many ski boot fit and pedorthic issues. With the use of his many cutting edge techniques & machinery, Billy offers solutions that are unique, proprietary and proven. His clients range from World Cup Competitors, Paralympians, PSIA members, seasoned advanced skiers as well as those looking for the best possible fit and alignment services.
Let’s Work Together
As an industry we can do so much more when we work together, this is your call to action! Do you have ideas of things you would like to see in ski boot fitting? training areas which need more coverage? campaigns to promote good ski boot fitting and fitters. If so get in touch, we want to hear from you