We have lift off!

Well the launch of BSBA went extremely well and our wee stand was a hive of activity for the first couple of days especially, where all my appointment slots were taken. There was a great deal of positivity and support and I expect many more retailers and individual members to come on board judging by the membership forms taken.

I was not sure how long a run through of what BSBA is all about would take and was amazed how much talking I ended up doing. Being a new association it was necessary to explain why we formed, the point of our existence and what we offer boot fitters and their employers. Nearly everyone who came on the stand were already sold on us being a great idea, those who were not so sure seemed to warm to BSBA once they knew more and realised we have good intentions with the ski trade as a whole at heart.

We have two products really, one being the association which is a non profit making organisation which represents like minded boot fitters and their employers who want their trade’s profile raised, with accreditation and media support. The other being Skibootpro which is the association’s commercial training company, providing accredited training by some of the UK’s top boot fitters.

The association is a non profit making organisation that only exists through our determination to support a trade we passionately believe in. We have received no financial support from the ski industry as yet even though we are trying to help it sell more ski boots correctly at the end of the day. We hope this will change in future but we are determined to keep evolving and strive to  improve the ski boot fitting trade in the UK. Only by charitable time donated by myself and several others and Hamish Wolfenden’s financial input could we exist at all and I do believe we should pack ourselves on the back for making the effort to form BSBA in the first place. It should have excisted before and that is why we thought it had to be done now!

The positive reaction from the people that came on the stand was much appreciated and we thank you all! Obviously we do have to recoup some of this financial and time investment but after that is done the membership revenue will be for improving the website, enabling running cost and promoting BSBA to the general public, so that members can start reaping the rewards of joining us.

We do hope that people that did not come on the stand, (which was difficult as it was busy) realise that BSBA exists for the benefit of individuals, their employers, the general public and ski boot suppliers. We cannot see why people should not view what we are doing as a positive thing.

So next up, our BSBA member boot test. This for the benefit of all BSBA members as it is focused towards what boot fitters would like to know when looking at a ski boot and indeed how it performs in a skiing situation. We will not publish the results to the public and we will strive, as ever, to be impartial and fair. Looking forward to it!