Steve Fairbairn started his snowboard involvement in Nova Scotia in 1990, long before it was considered a legitimate ‘sport’ by anyone. Despite a lack of major ski hills and a relatively short snow season in Nova Scotia, Steve grew the sport and the NS Snowboard Association to the point where Nova Scotian athletes were able to compete in national and international competitions. There has been a NSSA member participating at every Winter Olympics since snowboarding became an event in 1998 (four consecutive Olympics).

At Ski Martock, snowboarding now accounts for 35% of total visits. He started the Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors which went from a few members in 1992 to over 20,000 today.

Steve also initiated training for a provincial team that included future snowboarding stars such as Olympian Trevor Andrew. He organized instructor certification and became the Atlantic Canada regional coordinator for CASI (Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors), traveling to remote communities like Wabush, Labrador to certify instructors on their local hills.

From the introduction of a new sport, bringing it to the hills of Nova Scotia, to creating National Champions and Olympians, all in only 20 years (18 of which was as a volunteer), and with a resume too long to mention everything, Fairbairn is one of the very few sport people in Canada who can say they’ve had such an impact on the initial development of any sport as a coach, administrator, developer, and ambassador.