Introducing Your 2017 MCWSA Chair and Vice Chair!

Each year the Midwest Region holds elections for their executive board and committee positions during the captains meeting at Winter Conference. This year, Team Midwest elected many skiers to new positions after some amazing members made the tough decision to step down. We start off board introductions with the reigning Chairperson, Christy Kingsmill, and newly elected Vice Chairperson, Mike Testa!

Chairperson — Christy Kingsmill

Christy, also know as Team Midwest Mom, has played a prominent role in the growth of Team Midwest. Christy is originally from Roselle, Illinois, but found her way to the Hawkeyes of the University of Iowa. At Iowa she completed her undergrad in Spanish, and is now a graduate student in teaching at Northeastern Illinois. She hopes to become a dual-language elementary school teacher whens she grows up! When Christy isn’t on the water, studying or doing Team Mom things, you can find her crafting, singing, or baking!

Christy was first introduced to skiing with her family at a lake in South Wilmington, Illinois. When she was in orientation at Iowa and saw Iowa had a club water ski team, she decided to give it a shot even though “it had been forever since I had skied”! Christy. Since then, she has taken the ski world by storm and is an amazing example of what every person and skier should strive to be like. For new skiers she has one pice of advice–“Get involved! Dock start, judge, score! Don’t get discouraged! Everyone around you wants to help you get better just as much as they want themselves to! Dock starting ANYONE can do and you get to meet EVERYONE”! Christy is an amazing person on the inside and out, and Team Midwest is so lucky to have her as Team Mom!

Vice Chairperson — Mike Testa

Mike Testa, who also calls himself “Fiesta Testa,” is the newly elected Vice Chairperson of Team Midwest. Testa, originally from Joliet, Illinois, found his way to the Golden Eagles of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At Marquette, Testa double majored in Commercial Real Estate Development and Marketing. When he grows up, he wants to make his millions and “retire before 35 and live on my own private lake that I’ve developed and share it with my Team Midwest friends.” Since this is on the record, Testa, we are holding you to this and will be at your lake in 11 years. Thanks!

When Testa first found the giant purple Moomba Mobius as a wannabe wakeboarder at Marquette, he didn’t have any experience in 3-event skiing, which does not explain his PB’s–2@22off, 1,420pts, and 78ft (sorry, practice scores don’t count). Since joining the Marquette ski team and Team Midwest, Testa has done an incredible job of furthering the officials incentive program and teaching skiers in the region about getting involved in judging at tournaments. Collegiate water skiing is something special, and when it comes to this sport, Testa says the camaraderie is “unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I love the on-the-water parts of AWSA and NCWSA skiing, but the relationships you build off the water are absolutely priceless”.

Amazing Leadership at the Top

Both Christy Kingsmill and Mike Testa are amazing people who understand the life-long impact water skiing has on collegiate skiers. They both make it a point to get to know every team in the Midwest, and strive to improve Team Midwest year after year. When it comes down to it, the Midwest Region is unbelievably lucky to have these two individuals at the helm.