We had many great applications for our NCWSA Awards Committee chairperson position, and with various attendance requirements as well as several amazing ideas on the horizon from the former chair Jeff Rush, we found it most appropriate to appoint co-chairs to the awards committee. Let’s get to know a little more about the new NCWSA Awards Committee co-chairs Savannah Leutz and Allie Steele.
Savannah Leutz
Who are you?
I am currently a senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with plans to attend graduate school to receive a Master’s Degree in Biology at Illinois State University. I am from Jacksonville, Illinois. I have been doing competitive water skiing locally, regionally, and nationally in AWSA since I was eight years old. Also, I have skied for three years at the collegiate level for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign water ski team.
Why did you decide to take on the position of Awards Chairperson?
I have always wanted to get involved in the upper levels of the National Collegiate Water Ski Association (NCWSA). Upon seeing my brother on the University of Alabama water ski team, and witnessing all the enjoyment and greatness that this field of water skiing has within it has resulted in me longing to get involved with collegiate skiing once again. Also with the new innovations of team skiing for AWSA, the fun and drive created from the team atmosphere has also inspired and motivated me to once again get involved. I have always been an advocate for the sport of water skiing. I run my current water ski club’s Facebook page. I am constantly sharing any information about events and other items upon the page to get my local community both involved and aware of the sport of water skiing through technology. I believe technology is the best means of connecting and involving individuals of this era; it can reach far greater distances and has a means of impacting more and more people each day.
What is your one big idea or goal?
I want to not only improve the NCWSA area but also strengthen the branch to AWSA as well. This could be as simple as increasing the social media footprint of the awards committee by streaming the awards online or have a scheduled time for awards to be held during intermediate breaks at tournaments, not only for the national tournament, but also for the All-Star tournament and Regional tournaments as well. This would allow more external contact and much farther expansion of awareness. There are a ton of new ideas out there to come up with. It is simply a matter of creating them and bringing them forward to advance the NCWSA, and then trickle this into AWSA as well.
Allie Steele
Who are you?
I’m a pre law student at Western Michigan. I am the Midwest awards chair, and I am also the VP for WMUs team. I’m in love with Michigan and the water and I’ve been water skiing with my dad ever since I could walk. I’ve also got a dog I’m obsessed with, he’ll be at all the tournaments… you can check out his insta: @lincoln_daily
Why did you decide to take on the position of Awards Chairperson?
I ran for awards chair because mom aka Christy Kingsmill encouraged me to, and I always love to jump in and do whatever I can when it’s needed. I also enjoy being busy.
What is your one big idea or goal?
I hope to be able to recognize the special people in college water skiing who are doing amazing things day in and day out. With this in mind, I hope to grow the sport, and to be able to help smaller teams make the steps they want to make to get as much as they possibly can get from college water skiing.
Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Chicago
I am Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. I earned my Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside and Bachelor's and Masters from Marquette University. I skied collegiately at Marquette and in 2009 I received the NCWSA Outstanding Leader Award. I was NCWSA Operations Committee Chair for 7 years, and the NCWSA Secretary for 8 years.
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