Chelsea Mills is Queens Cup champion
Chelsea Mills defeated Lori Krueger Covington in the head-to-head final to win the third annual SportsInsurance.com Queens Cup at Little Mountain Lakes near Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, Oct. 7.
Mills, skiing on her home lake, ran 4½ at 38 off, topping Covington’s 3 at 38 in the final, and claimed the $2,000 first-place check. The Queens Cup, also sponsored by Race City Marine and the Women’s Sports Foundation, was originally scheduled for Sept. 15-16 but was postponed because of Hurricane Florence.
Mills was the No. 1 seed throughout the two rounds of Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s Sweet 16. Covington, of Texas, was seeded third throughout and defeated No 2 seed Joy Kelley of Tennessee in the final four, running 1¼ at 38 off to Kelley’s 1 at 38.
Mills and Covington are Masters Women skiers, and Kelley skis in the Women 6 age group.
Kelley, 60, represented the mature skiers in the field and held her spot as No. 2 seed through the two qualifying rounds and into the final four. She has been a podium finisher in all three years of the Queens Cup, and also got the skiers fired up with a motivational speech at the Saturday night banquet.
“It would be impossible to duplicate how special a weekend we all had,” Kelley posted on Facebook on Sunday evening. “There is no other event like it … lives greatly impacted and inspired on and off the water! Really happy to get third with so many strong and tough women!”
Strong and tough were keywords in her speech Saturday night as she encouraged everyone present to be emotionally, mentally and physically strong.
“Put blinders on. Find a way that works for you and make it happen,” Kelley said.
The Queens Cup is for women ages 30 and older, and uses a format that allows all ages to compete on equal footing. The event included five Women 7 skiers (ages 65-69), and four of them made the Sweet 16.
Rounding out the money winners and podium finishers were Trish Burt of Florida in fourth place and Erin Peckham of New York in fifth. The rest of the elite eight were Jennifer Wood of South Carolina in sixth place, legendary Leza Harrison, a Women 7 skier from Florida in seventh, and Marla Lott of Indiana in eighth place.
Among the tournament officials were world record holders Nate Smith of Indiana and Jeff Rodgers of South Carolina, renowned drivers Tommy Harrington and Pat Bloodworth of North Carolina, and P.A. announcer Seth Stisher of South Carolina.
OffCourse™ - The revolutionary water ski slalom course
Slalom skiing with an endless course? OffCourse™!
Are you tired of spending more time preparing your slalom course then actually skiing? Then listen up, a new way of the slalom skiing we all love is around the corner. Introducing the OffCourse™, a revolutionizing way to roam the water, creating a slalom course on the fly.
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Rodics Innovation has not held back in the making of the OffCourse™, using aircraft grade aluminum and high-quality Swedish stainless-steel to ensure that the device holds for the impact that comes with skiing like a badass. Also, all the projectiles used are totally biodegradable which keeps the water clean even after all the havoc you’ve caused from riding it. The OffCourse™ is a result of years of work, late nights and countless testing sessions. It’s created by enthusiasts driven by a passion to change the way of water skiing as we know it. Making you able to roam the water like never before with a sense of total freedom, leaving no traces behind. It’s just you and the lake, like it should be.
Find out more about the OffCourse™ at Rodics Innovation’s website or on Facebook
Pre-orders are already available – and the release date is set at May 2019.
What Ski is Right for Your 2019 Season?
It’s that time of year again. The pressure of the high stakes season is over and we can all take a bit of a breather behind the boat as we cruise into 2019. During the downtime, there is no better opportunity than to revaluate your equipment and consider how it will achieve your goals for next season. At Connelly Skis we’ve thoughtfully crafted a line of 2019 swerve sticks to help you smash that unconquerable pass or make for epic fun with family during your next lake getaway. Joel Howley gives you all the deets on what you need to know about each of our weapons and which one will suit you best!