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NCWSA Awardee, Stephanie Elhoffer |
Congratulations to Stephanie Elhoffer, this years NCWSA Female Outstanding Leader of the Year.
Looking at Stephanie's involvement and contributions she had made to the sport, it is easy to see why she won and is deserving of this award. Stephanie is a senior and Entertainment Management major at Missouri State University where she is the President of her team, the Missouri State University Water Ski & Wakeboard Team. This year, Stephanie helped take her team to Midwest Regionals as well as Nationals, where Missouri State took 10th place. She also holds three different positions in the water ski industry; she is the MCWSA Awards Chairman as well as the Officials Chairman and she is the Media Coordinator for USA Water Ski.
I asked Stephanie a little about herself and her experiences with collegiate skiing, as well as what she plans to do next.
Can you give me some background on yourself?
Do you hold a board position on your team? If so, how long and what position?
I was secretary my Junior year and President/Captain my Senior/Super Senior year. When I joined the team, Bethany Boland did EVERYTHING for us & then the responsibly was passed to Sara Nicely. The position was not a desirable one; never in a million years did I see myself following in their footsteps. These two women took on more responsibility than I could imagine and did a phenomenal job at it. I learned a great deal from them and I don’t regret for a second stepping up as President no matter how stressful times became.
How did you get involved with the team?
I got involved with the team my sophomore year. I was a show skier from St. Louis and one of the guys on the team show skied with me growing up. He asked me a couple of times if I would come out and ski with them but I repeatedly said “no, 3 event skiing is not for me.” I was a show skier at heart. Once I was told I could bring my swivel ski with me and swivel at the lake, it drew me in. I swiveled one time and got too much crap for it so I decided to strap on a trick ski and see what the hype was about. Since then I’ve swiveled a handful of times and am still trying to talk my mom into letting me sell that darn swivel ski to buy more 3 event junk! She refuses because she thinks I’ll get back into it one day. Doubt that. =)
What did you think when you found out you were the recipient of the award?
I was surprised when I found out I was the recipient but of course very excited. I immediately checked to see if I could go to the awards banquet in January and was bummed when I realized I’m leaving to go on a cruise that same day. It’s a really great honor to be recognized for and I’m really touched that I was even nominated for the award.
As the Media Coordinator, what kinds of things do you hope to see happen with NCWSA in the future?
There is so much potential for growth with the NCWSA. I hope to see more skiers stepping up and being proactive in leadership positions at all ages. I believe that collegiate skiing can grow the sport more than any other discipline in USA Water Ski. As long as there is the passion that so many of us have and the willingness to devote the extra time towards the growth, the NCWSA will continue to develop! It’s just a matter of skiers stepping up to the plate and supporting one another as we follow through with our goals.
What do you plan on after school? Do you plan to stay involved with NCWSA and/or MCWSA?
After school, well… that’s a pretty big question to ask me at the moment. I have some ideas brewing in my little noggin, but nothing set in stone. I would love to stay involved with the NCWSA. Collegiate skiing (seriously) changed who I am. Ask any alum on my team. They’ll tell you about a different “freshman” Stephanie. I would love nothing more than to see collegiate skiing change someone else as it changed me.
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