Chelsea Mills is a professional water skier here in the Orlando area. She is ranked #4 in the World Standings in Women’s Slalom and competes on the Waterski Pro Tour maintaining a top 10 ranking. A high performing athlete, Chelsea was a walk-on to her Division 1 college tennis team, has spent three winters as a USTA National Campus Tennis Coach and works with athletes as a Mindset Coach with an organization called Winning Mindset.
Orlando is considered the mecca for waterskiing and wakeboarding. With premier training sites like Sunset Lakes and numerous lakes surrounding the city, it's arguably one of the most populated water lake areas in the world. For Chelsea, as a professional athlete, Orlando is unquestionably the place to be.
Jack and Lelani Travers Water Ski School at Sunset Lakes, located in Groveland, Florida, is a family-owned watersports training school operated by Jack, Lelani, Chris, Jon, and Natallia Travers. Situated just under an hour's drive from downtown Orlando, it's renowned as one of the best sites in the world for water sports competition.
We met Chelsea at the IWWF World Water Ski Championships for 2023, which took place at Sunset Lakes. The Championship event featured various water skiing competitions, including slalom, trick, and jump. Chelsea participated in the Slalom competition, showcasing her incredible skill and determination.
Chelsea was first introduced to Slalom during her childhood at a summer camp in Maine. However, she never encountered a slalom course or the competitive side of the sport until she was 26. She decided to dive headfirst into the sport, and within 3 years she turned pro.
Chelsea sees life in Orlando as an amazing place to be if you’re an outdoor enthusiast. It’s warm and sunny 12 months out of the year and if you enjoy biking, the sun and find yourself to be a water sports enthusiast, it's just the best place to be.