Excelled in three-event water skiing between 1951 and 1959. In 1953, she won tricks and overall and earned a silver medal in slalom at the Water Ski World Championships. The following year, she leaped 70 feet for a new Women's world jumping record. In 1957, Rawls-Atkins won overall titles at the World Water Ski Championships and the Water Ski National Championships. She was also active as an AWSA senior judge and first woman to serve as an AWSA board member from 1957 through 1959.