Two decades ago, Kristi Mattila launched the Ely Watercross Races with her husband, Kurt. Soon, the popular summer event will celebrate its 20th anniversary as race weekend quickly approaches on Aug. 8-10.
The races, which are sanctioned by the International Watercross Association (IWA) as part of the Midwest racing circuit, brings pro watercross racers from Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, and even Canada. Ely’s event has been running longer than any other race in the IWA besides the world championships, said Kristi Mattila. The event can draw around 800 spectators annually.
“Lots of people, even local people, stay for the weekend. It’s a fun party,” said Mattila, adding that around 80 racers take part in the event every year. They participate in different classes: pro stock and pro open, semi pro stock and semi pro open, and sport open - the beginner category.
The weekend - hosted at the Longbranch in Winton - will kick off Friday evening with an opportunity for locals and amateurs to show their skills on the water without committing to a full race season.
Qualifying heats run on Saturday, while quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals all take place on Sunday. The weekend will also bring a karaoke party, a watercross event that includes an obstacle course, a medallion hunt, two live music performances by Ransom – a rock and country band - and by the headliner, Pop Rocks. Mattila describes the latter as a “Hairball-style band” which sings rock, pop, and country from the 60s to the present.
Racers and spectators will also have the opportunity to purchase a variety of IWA merchandise and snowmobile clothing, as well as food and event-specific shirts. Visitors have the opportunity to purchase a day pass, weekend pass, a concert ticket, or a pit pass.
“We have worked really, really hard from a pipe dream where my husband decided to race 22 years ago,” said Mattila, “He tried it, he got hooked, and then the following year, we’re like, you know what? We should do a race in Ely.”
“We fundraised and we organized it, went through all the hoops with permits, and we were able to do it a year later,” said Mattila.
In order to continue being an official IWA race, the Ely event must follow insurance and sanctioning policies, as well as obtain DNR and sheriff’s permits annually. Running the event is “not cheap,” said Mattila, and she and her husband raised nearly $20,000 the first year to make it happen. Revenue from the previous year now mostly covers the following year’s expenses, although sponsors are still necessary, said Mattila.
“We started with bringing my husband’s sled in the back of the truck, not really knowing what we were doing,” she said. Now, she has a team of six riders who race under Mattila Racing, including her three sons. Her oldest, Nick, scored second overall in season points across the Midwest last year.
Many other local racers have also found success in the sport, thanks in part to their proximity to the Ely Watercross event.
“If you count all the racers that have come out of Ely, just by us starting this here, we probably have between 20 and 25 people that have raced the circuit,” said Mattila, “It’s really fun, because there’s a huge group of Ely racers right now, and we are like one huge extended family. We eat dinners together.”
Mattila is appreciative of how far the race has come and the impact it has had on the local area.
“I’m really proud of being able to keep this event going for 20 years. I mean, to keep something going for 20 years, I think is huge, and it brings a bunch of people into Ely,” she said, “To realize it’s still going, it’s kind of mind-blowing. I’m really proud of it and I hope we get a lot of support from the locals coming, because it’s good for the community.”
