It Takes a Team

This is another sub-installment in the Watercross Season we will be following this summer. Please check the Category: Watercross 2017 Season to read the full series.

When you attend a watercross event, it’s pretty easy to tell this sport takes teamwork. From the pits to behind the scenes, no one is working alone. For Scott Martinson, he couldn’t do this sport without teamwork.

I sat down for a phone interview with Scott after the 41st Annual Grantsburg World Championship. For many of the racers, it was a tough weekend; for Scott, he considers it pretty successful. He was happy enough to have made it to the finals at Grantsburg, coming in 4th place in the Mod Drag Class. There are racers that come from all over the country for this race; and for some it’s the only race they participate in all season. Scott told me that Grantsburg brings some insanely fast sleds, which makes for tough competition. According to Scott, his toughest competitors are: “Aaron Lundeen, who is riding Jeff Fischer's sled, and Matt Ledin who is on Shawn Zurn’s sled.” He hasn’t won a race against either competitor, but he’s getting closer and with that, it pushes him to work harder.

Scott has grown up with Snowmobiles being present in his life as far back as he can remember. His dad owned old Sno Jets that were sitting in the backyard for years. “At 13 or 14 I was interested in getting them running,” Scott said; and by 17-18 he was buying his own sleds. “I didn’t have a lot of money, so I worked on a lot of junkers," stated Scott.

Growing up he skipped on a river; despite this, watercross is fairly new to Scott. Gabe Godeen, #813 Aaron Godeen’s cousin, first introduced Scott to watercross in 2011. He built his sled two years prior to his first race, which was at Grantsburg in 2015. This season he’s racing his #524 2010 Black IQR.

When I asked him what he would like to accomplish this race season, he wasn’t sure at first. After some thought he stated, “I want to win a final.” Scott’s other goal is to compete in every circuit this season. It’s his first year competing at the lake races, which include Moose Lake, Menomonie, and Ely. The lake races are different because instead of landing on the other end of a pond and turning around on land, these events require you to turn around on the water. For both Moose Lake and Menomonie Scott has come in dry. In the future Scott would like to follow through with his original plan and would like to race in ovals although he doesn’t plan on being competitive.

In an interview with Callie from Creative Styles Photography, Corey Huls says he admires Scott Martinson as a racer because he goes the extra mile every single race; Corey admires Scott's determination, strength, and intelligence to lead the sport in diversity and intuition. In Emma Godeen’s interview also done by Callie she says, "A person that I definitely am inspired by is Scott Martinson; it's not just for the effort and the energy that Scott puts into the sport, but for what he does for the team and the people he cares for.”

I asked Scott how he feels about being such a big inspiration to so many people. “I think it’s pretty cool. It was never a thought that I was going to be an inspiration to anyone.” I asked him what he wants to say to those he’s inspiring. “Never give up on your dreams; if it’s within reach, go for it. Everyone thought I was nuts when I wanted to try watercross.” Does Scott have any inspirations in this sport? He had no words to answer this. He simply stated, “everyone. There are no bad people. Positive vibes are what makes the sport fun.”

For those of you who don't know Scott you may be asking, "why does Scott Martinson inspire so many people?" Nineteen years ago Scott was involved in a snowmobile accident, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Did he ever think about giving up snowmobiles? “Quitting was not an option. I love snowmobiles,” said Scott. No doubt it was a life changer; Scott had to learn how to do things differently and make them work for himself. In his own words, "I was back up and running, so to speak, in a few months and back on snowmobiles the next year."

For other racers, preparing for a race takes a lot mental, physical, and mechanical preparation. When I asked Scott these questions, “I don’t really get mentally prepared, I’m physically there, and I’m always working on my sled.”

I asked Scott what he has to do differently compared to other racers to be able to compete in this sport. For starters Scott has to modify his sled: he has a guard/shield for his feet, and a cushioned seat, which many sleds don’t have a seat at all.

Then you have to consider Scott's mobility: since he doesn’t have stomach muscles and can’t move around on the sled like other racers, it’s all in his arms and the handle bars. If he starts off “weird” on the starting line, or hits a wake or a wave, he can’t move on his sled to correct it as easily as other racers.

There’s no plan to stop anytime soon. Scott said, “The only reason I would quit is if my teammates decide to be done, because without them I can’t do this. I need help racing, I need help getting on my sled, and moving my sled.”

Scott’s a part of a team, Won 4 ALL, that consists of a few different families, including the Godeens, Tongens, and himself. We discussed being apart of a team, and the different teams that practice on farm pond outside of Freeport, Minnesota. “Call us teams because that is what we are; but we’re all a group, team name or not. Everyone helps each other. Right now Aaron Vowles is using my skid in his sled, until he can figure out something for himself or he pays me. At Moose Lake, I was called a part of Yard Ape, but it doesn’t make a difference to me. Everyone on that pond, team or not, we’re an IWA family."

Thank you to Taryn Hollenkamp from Elephant Tiptoes Photography for taking the time to complete this interview. You can check out her Facebook page here.