MotorActionMedia.com is counting down the final days before the IJSBA World Championship begins.
After nearly 365 days of prep, racers from around the world will be headed to Lake Havasu City, Arizona for the biggest Jet Ski event of the year. It’s here that legends are made, and every person who makes their way to the starting line has dreamed of catching a piece of the glory that comes with winning an IJSBA World Championship title. We are too, actually I am.
This will be my fourth year competing at the World Finals, and I can still remember my first year vividly. After competing in three races (one of which was on a Kawasaki 750 Sxi Pro, yikes), I loaded up for the World Finals with my dad in our mini van, and we made the 21 hour drive — and the whole time I was thinking I would win, hands down. We all think that our first year, don’t we? We’ve heard about the championships, but we’ve never been. It isn’t until you get there that you realize what you’ve gotten into. On the starting line, you can’t believe that many people are racing your class (there were only like three or four on the starting line at home) and in that first lap you realize that half of the competition is on a ski you didn’t even know existed, and the track is about 15 buoys longer than anything you’ve ever ridden on. Also, you’ll find yourself asking, they have Jet Skis in that country too? Call it a baptism by fire — but after placing thirteenth in my first World Championship year, I was a little shocked.
The World Championships are unlike anything else. You spend 365 days preparing for it, and in a moment, anything can happen. Everything has to come together for three races — machine, rider, and luck. If one of these three is off, your chances go out the window — and you have to spend another 365 days dissecting what you’ve done wrong. After my glorious 13th place finish, I faced several years of tough luck — I was discouraged, wondering if things would ever come together for me to get my moment. It took time for me to realize that I was thinking too centrally, I had to take a step back and look at the big picture. All the bits and pieces that go into being successful. It starts at the foundation — my team. Over my four years of World Championship races, my team has become more and more fine-tuned. My dad is a master mechanic, and after four years of Jet Ski racing he’s got it figured out. I know I can always count on him to have the machines in top-condition, and in the event they aren’t — he can fix them. Mom has been by my side at so many races she knows everything I need to make it through in one piece. Whether it be liquids, snacks, or a good stretch — she’s always hounding me to stay on my game. Little sisters are a big help too, nothing like having a cheer squad on the line. Then there’s the sponsors, every racer dreams of having sponsors, and my first year I was dreaming too. I never imagined I would have the level of support that I have today. It’s thanks to the team behind me that I have anything and everything I could possibly need to be successful — parts, gear, you name it.
Then, there’s me. The primary ingredient. After spending so much time at the motocross races this summer, one moment stuck with me. After winning his outdoor national championship, Cooper Webb told the press “Racing isn’t just about being fast, it’s about who can suffer the longest.”. Excessive? More like extremely accurate. As athletes, we push ourselves extremely far. Long motos, brutal heat, rough waves and fast skis. But it isn’t just being a strong athlete that will take you to the next level, it’s the culmination of athleticism, riding skill and most importantly, mental game. There’s a magic balance to all of it, and even some of the best racers in the world haven’t figured it out perfectly yet.
So what have I learned in my four years? No matter how perfect your season has been, or how well prepared you are, when you hit the Havasu starting line, nothing matters. Anything can happen, you never know what will break, who will crash, or who won’t be on top of their game. Unless you put out 110% effort, you will spend another 365 days waiting for a chance to do it again — and let me tell you, that’s a brutal wait.
So here we are, days away from our most important week of the year. Where all the wrenching, working and worrying comes to a point. Don’t bother trying to make any championship predictions — you never know what will happen. One thing I do know, is that it’s going to be wicked week.