Last March 10th, a request by Duke Tucker to hold the 32nd World Championship Snowmobile Watercross at Memory Park from Tuesday, July 15th through Tuesday, July 22nd was approved by the Grantsburg Village Board.

In spite of the rains on Saturday, this past weekend Tucker saw all the hard work and planning pay off in a successful 32nd running of the Grantsburg World Championship Watercross.“All in all it was a pretty successful weekend,” said Tucker.

“Without having the financial information completed, our feeling is we did better than last year,” he added.

One of the goals for the watercross this year was to make it more family oriented. More activities and events were added that would appeal to the whole family.

In March, Tucker told the board, “This year, the event this will include a vintage snowmobile race,” and he delivered with a group of old sleds and drivers being plucked out of Memory Lake this past weekend.

A kiddy land area was added this year, which saw a lot of action. New and varied food vendors were brought in to give a wider variety of choices for the family.

The new Kid’s Water Skipping event on Friday and Saturday put on by the Kid;s Pro Ice Racing association was a real crowd pleaser. “Next year the Kid’s Pro Ice group has committed to have six to eight sleds for a Friday night competition,” said Tucker.

Friday and Saturday nights brought dancing in the streets and a magical display of fireworks for the whole family.

The finals on Sunday, under perfect weather conditions, saw the best drivers in the world putting on a show that had to be seen to be believed. The competition was fierce and the champions showed why they are the best, demonstrating both skill and sportsmanship.

After the cleanup, Tucker and his team will do a critique of the total event. “We will review our notes on everything from gates to toilets to vendors to see how we can make it better next year,” said Tucker.

“We will review any and all security problems that may have happened to see what we can change there to make it better,” he added..

Tucker wants to hear from the public about next year’s World Championship so that it can be even better. He indicated that residents and participants can contact him personally or at info@grantsburg.com with any questions or suggestions.