Hold Fast, Stay True

Hold Fast, Stay True

Two weekends ago, we had our first sanctioned meet since the February Divisionals down in Puyallup earlier this year. Although the weather was not inviting, it was still unbelievably refreshing to see the kids competing again. The road back to where we are now has been a long and adverse one. 

Before the days of GPS systems, travelers and fishermen out at sea relied on the stars to guide them to their destinations. It took a tremendous amount of experience to master this skill. This grew increasingly difficult to do during massive storms, as waves are IRG no regard for human life crashed on boat decks. In the eye of the storms, there was a phrase that could be heard bouncing around the cabin, over the deafening noise of the water: “Hold Fast, Stay true.” This was so people knew to hold onto something that was fastened to the ship to ensure they would not go overboard, and “stay true” was so the captain steering the ship would stay on course, using the stars to keep them on track through the chaos that surrounded. 

This year has proven to be the most difficult storm some of us have ever tried to maneuver through, leaving some of us feeling like a captain trying to steer our own ship out at sea without any guidance. Although the storm has not completely passed, the members of this team have shown an immense amount of sense of self, staying true to themselves by continuing to stay engaged in the sport while no pools were open and trusting the process of coming together as a community to come out on the other end of a global pandemic. Sunshine is on the horizon, but we couldn’t have done it without the help of all of our community members that this team has brought together. 

When the waters get choppy, and the skies get dark, remember to keep holding fast, and always stay true.