Ann Lamott in Monday’s Washington Post titled her opinion peace “It’s good to remember, we are all living on borrowed time”. I chuckled at the headline as I read her piece and then thought around to this past weekend at a swim meet hosted in Fort Frances by the Cyclones swim team. For over 30 years I have been working as an official at meets in Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, and other parts of Ontario. It has been a rewarding hobby as I have built up friendships from one side of Canada to the other. And in those 30 years I have come to know at least four generations of swimmers and their parents.
After standing on the cement deck for almost eight hours, I realize that my 70-plus year back is not as resilient as it was in the 1990’s. Four coaches who coached in the 1990’s still coach in the region. That too is amazing.
Over the 30 years, I have watched as eight-year-old swimmers become Olympic team members. I have witnessed as proud parents have seen those young adults off to colleges and universities. And now in some of those same swimmers I am seeing their children begin their swimming careers.
Through the covid years I lost track of half a generation of swimmers. And last May I was surprised to hear that some of those swimmers that I had last seen in 2018 were looking to graduate as I stood on the deck. Time did not stand still.
Walking into the Sportsplex, I was startled to realize that I only knew a handful of the parents and volunteers. It has been five years since a meet had been held in Fort Frances and a new generation of parents and youth were now a big part of the sport in Fort Frances.
It was heart-warming to see this new group choosing to take on a new role to support their children’s swimming. But it also made me feel my age as I harkened back some thirty years as I supported my children’s activities. I remember gloating that it was warmer to watch your children swim in January’s freezing temperatures over sitting in the cold arenas. I remember how hard it was to learn the intricate parts of the various swimming strokes, mentored by an older swim official. It took time to learn and eventually I became the mentor and teacher.
It is a role I have continued to fulfill in northwestern Ontario.
I met many parents of swimmers that my son swam against. Today only four people who were officiating back in the early 1990’s still volunteer at swim meets in the region. After their children left the sport or the area, those parents lost interest in the sport and a new generation of parents came along. Over the 30 years I have enjoyed the camaraderie of four generations of parents and on Saturday a fifth generation came forward.
I realize that it is again time to pass the torch to new parents and volunteers.
