Space and Grace
Space and Grace, Because This is Not a Sprint
How one Masters Swim Team is Thriving During a Global Pandemic
It should all be smoother. Right?
Because this is exhausting.
But I am going to suggest this.
Maybe we all have another 3 sets of 3 x 100s on 1:20 in us.
4 in a row might be too much.
But we can do 3 sets of three.
Space it out in between the sets.
Give your lane mate room before you push off of the wall.
Take a longer shower after practice because it is chilly outside.
And have someone help you when you aren't sure that you can make it.
Space and grace. Because this is NOT a sprint.
But we have got to hold it together as we go inside and head into the holidays coming out of the election. Because not holding it together is simply drowning. And we know how to swim.
-Libby Ernharth, October 2020, Founder of the Flying Fish Heads, a USMS Gold Club
In 2014, Libby Ernharth had a little dream of being able to swim regularly as an adult in the way she swam as a kid, high schooler, and eventually D1 college athlete at the University of New Hampshire. She was tired of running, and missed the pool. Libby talked a lot of people into joining her, and the USMS club the Flying Fish Heads have been swimming (and growing) in the Pittsburgh region ever since. There are now over 130 affiliated USMS Flying Fish Heads (FFH).
Little did the Fish Heads know that in spring 2020, the expertise that Libby gained through her decades of work at the front line of infectious disease in Pittsburgh’s hospitals would allow the club to navigate Covid-19, and even grow, amidst the storm of a global pandemic. For Libby, and the dozen other health care workers in the club, masters swimming has been a balm from the Covid life. For many Fish Heads, masters swimming has become the cornerstone for fitness, community, and mental health during the uncertainty that comes with living through a pandemic.
While some masters swimming clubs have been paused for a year or more because they don’t have access to a pool or don’t feel comfortable gathering, the FFH were out of the water for only 4 of the past 18 months. The FFH stopped swimming In March 2020 when the Pennsylvania Governor issued a shelter in place order and the majority of the world was home. In June 2020, with PA’s shelter in place order lifted, and knowing that chlorine kills the Sars Covid-19 virus, the FFH began swimming again, outdoors. They would continue to swim outside until mid-November -- in Pittsburgh! Yes, there were ice covered goggles, and the Fish Heads were loving it.
With Libby’s guidance, and sometimes stern emails, the FFH protected their herd: a 4-person cap for each lane, no equipment sharing, and no drop-in swimmers. When the Fish Heads gained access to indoor water in January 2021, they carefully followed the Covid-related guidelines of each pool they were swimming in. Club members masked in and out of pools, took temperatures at the door, and avoided the pool if they traveled or felt sick. Even as the numbers in their county soared, the FFH were safely swimming. Now, all swimmers must be vaccinated in order to swim with the FFH. The FFH, and clubs around the globe, have shown that safely swimming during this global pandemic can be done.
Over a year into swimming during a global pandemic, the Fish Heads have shown that clubs can stay open, and even thrive, if they work together to create a safe swim environment. We have learned over and over, all of this requires space and grace and a constant reminder that this is not a sprint.