TWIMFest 2019

By Scott Neuhaus

There are two certainties associated with the waning days of summer: kids go back to school and TWIMmers congregate for their annual festival.

The Sunday of Labor Day weekend was the day of TWIMFest this year and the beautiful confines of Lake Sammamish State Park was the backdrop. With the cooperation of Mother Nature, the venue couldn’t have been better.

The barbecue was fired around 11:30 and thereafter, for nearly four hours, there was ample sustenance for any and all carnivores on the planet; chef Vince made sure of that. Father Tom, in the spirit of the seven loaves and fishes, seemed to have a never-ending supply of watermelon that he generously shared with all. And if we’re sticking to the biblical theme, there was even the required pestilence in the form of pesky yellow jackets though they seemed localized around our unfazed chef.

As everyone knows, this annual assemblage serves several purposes not the least of which is to distribute awards for those in our ranks that truly distinguished themselves in the ending season. The two that were lauded this year were Coach Tammy for her unending dedication and undying support of all her teammates and Dan Underbrink for his grit and meddle in the face of any race or competition the swimming world (and beyond) had to offer.

The second purpose of TWIMFest is to serve notice to the swimming world that we are back for another year of competition, our numbers are swelling, and with our resolve growing that we are to be feared in competitions near and far.

Lastly, TWIMFest lets us shed our suits in trade for dryland clothing and rub elbows in merriment with our teammates, their spouses and family (and anyone else connected to the TWIM extended brood). In that, this year was a rousing success.