A Traditional Swim Ch. 12

This story is part of a series. Chapters 1 through 11 will provide context. Hopefully, however, this story may also be enjoyed as a stand-alone work.

*****

Even people who have a wonderful situation and need do nothing often feel the need to be doing something. So it was with Chris after a few months on the island with her sister and me. Chris told us that she was going to start a money management business which she could largely do remotely from the island. However, she was going back to New York for a few weeks to interview with some prospective clients, including a university endowment fund.

I think that I would have missed Chris more than I cared to admit had not Sara, my swim coach, suddenly increased the intensity and frequency of our workouts. Sara had gotten us back into the public pool where we could train nude very early in the morning before it opened. She also had us doing a huge amount of open water work in our cove and at other locations around the island. Frankly, Sara was kicking my ass.

Something was up, but Sara took her sweet time telling me what. Finally, she came clean. She had gotten the urge to compete again. "I just love being among naked athletic bodies," she said.

Acting on her urge, Sara had reached out to a number of the people whom she swam with and against in college. Sara showed me a huge file of e-mail. A few people whom she had contacted about nude swim meets immediately reacted negatively, a couple being fairly insulting in their responses to Sara. A slightly larger group endorsed the idea immediately and committed to swim if Sara could pull it together. The largest group did not immediately respond one way or the other, but you could tell than many of them were intrigued and thinking about it. As e-mail was forwarded on, the network grew beyond the people whom Sara had contacted. I was, frankly, surprised at how many people who were, or had not long ago been, serious athletes were interested in competing in the nude.

Things really started coming together when one of Sara's college assistant coaches, now a head coach at a university in New England joined the conversation. The coach was very enthusiastic about the idea of a nude meet. She said that she was sure that she could make the natatorium at her school available. Having a venue made the idea more real and the fence-sitters in the online discussion began coming down one way or the other. A surprisingly large number came down in favor of competing. In a fairly short time, enough swimmers had committed that the meet would have a full slate of men's and ladies' races.

The group then set a tentative date several months out so that everyone would have time to train. Sara's old coach verified that she could provide the pool on that date. The next thing that the group addressed was the meet's rules. First, it was decided that the meet would not be open to the public and would not be promoted. However, each competitor would be allowed to bring one guest. With competitors and guests, there would be a fair crowd. The next rule was that all competitors would stay nude for the entire meet. Guests could be nude or clothed, although it was hoped that most guests would choose to disrobe. The coach verified that she could keep the natatorium warm enough that no one should get tight, and there was a warm pool by the diving tower.

Diving became an interesting issue. The original plan had not included a diving competition. However, one lady (whom Sara identified to me as a diver at another school in the same conference while Sara was in college) sent an e-mail to everyone. The operative part was as follows: "You wimps who hide in the water amuse me. Get some other divers and you'll see this bare ass on full display on the platform and the springboard."

Sara's comment to me was that, at least when they were both in college, "she had an ass that was probably worth seeing." Apparently, a few others thought so too because several divers stepped up to take her challenge. The coach found three of her colleagues willing to judge, so it looked like there would be a diving competition too. Unfortunately, there were not enough divers committed to have separate men's and ladies' competitions. The solution there was to limit the dives that could be performed to create a level playing field.

Finally, Sara told me that the meet was only two weeks off. She had already booked our flights to New York, the rental car, and our room at the old inn in the college town where her former coach now coached. Apparently, the swimmers, divers, and guests had taken over the entire inn for the weekend.

New York is a longer flight than I really like. In any event, Chris picked us up at Kennedy. Although Chris lived with us now on the island, she had kept her Manhattan apartment. We spent the night with Chris in a very intimate reunion. I tried hard to please both ladies, and think that I succeeded. It was also heartwarming to see how much the two sisters enjoyed giving pleasure to each other.

The next day, Chris drove us over to LaGuardia to pick up the rental car. We went up I-95 until we were between Providence and Boston, then turned northwest and drove for another two or three hours. Finally, at mid-afternoon, we arrived in a quintessential college town.

After checking in at the inn, Sara asked for directions to the college natatorium. She had called her old coach, who was waiting for us. At the pool, Sara and her coach had a warmer reunion than I had expected. Sara introduced me to her old coach, Beth. Beth was a few years younger than me and, as you'd expect of someone who has spent a lifetime swimming, looked very fit. I'd not say that Beth was a great beauty, but she had a charm and a friendly manner that made her seem to become more attractive the longer you were around her. I learned over the course of the weekend that Beth and Sara had been fairly close friends when Sara was in college.

Beth raised an eyebrow when Sara introduced me as her fiancé. "So," Beth said to me, "you are the one who launched pure, innocent Sara on her course of nudity an exhibition? Showed up at a YWCA swim nude and then sweet-talked Sara out of her suit?"

Obviously, Sara and Beth had talked. That was basically true, so I some sheepishly nodded yes.

"I don't blame you," Beth continued. "Sara always had a killer body."

Beth showed us around the natatorium, which was surprisingly large, modern, and well-equipped for a fairly small college. "We've managed to make swimming and diving one of the marquis sports here, along with hockey. I'm getting top quality kids from all over New England and New York who want to come up here to swim. You'll meet my kids tonight. Some of them are very talented."

Beth walked us through a locker room, weight room, training room, and into the main pool area. Along with a full 25 meter pool, there was a separate diving well with both platform and springboard. Along one long dimension of the pool were seats. Not bleachers, but actual seats. "We can seat about 300," Beth said. Then, to Sara, "Don't get your hopes up. We won't have that many tomorrow night. Fortunately, our season hasn't started yet so I can use the facility without anyone else really caring what I'm doing. The IM pool is across campus."

As we shook hands and left, Beth said "remember, the dinner starts at 6:30. I want to introduce everyone, which will take some time, and I want you all in bed at a reasonable hour."

As we walked back to the car, I asked Sara "Dinner?"

"Yes," we've taken the dining room at the inn tonight. Only competitors are invited. We thought it would give everyone a chance to meet clothed and get to know each other a little." Sara grinned. "Hopefully, it will also build some anticipation to see what everyone looks like tomorrow evening with their clothes off."

We walked around the town for a time. It was early autumn, and the leaves were just beginning to change. I had the impression that there was a football game at the college the next afternoon. I had played football when I was much younger and still have a deep affection for the game. I would have liked to have seen the game the next day, but getting naked took precedence.

It was about 6:25 when we walked into the inn's dining room, which was crammed with people milling among the tables. Very swiftly, I heard a female voice exclaim "SARA!" Over rushed a very lovely blonde in a very elegant and flattering dress. Sara and the blonde hugged, and did the "it has been so long, how are you" thing for a few moments. Then Sara introduced me. The blonde was Trish. Trish had been a teammate of Sara's in college.

"I'm a bit surprised that you agreed to do this, Sara said to Trish.

"I wasn't going to when you first contacted me. But, the more I thought about it, it started to sound like it might be fun. I finally got up the courage to mention it to my husband and was taken aback at how enthused he was. 'So you want to see me walking around naked with a bunch of strangers" I asked him. 'Absolutely' was his response. So I told him, "Buster, if you want to be there watching, your ass is going to have to be as bare as mine.' To my surprise, he readily agreed to that too. You'll get to see all of him tomorrow night."

Trish went on. "The biggest issue for me was my training. I play a lot of tennis, run, and lift a little bit; but I hadn't been in the pool seriously in several years. I've really kicked my own ass the last few months since I agreed to do this, but my times sure aren't what they once were."

Trish turned to me, "Did I hear Sara say that you are her fiancé?"

I nodded.

"And you're the man who got our innocent little Sara out of her clothes and spirited her off to a Caribbean island?"

I nodded again.

"Good for you," Trish said. She looked me up and down. "It looks like Sara may have made a catch. Guess I'll find out tomorrow."

I looked at Trish. Although it took a moment to realize it, she was a very beautiful lady. I was looking forward to seeing her nude.

Sara said to Trish, "So, we're the only ones from dear old alma mater here?"

Trish laughed. "We're the only two with bodies worth baring."

I chimed in, "I suspect that is true. Guess I'll find out tomorrow."

Trish turned her back to me and gave her rear a shake. Turning back around, she smiled at me and said, "You'll see that my husband chose wisely. Come to think of it, I think I'm going to enjoy being naked around you."

At that point, Beth began rapping a fork against a glass and asked everyone to be seated. Trish put her hand on Sara's arm and said, "You two are sitting with me." Pointing to a table with three empty seats, she said "there."

As we were walking to our seats, a tall, well-built redhead in an emerald dress stopped Sara and thanked her for putting the event together. Sara introduced the lady to me as Felicia, who had insisted on a diving competition.

Felicia turned to me and said, "Yes, I am a natural redhead as you'll see tomorrow night."

Moving on towards our seats, Trish commented "Felicia always did rate herself pretty highly." Actually, Felicia was a very pretty lady.

When everyone was seated, I looked around. My rough guess was that there were 50 people in the room. According to Sara, everyone here was a competitor, so all 50 of us would be completely nude in about 24 hours.

Beth began to speak. "While some of you know each other, I don't think anyone here knows everyone. For obvious reasons, we haven't printed a program or roster of competitors. The college actually knows that we're doing this, and has been very cool about it. Still, I think we are wisest to keep this as much within the family as possible. So, I wanted to take some time to introduce you to each other. Since you will all be totally exposed to each other tomorrow night, I thought it would be nice if you knew a bit more about each other than the size of your dicks and tits."

"First," Beth continued, "I'd like to introduce my swim team, who are sitting at those tables over there." Beth pointed to two tables occupied by about 15 boys and girls who looked to me like, well, boys and girls.

"Five of my kids are competing tomorrow," Beth said. "Mark, Gretchen, and Lynne are swimming. Belinda and May are both diving. Would you five please stand up?"

Four girls and a boy stood up. One of the girls looked somewhat attractive. They all looked terribly young to me, although Beth had told us earlier that the youngest person on her team was 19.

"The rest of my team will be helping us run the meet," Beth said. "I'm proud to say that every one of my swimmers has, fully voluntarily, agreed to work nude at our meet."

We all applauded that announcement. I thought a couple of the girls were blushing.

Beth went on, smiling: "My boys and girls haven't seen each other in the altogether before, at least as far as I know. This will be a new experience for them. I should tell you that I asked my swimmers to help with this, but my intention was to have them stay clothed. My team came to me and insisted on stripping down like everyone else." That brought another round of applause.

Beth stopped at a table by a lady about her own age sitting next to a much younger lady. "First, I want to introduce our one mother and daughter pair. You may remember Alice who won three events at the Big Tens and finished third at the NCAAs in 199_. Also swimming tomorrow is her daughter Susan, who is currently a top swimmer at _________ (Beth named a prominent West Coast university). I understand that their joint guest tomorrow is Alice's husband, Susan's dad."

Beth moved on to another table and stopped by a man who appeared to be in his late 20s. He had a darker complexion, waving dark hair, and the classic V build. "Probably our best credentialed competitor is Jan. Although Jan grew up and went to college in the States, he swam several events in Beijing as part of the Dutch team. I was at Beijing and saw Jan in his Speedo several times. I think we ladies, at least those of us who like men, are in for a treat tomorrow night when Jan takes the blocks without his Speedo. Part of Jan may be in the water while he's still up there. We'll have to think about whether that is a legal start."

Moving to our table, Beth said "I want to introduce someone who is a dear friend of mine. I was an assistant swim coach at ____ (naming Sara's university) when Sara swam there. I would never have guessed then that pure, innocent Sara would be the person organizing a nude swim meet, but Sara is the person who thought this up and put it together. I should also tell you that this is not Sara's first nude meet. She medaled at the INF meet two years ago in Paris, swimming nude before a crowd of about 3,000." This brought a round of applause for Sara.

Beth moved next to Trish. "I see that Sara cajoled her old teammate Trish to come as well. I will tell you that Sara and Trish are fine people and were very talented swimmers in college. I can also tell you that Sara and Trish had stunning bodies. From what I can tell so far, they both still do. While we're looking at Jan, guys you could do a lot worse than keeping your eyes on Sara and Trish."

Beth stepped over next to me. "Harry is someone whom I just met today. He is Sara's fiancé, and took her off to Martinique, which is going to be sounding damn good to me in a month or two. I understand that Harry is the person who first got Sara out of her clothes. Without him, we wouldn't be here this weekend. Sara tells me that Harry is fairly new to competitive swimming, but he has swum the meets with Sara and has posted some very good times, all swum nude. He did well for a newbie at the INF. Folks, Sara and Harry have spent a lot of time racing nude. They may have an advantage over you more modest types."

Beth then gave me a saucy look. "I teased Jan earlier, and we all know that he has a dick about four feet long. To be honest, the guy I'm looking forward to seeing tomorrow night is Harry, in the water and out." Beth winked at me and moved on.

Trish leaned over and said, "You seem to have made an impression on Beth."

Sara chimed in, "He doesn't get it. Harry thinks that he is not attractive to women."

I quickly added, "No, I've figured out that I'm attractive to the only lady who matters."

Beth continued around the room introducing the other 40 plus swimmers and divers. There were some interesting resumes and interesting stories in the room.

Finally, Beth stopped by an older man sitting next to a lady who appeared to be in her early 20s. "I started by introducing our mother-daughter pair. I wanted to save the best for last. We also have a father-daughter pair swimming tomorrow night. Alicia is a senior at (Beth named a prestigious East Coast school) and has one of last year's best times nationally in the 200 IM. She tells me that a friend of hers forwarded to her one of the e-mail that went around about this meet. Alicia became interested, but her friend chickened out. Then Alicia remembered that her father, Bob, swam in college. Alicia says that her mother was instrumental in persuading Bob to swim with us tomorrow. Bob tells me that he hasn't seen Alicia naked since she was a baby. Dad, you best get ready because I think that tomorrow night you're going to see that your daughter's all grown up and a very lovely woman. Alicia also tells me that her Mother and younger brother are coming tomorrow night and have both promised to strip down to give Alicia and Bob moral support. Folks, we are going to have whole nude families. Isn't that great?"

Despite a few odd looks, we all applauded Alicia and Bob. Beth's final statement to us as a group was, "You might want to use tonight to assemble your relay teams. I know that we have families and some couples swimming tomorrow. Let's try to break those up. Swim with someone you don't know."

The relay was a manufactured event. There was going to be a 200 meter coed relay. Each team had to alternate man-woman, but each team was allowed to set its own order of swimmers, so men and women would likely be in the water at the same time. Each swimmer also had to swim a different stroke.

Trish leaned across Sara and asked me, "Harry, do you want to swim with me?"

"I'd be honored," I replied.

Trish mused, "Now we just need two more, a guy and a girl... Wait!" I saw a gleam in Trish's eye. She got up from the table and walked across the room to where Alicia and Bob were sitting. She spoke to them for a few minutes and I saw heads nodding.

Coming back to our table, Trish said "we have our team. Alicia and Bob will swim with us. Two old guys and two hot girls. That should be fair. Alicia will do backstroke. Bob can do free and I'll do fly. Sara says you're good on the breast...stroke, I mean."

Just then, Beth walked up. "Sara, would you swim with Mark and Gretchen on the relay? I'd like to have someone I know with them. I'm going to ask Jan to be your other guy. That should give you a really fast team."

Of course, Sara agreed.

Over dinner, we chatted around the table. Also sitting with us was a married couple in their late 20s. They had met on their swim team in college. "We used to talk about doing a meet naked, but we never had the courage then to try it." The woman told us. "When I got an e-mail about this, I took it to Seth," nodding towards her husband, "and said this may be our very last chance." She lowered her voice slightly. "We thought we were doing something a bit kinky. My guest is my Dad and Seth's guest is his Mom. But, now we hear that there are whole families here. We seem pretty vanilla."

Sara and I spent most of our time talking with Trish. It turned out that she was an architect based in Chicago. She had recently won a commission to design a big-ticket museum in Florida. Her husband was an oncologist, "but, don't let that put you off," Trish said. "Larry spends enough time with people who are dying that he really does try to live every day to the full. He is really great fun."