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Wetskins water polo team stay busy

Co-ed LGBT team formed in 1985

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Washington Wetskins, LGBT sports, gay news, Washington Blade
Washington Wetskins, LGBT sports, gay news, Washington Blade

The Washington Wetskins (Photo by M.V. Jantzen)

Washington is home to the longest continuously operating LGBT water polo team in the United States.  Founded in 1985, the Washington Wetskins have represented the D.C. area in numerous national and international competitions.

Over the years, the Wetskins have traveled to such varied places as New Orleans, San Francisco, Paris, Amsterdam and Reykjavic, Iceland.

The Wetskins current active roster consists of about 20 women and 20 men.  Practice is held on Monday and Wednesday nights at the Tacoma Recreation Center.

The team is self supported with annual dues ranging up to $300. Financial assistance can be offered to those unable to meet the dues structure.

They are members of the USA Water Polo Association as well the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) organization.

While it helps to be a strong swimmer, the Wetskins accept newcomers of all levels. They have even been known to teach people how to swim with practices that include drills and skills clinics.

Water polo, like many other sports only seems to appear every four year at the Olympics. It is actually played competitively year round and men’s water polo was among the first team sports introduced at the modern Olympic Games in 1900.

When water polo shows up on television during the Olympics, I often hear friends asking questions about the player’s gear. The caps are worn to identify the two teams and also to protect the ears from being injured.

As for the swimsuits, small and tight fitting are the best options. For both men and women, this style diminishes the chances of the opponent being able to grab onto the suit.  Women especially need their swimsuit straps to be tight so their opponents have no chance of pulling on them.

In terms of rules, water polo is most similar to team handball and also shares some similar rules with ice hockey.  As for action in the water, there are similarities to open water swimming and even wrestling.

As a former water polo player myself, the sport can be as grueling as it is exciting. During the course of a competitive match, the players will endure constant movement in the water for up to an hour with a few very short breaks.

Water polo players need incredible stamina because of the constant underwater holding, pushing, elbowing, kicking and even scratching that occurs during the game. All of which are technically illegal, but a constant factor in advanced competitions.

According to longtime Wetskins member, Tom Woodruff, “If the referee can’t see it, the referee can’t call it.”

And in many cases, the referee just ignores it.

In 2008, the Wetskins hosted the water polo portion of the IGLA World Championships in D.C.  I was lucky enough to attend the championship match in College Park.

The match was really intense and the skill level was incredible. It felt like both teams were out for blood.  Afterwards, I rode the shuttle bus back to D.C. with the players. Some of the players were sporting black eyes, gash marks and Band-Aids, yet both teams were joking and laughing.

“That isn’t surprising,” says Woodruff. “The LGBT water polo community is small and everyone knows each other.  They can fight ferociously in the water and then be friendly out of the water.”

Coming up for the Wetskins are the 2013 IGLA world Championships in Seattle and the 2014 Gay Games in Cleveland.

The team can be found on the web at wetskins.org.

 

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Books

A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat

New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

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(Book cover image courtesy of Random House)

‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages

Happy is the bride the sun shines on.

Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.

Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.

He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.

He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.

But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.

Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.

Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.

What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.

In short, this book is quite stunning.

Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.

If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch

LGBTQ politicians gather for annual event

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Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) speaks at the 2025 Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Music & Concerts

Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’

Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

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Singer Tom Goss is back. (Photo by Dusti Cunningham)

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co. 

Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.

For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

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