When my friends and I emerged from the Norman entrance of the Bone-Norman through trip, that day I was reborn a caver. Since that day, my relationship with caving morphed into something different. I question whether or not my relationship with caving is trending in the correct direction. And if I am walking the wrong way, what can I do to arrive again at the destination where caving brings me the same joy I felt on day one.
I feel compelled to write because yesterday my friend Sonia and I spent two hours calling cavers on the phone. We made 69 calls and had conversations with with 14 cavers. Our purpose of calling members was to remind cavers to vote in the upcoming Board of Governors election.
What I hear from cavers is cavers want to go caving. There are a lot of things to be worried about regarding the state of the National Speleological Society, but the thing I am most worried about is we don’t do enough to support cavers that want to go caving.
What do cavers want? Cavers want to go caving. Caving is fun. How do we get more young people in? Take them caving. The more we can do to reduce the barriers to get cavers into caves, the more life we will breathe into our community.
It is a challenging time right now for everyone with the COVID-19 crisis. To get back underground, we will need to be thoughtful about returning in a way that is responsible. Equally important is returning to caving in a way that preserves the joy of caving.
We can’t afford to let fun leave us. If we don’t protect the thrill that surrounds being underground, I fear the NSS will die a slow confusing extended death. If you are voting, consider which candidates will promote a community that helps cavers cave.
Ballots are due June 25th.