Did you know we’re already 1/4 of the way through the swim season? Time goes fast when you’re having fun!

Many thanks to Tabby Vaidyanath and the pancake crew for hosting a yummy breakfast on Saturday morning. We’ve got more fun team events coming up this week…

THIS WEEK AT PRACTICE

It’s Kick Week at Los Paseos! We’ll be spending every day this week focusing on a very important (but sometimes overlooked) part of stroke technique: kicking.

PENGUIN MADNESS THIS FRIDAY

Penguin Madness will be this Friday, May 23 from 6:00 to 8:00pm. There will be no swim practice on this day.

Preliminary team rosters are posted to the Penguin Madness page of the website. Swimmers are encouraged to wear the color of their designated penguin team if possible.

If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too late! Send an email today to Jim Read (jamesread70@sbcglobal.net) and include your child’s name and age. There is no cost for this event.

Parents and siblings are welcome to come and cheer for their favorite penguins. We recommend that you bring snacks, water, and folding chairs or blankets to sit on. We will also be doing a fundraiser night at Baja Fresh that day, so watch your email for the flyer later this week. Hope to see you all at the Madness!

GAME NIGHT RESCHEDULED

Game Night for the high school age group has been rescheduled for Friday, May 23 (right after Penguin Madness). Bring your favorite board games and some snacks to share!

MEMORIAL DAY SWIM CLINIC

There are no regular team practices on Memorial Day, but swimmers are invited to attend an optional Swim Clinic that morning from 9:00am to 10:30am. The coaches will be working with small groups of kids on diving from the blocks, backstroke starts, pulldowns, and all types of turns. Swimmers who want to work on any of these skills are welcome to attend. There is no cost for this event.

PRACTICE TIMES CHANGE AFTER MEMORIAL DAY

After Memorial Day, the pool is open to its members until 6:00 pm. This means that we have to compress our swim practices for the last two weeks until school is out (May 27 until June 6). Please note the new times and age groups:

• 8 & under: 6:00–7:00 pm
• 9-12: 7:00–8:00 pm
• 13-18: 8:00–9:00 pm

TIME TRIALS ON MAY 31

The first swim meet of the season is Time Trials, which is just like a regular meet but without the other team. LPAC swimmers race against their own teammates. The purpose of time trials is to determine, under real race conditions, each swimmer’s time in every event. These times are used to determine seedings and calculate improvement points at the dual meets.

Attendance at Time Trials is mandatory, and we need parents to volunteer for positions just like at dual meets. It’s a good chance for swimmers and parents to get warmed up for the start of the season—and a great opportunity for our newest penguins to experience their very first races!

If your child will be unable to attend time trials, you need to let the coaches know ASAP. Please send email to coaches@swimlpac.org or leave a “Note to Coaches” in the file box. Any swimmers who do not attend Time Trials must come to the make-up day on Monday, June 2.

NEW CAPS AVAILABLE AT TIME TRIALS

We have new black-and-white LPAC team caps this year! Caps will be available at Time Trials for $10. Check out the Suits and Merchandise page of the website to see what they look like. All swimmers are encouraged to purchase a cap and wear it during meets. A team cap looks cool, shows your penguin pride, and makes it easy for the coaches and spectators to quickly identify LPAC swimmers. If you ordered team merchandise, it will also be available to pick up at Time Trials.

LOOKING GOOD, LPAC!

Many of you might have already noticed a number of improvements around the pool this year. Thanks to the generosity of our penguin families and other swim-a-thon supporters, we had enough funds to purchase sturdy new backstroke poles, a brand-new team record board, and new crowd-control stanchions (to finally replace the rusty old cement-poured-in-coffee-can poles that Coach Scott’s father made back in the 1980s!). Special thanks to Kevin Nichols for installing all of the new equipment. It feels good to class up the joint, so thank you everyone for supporting LPAC!

Looks like it’s going to be a great week for swimming! Here are just a few reminders about upcoming team events:

PANCAKE BREAKFAST: Saturday, May 17

Celebrate the start of the swim season and catch up with your LPAC friends at the Pancake Breakfast this Saturday, May 17, from 8:30 to 10:00 am. The cost is just $5 for all the pancakes you can eat, and all proceeds benefit the team! You do not need to RSVP for this event, but we could always use extra helpers. Please contact Tabby Vaidyanath (408-578-8319) if you are able to help with setup, cooking, and/or cleanup. Hope to see you there!

SIGN UP NOW FOR PENGUIN MADNESS

Penguin Madness will be on Friday, May 23 from 6:00 to 8:00pm. There is no cost for this fun team-building event, but we do need you to sign up now so that we can assign swimmers to their penguin teams. If your kids plan to attend, please send email to Grand Penguin Poobah Jim Read with your kids’ names and ages. For more information, see the Penguin Madness page on the website.

GAME NIGHT RESCHEDULED

Game Night for the high school age group has been rescheduled for Friday, May 23 (right after Penguin Madness). Bring your favorite board games and some snacks to share!

MEMORIAL DAY SWIM CLINIC

There are no regular team practices on Memorial Day (Monday, May 26), but swimmers are invited to attend an optional Swim Clinic that morning from 9:00am to 10:30am. The coaches will be working with small groups of kids on diving from the blocks, backstroke starts, pulldowns, and all types of turns. Swimmers who want to work on any of these skills are welcome to attend.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! We had a great first week of practices and are looking forward to seeing los penguinos back in la piscina this evening.

WELCOME NEW PENGUINS!

We’re very happy to welcome 22 (!) new penguins to the team. Please be sure to introduce yourself to the newest members in your practice group and make them all feel at home.

• 8 & under: Cressida Hansen, Robin Janssen, Tanner Buchanan, Easton Apolinar, Viola Sunderman, Vander Katz, Gabriel Nansen, Alexis Minasian, Alex Delgado, Coco Delgado, Martin Kwende
• 9-11: Tara Buchanan, Trevor Buchanan, Karla Julian, Shaun Tran, Ethan Fang, Caitlyn Minasian, Kailyn Altringer, Ethan Calderon
• 12-14: Catlan Tran, Vivek Gupta
• 15-18: Derek Jordan

SWIMSUIT TRY-ONS ON TUESDAY

We apologize that swimsuits were not ready for ordering last Wednesday as originally planned. If you didn’t get a chance to order your team suit, Illusions will be here on Tuesday, May 6 from 5:20 until 8:00 pm. Tuesday is also the last day to turn in LPAC merchandise orders. Remember to arrive early so your swimmers can try on suits before they practice; Illusions requires kids to be dry when they try on suits. And don’t forget your checkbooks! Checks for team merchandise orders should be made payable to “LPAC,” and swimsuit orders should be payable to “Illusions.”

SOME IMPORTANT REMINDERS TO PARENTS

• We know that adjusting to the start of the swim season is tough on everyone’s schedules, but please make every effort to pick your swimmers up on time after practice. Our coaches will always stay late to be sure that kids are not left by themselves, but by 9:00 pm both swimmers and coaches are exhausted and just want to go home.
• Parents are welcome to stay on the pool deck, but please try not to distract kids or coaches during practices.
• Parents of younger swimmers, please be sure to supervise your kids around the pool area before and after practices. The coaches have to focus on the kids in the pool and cannot provide supervision for the other kids.

STROKE AND TURN JUDGES WANTED!

LPAC needs more parent volunteers to serve as starters and stroke-and-turn judges. If you’re interested in either of these important positions, please plan to attend a special training day on Saturday, May 10, at our own Los Paseos Pool. The stroke & turn clinic will be held from 9:00 am to 11:30 am. The training for starters will be from 11:15 am to 12:00 noon. If you’re interested in attending, please RSVP to Nancy Keslin (nkeslin@yahoo.com).

SIGN UP NOW FOR PENGUIN MADNESS

Penguin Madness will be on Friday, May 23. There is no cost for this fun team-building event, but we do need you to sign up so that we can assign swimmers to their penguin teams. To sign up and get more information, see the Penguin Madness page on the website. Click the orange button to send email to Jim Read and sign up; you just need to include your kids’ names and ages.