PENGUIN PLAYDATE ON TUESDAY!

Our youngest penguins (5-6 year olds) and their parents are invited to meet at Los Paseos Park this Tuesday (May 24) at 4:30 pm for a pre-practice playdate. It’s a chance to catch up with old friends and make some new penguin pals! Please bring a snack to share; we can all walk or ride over swim practice together afterwards.

PENGUIN MADNESS THIS FRIDAY

Penguin Madness will be this Friday, May 27, 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 (but not required) to wear the color of their designated penguin team. Note that these are all dryland games, so wear comfortable clothes and shoes so you can run, jump, crawl, etc.

If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too late! Send an email today to info@swimlpac.org 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 warm layers, plus snacks, water, and folding chairs or blankets to sit on.

NorCal Swim Shop will be coming to Penguin Madness this year and will be selling practice suits, caps, or goggles. This is a great chance to stock up for the season without making a trip to the store!

Swimmers in the high school practice group are invited to the Burkes’ house (26 Via Campina) for Game Night immediately following Penguin Madness. Please bring snacks or drinks to share!

MEMORIAL DAY SWIM CLINIC

There are no regular team practices on Memorial Day (Monday, May 30), 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.

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 one week until school is out (May 31 through June 3). Please note the new times and age groups:

• 9 & under: 6:00–7:00 pm
• 10-13: 7:00–8:00 pm
• 14-18: 8:00–9:00 pm

 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Parents, there are several important volunteer positions that we still need to fill. We are looking for 2 clean-up helpers, 1 clerk of the course, 2 deck marshals, 2 kitchen “shadow” helpers, and 2 assistant volunteer coordinators. It really does take a village to run our swim team, so please step up to help out if you can! As an extra incentive, we’ll put your name in a hat and draw for a guaranteed up-front parking spot at home meets. Send email to Cecie Boston at volunteers@swimlpac.org and let us know how you’d like to help.

TIME TRIALS ON JUNE 4

The first swim meet of the season is Time Trials, which is just like a regular meet but without the other team. At Time Trials, LPAC swimmers race against their own teammates to establish times in every event under real race conditions. These times are used to determine seedings and calculate improvement points at the 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!

Attendance at Time Trials is mandatory, and we need parents to volunteer for positions just like at dual meets. If you haven’t yet signed up for a volunteer shift, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Cecie Boston at volunteers@swimlpac.org.

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 Time Trial Make-Ups on Monday, June 6 at 8:00 pm.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Friday, May 27: Penguin Madness
• Monday, May 30: Memorial Day Clinic (no regular practices)
• Tuesday, May 31: Practice times change

• Saturday, June 4: Time Trials
• Monday, June 6: Morning practices begin
• Monday, June 6: Time Trials Make-Ups
• Saturday, June 11: Belwood @ LPAC
• Friday, June 17: Picture Day
• Saturday, June 18: LPAC @ Montevideo
• Saturday, June 18: Overnighter and Cardboard Boat Races
• Saturday, June 25: LPAC @ Oaktree

Thanks to Tabby Vaidyanath and her crew of flapjack flippers for hosting a fun Pancake Breakfast on Saturday. Now on to Week 3!

PENGUIN MADNESS COMING SOON!

Are you ready for Penguin Madness? If your child plans to participate, please reply to this email TODAY so we can start assembling the penguin teams. This year Penguin Madness will be on Friday, May 27 from 6:00-8:00 pm (there are no regular practices on that day). Parents are welcome to come watch the madness!

THIS WEEK AT PRACTICE

This week, the coaches will be evaluating each swimmer in all four strokes to determine what specific areas to focus on this season. We’ve had great attendance so far; please continue coming to practice every day if you can!

NEW RULES AT POOL DURING PRACTICES

The Los Paseos Association asked that all children and parents please comply with the following rules during swim team practices:

• Children not participating in practice must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
• No children are allowed south of the pool, above the grass area, or south of the upper deck, and specifically no access to the shed area, or in and around the Pool Equipment House.
• No one is allowed in the baby pool at any time.
• Swim team members not in the pool must either be with their parents or in the Sports Court.

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR YOUR VOLUNTEER SHIFTS YET?

Every family needs to sign up for at least one shift at every meet their swimmer(s) attend; families with more than one swimmer may be needed to work additional shifts. If you haven’t signed up yet, please send email to Cecie Boston at volunteers@swimlpac.org. We are especially in need of more volunteers for the clean-up shifts after home meets. This job is very important, as we really need to have all hands on deck (literally) to clean up the pool and get it ready to open to members. It’s a good fit if you have young kids and don’t want to have to work during the meet — or if you’d rather sleep in late and come help after the meet is over! We are also looking for additional volunteers for Announcer, Clerk of the Course, and Stroke and Turn judges (see note below). If you are able to help out, please send email to volunteers@swimlpac.org.

STROKE AND TURN CLINIC FOR PARENT VOLUNTEERS

Parents, if you’re interested in getting trained as a Stroke & Turn judge, plan to attend the Stroke & Turn Clinic on Saturday, May 21 from 9:00 to 11:30 am at the Los Paseos Clubhouse. Judges are needed to observe every race and be sure swimmers are swimming each stroke correctly. It’s a great way to learn more about the sport and get involved during meets!

RESERVE ROOMS NOW FOR RAFT TRIP

The team raft trip this year will be on Saturday, July 2. Many families like to stay overnight (either Friday or Saturday, or both). We have reserved a small block of rooms at the Motel 6 in Oakdale, but they do fill up quickly and will only be reserved until June 5. Rooms with one king bed are $99; rooms with two queens are $109 (plus tax); breakfast is NOT included. Call 209-847-8181 to reserve your room today. For more information, see the Raft Trip page on the website.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Saturday, May 21: Stroke and Turn Clinic (9:00 – 11:30 am)
• Friday, May 27: Penguin Madness
• Monday, May 30: Memorial Day Clinic (no regular practices)
• Tuesday, May 31: Practice times change
• Saturday, June 4: Time Trials
• Monday, June 6: Morning practices begin
• Monday, June 6: Time Trials Make-Ups

It was great to see so many penguins back in the water for the first week of practices! Even though things are always crazy busy this time of year, we hope you’ll keep up the good work and keep attending as many practices as you can.

WELCOME NEW PENGUINS!

We’ve got 15 brand new penguins on the team this year! Welcome to Benjamin, Marcus, Niondre, Maleah, Lowen, Eva, Sophia, Cailyn, Maddy, Braden, Chakkit, Neylan, Lavenia, Vasiti, and Gavin! And special thanks to all the high school swimmers who have been helping out during practices.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST ON SATURDAY

Kids and parents are invited to catch up with their swim team friends at the annual Pancake Breakfast this Saturday, May 14 from 8:30 am to 10:00 am at the clubhouse. The cost is $5 per person at the door; you do not need to RSVP for this event. Hope to see you there!

EMAIL COACHES

Just a reminder: if you need to communicate with the coaches about schedule conflicts or any other issues, please send email to coaches@swimlpac.org.

PENGUIN MADNESS COMING SOON!

Most of the year, we’re all one big happy penguin family. But at Penguin Madness, swimmers from all age groups are grouped into different penguin teams to compete in fun non-swimming events like tug-of-war and musical chairs to see who has the most penguin power. This year Penguin Madness will be on Friday, May 27 from 6:00-8:00 pm (there are no regular practices on that day). If your child plans to participate, please reply to this email.

STROKE & TURN CLINIC ON MAY 21

We are in need of new Stroke & Turn judges. If you’re interested, please plan to attend the special training clinic on Saturday, May 21, at 9:00 am at the Los Paseos Clubhouse. The session usually lasts until 11:30 am. For more information, contact Nancy Keslin at nkeslin@yahoo.com or 408-838-5604.

SIGN UP FOR VOLUNTEER SHIFTS

If you haven’t already signed up to volunteer at meets, please contact Wendy Marley at marleywl@yahoo.com or 408-218-2779. For home meets we still need people for the clean up crew; many hands make light work! We also need snack bar help first and second shifts, selling yummy food to hungry meet attendees. For the away meets, we’ll need lots of timers and recorders.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Saturday, May 14: Pancake Breakfast
• Saturday, May 21: Stroke and Turn Clinic (9:00 – 11:30 am)
• Friday, May 27: Penguin Madness
• Monday, May 30: Memorial Day Clinic (no regular practices)
• Tuesday, May 31: Practice times change