Huge win today against Twinbrook!!! Big shoutout to our amazing swim-ups who totally dominated - Abigail Diener and Elizabeth Dennis!!! Make sure to eat something amazing for dinner tonight Penguins, get to bed early, and get ready to show up at Kemp Mill tomorrow morning for our Divisional Relay Carnival!

Friendly Reminders to Parents:

• PLEASE don’t forget to RSVP in SwimTopia for ALL OF OUR MEETS! If we don’t know that your swimmer is attending, our coaches are unable to put them into our meet entries and they won’t be able to swim during the meets.
• We need PARENTS’ SUPPORT - please encourage your swimmer to put away their phones and cheer on their teammates during meets. Today was beautiful, seeing all our swimmers cheering on their teammates during the meet. 
• Especially given the potential for evening storms coming up, please make every effort for your swimmer to attend morning practice in the weeks to come!!!

Reminders about tomorrow’s Relay Carnival:

• The Divisional Relay Carnival will be held at Kemp Mill Pool (Address - 11805 Stonington Pl, Silver Spring, MD 20902).
• The theme for this meet is Comfy Cozy.
• We will need all swimmers and parent volunteers to be at Kemp Mill Pool NO LATER THAN 7:45am.
• Check to see which Relays your swimmer will be swimming - 2025 PR Penguins Relay Carnival Line-Up
  • If your swimmer is not able to swim tomorrow at the Relay Carnival, please email the Team Reps ASAP so we can let the coaches know & they can rework the relays.
• Make sure to bring LOTS OF WATER, BUG SPRAY, SHADE, and SEATS!
• WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO MAKE THIS MEET HAPPEN - Parents please check out the Volunteer Jobs on Swimtopia and sign up to help!
• Following MCSL tradition, we will also have both a "Parent Relay" and a "Coaches Relay" after the last event. Parents please sign up via Swimtopia if you are willing and able to swim in our Parent Relay. Make sure you bring your swimsuit, googles, and swim cap if you are one of our amazing parent relay swimmers! Meet details will be sent later this week.
• Parking: Kemp Mill will hold 5 parking spots per team at the front end of the lot, through the end of the warm-ups - then those spots will be open for anyone. Kemp Mill will have a few attendants in the lot to help direct you. If you received a pass from Tobii, please show the pass to the attendants in our parking lot.
  • Beyond those spots, the rest of the lot is open first-come, first-serve, *up to* the cones at the far end. Please do not park beyond the cones at the far end of the pool, in the fire lane, in the handicapped spots (unless you have a valid tag/placard) or along the driveway. We need to keep the driveway clear for cars to enter and exit the parking lot. There is limited parking on the grass to the right of the driveway (when driving in).
  • There is also parking available on the local streets. Please do not park directly across from the pool driveway (it makes turning in and out difficult), and please be courteous to our neighbors and do not block driveways. Once the lot is full, please drop your swimmers off at the beginning of the driveway, and then go find a parking spot on the street. It is very hard to turn around inside the lot when it is full.
• Concessions: The Kemp Mill Kangaroo Kafe will be OPEN and fully stocked. They accept Cash and Venmo. They will have breakfast items and ramen noodle soups in addition to their regular ice cream, snacks, and drinks.

Important Note to Parents: Please help us share this important message that ALL of our swimmers are integral to the team, regardless of whether they are on the lineups for this weekend. While we do our best to include as many swimmers as possible in meets throughout the season, there will be times where we do not utilize every available swimmer in a meet. Saturday’s meet will be our toughest challenge against the strongest team in the division and Sunday’s meet involves complicated lineups to meet the relay requirements. Some of our age groups have significantly more swimmers than others, and that can lead to disappointed swimmers. To learn more about the meet lineup process, please check out the Meets Overview from the Handbook or the FAQ.

Dates to Remember:

• Wednesday, July 2nd = Little Blues Meet
  • This Meet is focused on our Little Blue Penguins to try swimming in the lap pool, have kickboard races, and have fun!
  • Older swimmers will serve as timers and assist with our Little Blues so we hope everyone will plan to attend!
  • All swimmers should be at the Lap Pool no later than 5pm to help prepare the meet and for the Little Blues to warm up for the meet.
• Friday, July 4th = Our Team Fundraiser at the Pool
  • Look for the Sign-Up Genius in Sunday’s Penguin Post for your swimmer to volunteer to help out with the BBQ Fundraiser (Great way to earn some SSL hours!)
• Saturday, July 5th = Home Meet vs. Upper County
  • This Swim Meet’s Theme is Patriotic USA in honor of July 4th!
  • Be at our Lap Pool NO LATER THAN 7:30am.
• Tuesday, July 8th = Only Morning Practice
  • Afternoon Practice will NOT be held due to the MCSL Coaches Long Course meet in Rockville. More details to come in the Penguin Post.
• Wednesday, July 9th = B Meet at Strathmore Bel Pre
  • Make sure to RSVP via Swimtopia!!!

DON’T FORGET TO RSVP & PURCHASE YOUR END OF SEASON BANQUET TICKETS!

Banquet will be held on Saturday, July 19th at 5pm at the Poplar Run Clubhouse

Join us to celebrate the end of the season and all of its highlights! The evening will start with the Team Award Ceremony, followed by dinner from our wonderful sponsor, Marathon Deli, and then of course, fun in the pool!

Adults tickets are $10 and Child (17 & under) tickets are $7.

Link to RSVP & purchase your family’s tickets by July 1st: https://praquatics.square.site/product/end-of-season-banquet/45?cs=true&cst=custom

As always, if you have any questions and/or need any additional information, please email your friendly Team Reps - Tobii & Kristin at [email protected] or find one of us on the pool deck.

Link to this past week’s Penguin Post ~ Penguin Post Edition 13

Link to Poplar Run Penguins Swimtopia Site for Calendar, RSVP, and Team Information ~ https://poplar-run-penguins.swimtopia.com/