This morning was a great Dual meet for the Poplar Run Penguins vs the Clarksburg Town Center Tigersharks! Victory was ours with a huge win! Looking ahead to this week, we have three upcoming meets, with the first on Wednesday with our first B Meet vs. Norbeck Grove at home, and a weekend full of meets, Saturday away dual meet at Norbeck Hills AND Sunday’s Division N Relay Carnival at Whetstone.

CHECK OUT THE AMAZING VIDEO CREATED BY OUR TALENTED JENNIFER GUIDA ~ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xHLZmHOkc9P5X9dCdhFWqiGlYWG3H79d/view?usp=sharing 

Friendly Reminders to Parents:

• Make sure you take a look at our Penguin Post ~ Linked Here = Penguin Post Week 4
• PLEASE don’t forget to RSVP in SwimTopia for ALL OF THREE OF OUR UPCOMING 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 OURS PARENTS’ SUPPORT - please volunteer to fill one of the super important roles for our upcoming meets via Swimtopia!
• PLEASE be sure to check with a coach &/or a team rep before you &/or your swimmer leaves a meet!!! Every swimmer has the potential to earn points for our team. When a swimmer is marked to attend, but doesn’t show up or leaves before an event, we miss the opportunity for another swimmer to have a chance, and also lose the chance to earn points. If something comes up and your swimmer is unable to attend the meet &/or you know you have to leave early, please talk to a coach or a team rep so that we might have a chance to adjust the lineup. We’d love for everyone to stay and cheer through the last event. EVERY SWIMMER is important to the team!

This week, we will start our Morning & Afternoon Practice on MONDAY, TUESDAY, and THURSDAY with ONLY morning practice on WEDNESDAY. Our afternoon practice on WEDNESDAY will be our 1st B Meet of the season, starting at 5pm ~ see details below.

PLEASE NOTE THE SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER - Poplar Run Penguin Practice schedule:

• Morning Practice - Emperor & Macaroni: 7 - 8am
• Morning Practice - Rockhoppers: 8 - 9am

• Afternoon Practice - Emperor: 4:30-5:20pm
• Afternoon Practice - Macaroni: 5:25-6:15pm
• Afternoon Practice - Rockhoppers: 6:20-7pm

• Afternoon Practice - Little Blues Groups as Scheduled

Please note: Little Blues will not have practice on Wednesday afternoon but are highly encouraged to try out the Lap Pool with our Kickboard Race during Halftime! RSVP if your Little Blue can attend this fun introduction to the competition pool!

WEDNESDAY’S FIRST B MEET OF THE SEASON STARTING AT 5PM

This Wednesday, we will host our First B Meet of the Season vs. Norbeck Grove. This is a great opportunity for our swimmers to try out strokes that they might not have swam yet during an A Meet and/or just try to improve their times since the last time that they swam that event. Please make sure you RSVP if your swimmer will be able to attend as our Coaches are on a short suspense to create the meet line-ups.

Not forgotten, our Little Blues will have a kickboard race during the Halftime of this meet. If your Little Blues is ready to try the 25M Freestyle and 25M Backstroke, please make sure that you note that on your Little Blues’ RSVP in Swimtopia.

• The theme for the B Meet will be Favorite Color.
• ALL Penguins meet at the Poplar Run Lap Pool, ready to swim at 4:30pm on Wednesday.
• Bring lots of sunscreen, water, swim cap, goggles, and towel.
• Concessions will be available for purchase of course!

Here are a few reminders for Saturday’s Dual Meet @ Norbeck Hills:

• Saturday’s meet will be held at the Norbeck Hills Pool - Address: 17580 Macduff Ave, Olney, MD 20832.
• The theme for this Saturday’s Swim Meet is Culture Pride! Come to the meet representing your Culture Pride by wearing something from your culture & heritage in honor of the World Cup!
• Parents and swimmers should arrive no later than 7:45am.
• Your swimmers should wear their swim meet suit - for girls, a one-piece suit with no zippers or other fastening devices & for boys, a jammer-like suit. Exemptions to the MCSL rules for swim suits will be granted only for religious beliefs, medical conditions, etc. Please see one of the team reps if this is the case.

• What to bring for your Swimmer:
  • Goggles + Extra 2x Spare, Penguins Swim Cap + Extra Spare Cap, towel, something warm to wear in between events & after the meet, something to sit on, and a water bottle.
  • Healthy snacks - fruit, good carbs, and healthy proteins are perfect to bring to the meet.
  • REMIND SWIMMERS TO PUT THEIR PHONES AWAY - OR BETTER YET, LEAVE THEM AT HOME!
• Meet lineups will be available in SwimTopia by Friday. Please note: Availability does not guarantee every swimmer will be swimming on Saturday due to our large team size, various skill levels. We do have many opportunities for our swimmers to show their skills. So make sure that you have RSVP’d your swimmers as soon as possible for any and all of the meets via SwimTopia. To learn more about the meet lineup process, please check out the Meets Overview from the Handbook or the FAQ

Here are the details for Sunday’s Divisional N Relay Carnival @ Whetstone Pool:

• Relay Carnival will be held at Whetstone Pool = Their Address ~ 19140 Brooke Grove Court, Montgomery Village, MD 20886.
• The theme for the Sunday Relay Carnival is Comfy Cozy! Come dressed in your comfy clothes - think PJs and sweatpants.
• Parents and swimmers should arrive no later than 7:45am.
• Parents - We have a number of key volunteer roles that we MUST fill. Please consider volunteering via Swimtopia & don’t forget about the Annual Parents Relay at the end of the Carnival!
• More additional details to come later this week!

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

Saturday, July 18th at 5pm at the Poplar Run Clubhouse

Join us to celebrate the end of our inaugural 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 $12 and Child (17 & under) tickets are $8.

Link to RSVP & purchase your family’s tickets by July 15th: 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 & Lori at [email protected] or find one of us on the pool deck.

Sign Up Genius for Friday’s Pep Rally Link ~ https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050A48ABAC28A2FF2-64437327-penquin

Link to this week’s Penguin Post ~ Penguin Post 2026_Week4

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