We hope to see everyone at tonight’s Fun Practice from 5-6pm & Fiesta Pep Rally following!!! Tomorrow is our last A Meet of the Season away at Whetstone - details are below. 

This past Tuesday, we had three Lady Penguins compete in the Coaches Long Course - Izzy Mason placed 3rd in the 15-18 Women’s 200M Free, Reagan Maki placed 8th in the Girls 13-14 100M Backstroke and Grace Hunter rocked it with her first time in the Long Course pool, swimming the Girls 8 & under 50M Butterfly coming in 8th.

Here are a few reminders for Saturday’s AWAY Dual Meet #5 - LAST ONE - @ Whetstone:

• Saturday’s meet will be held AWAY at Whetstone - Address:19140 Brooke Grove Court, Montgomery Village, MD 20886.
• The theme for this Saturday’s Swim Meet is Wacky Tacky! Come dressed in your craziest outfit as we finish our season off with our last Dual Meet of the Season!!!
• Parents and swimmers should arrive no later than 7:45am.
• Parking near the pool is very limited - If you are unable to find parking, you should park at Centerway Park - 9551 Centerway Road - on the opposite side of Centerway Road from the pool. Unfortunately, we are not authorized to park at the Elementary School like we did at Relay Carnival. Please DO NOT PARK IN THE ADJACENT RESIDENTIAL AREAS!!!
• 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. There will be concessions open as well - Cash, venmo, & cards are accepted
  • Not required but is nice to have is cards or something NON-ELECTRONIC to do in between events.
• Parents = Please remind your swimmer to use their listening ears on Saturday. They need to keep an ear & eye out for the events they are swimming in. Remind them to keep track of their Swim Cap & Goggles and make sure they are ready to go for their events.
• Please encourage your swimmer to stay in our Team area if not swimming and/or cheering on their teammates. We encourage you to bring tents and chairs to use in our Team area, which is the left as you enter the pool area & straight back under the large pool umbrella in the grass. There is one large permanent pool umbrella for shade, but we might want to bring additional shade canopies & chairs if desired. 
• Meet lineups are already available in SwimTopia. Please note: Availability does not guarantee every swimmer will be swimming on Saturday due to our large team size, limited event entries, and various skill levels. We do have many opportunities for our swimmers to show their skills throughout the season! 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.

Key Volunteers for the Saturday’s Swim Meet:

• Starter = Chris Diener
• Stroke & Turn Judges = Tatiana D. and Carissa M.
• Clerk of Course = Geovanni B.
• Assistant Head Timer = ANYONE INTERESTED?
• Timers X9 = Yoli B., Nate B, Tony G., Erin M., Diana P, Dennis R., and WE STILL NEED THREE MORE!
• Automation = Rosa Thomas
• Awards Chief = Isabel Torres

WE NEED YOU! Please sign up for these important roles via our Swimtopia as soon as possible! We can not have our meet unless we have these critical positions filled by Parent Volunteers! Let’s show our swimmers that we support them in their last Dual Meet of the Season!

LAST CALL FOR END OF SEASON BANQUET TICKETS!

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

Join us to celebrate the end of our amazing 3rd 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 THIS UPCOMING WEDNESDAY, July 15th: https://praquatics.square.site/product/end-of-season-banquet/45?cs=true&cst=custom

This coming Wednesday is our fun 8 & under Penguin Lollipop Meet. Warm-Ups are at 5:30pm with the Meet starting at 6pm.

For our 2nd Annual Penguin Lollipop Meet, all our 8 & under Penguins will have a chance to swim. Our Little Blues will have a chance to swim a 25 Meter Freestyle, 25 Meter Kickboard Race as well as participate in a 2x25M Kickboard Relay. All our 8&U Rockhopper Penguins will get a chance to swim 25 Meters of freestyle and backstroke, as long as they are willing. Our 9 and older Penguins will be assisting with the Lollipop Meet as timers, runners, and assist Little Blues during their races.

• PARENTS - Please confirm your Penguins attendance for the Lollipop Meet via Swimtopia AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, BEFORE MONDAY EVENING!
• ALL Penguins are to be at the Poplar Run Lap Pool, ready to swim no later than 5pm on Wednesday.
• Don’t forget to bring sunscreen, water, swim cap, goggles, and a towel.

Dates to Remember:

• Wednesday, July 15th = Lollipop 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!
• Thursday, July 16th = Last Morning Practice of the Season!
  • This is the last morning 7-8am & regular afternoon practice of the season!
• Friday, July 17th = Last Fun Practice & Pep Rally
  • This will be our Last Friday Fun Practice 5-6pm & Division Championship Pep Rally
• Saturday, July 18th = Division N Championships @our very own pool & End of Season Banquet
  • Early meet - Swimmers & Parents need to be at pool by 6:30am
  • Make sure to RSVP & Volunteer NOW! We need names of both swimmers available & volunteers ASAP!!!
  • Banquet - Awards start at 5pm followed by dinner - bring your suits to play in the pool after the banquet!

• Monday, July 20th through Thursday, July 23rd = All Star Swimmers Only - Afternoon Practice
  • We will hold AFTERNOON PRACTICE ONLY from 5:30-6:30pm for our All Star Relay Swimmers.
• Saturday, July 25th = All Star Relays
  • If your Penguin swam with one of our winning relays, check your email with additional details regarding ALL STAR RELAYS, held in Rockville Saturday morning.
• Sunday, July 26th = All Star Individuals
  • We will be talking to those parents of our All Star Penguins following Division Championships!

Some FAQ about Divisionals:

• What is the Divisional Championship Meet?
  • The Divisional Championship Meet is the culminating swim meet of our swim season. Each team in the division swims together for this meet.
  • The top two swimmers per team per event will compete during this meet. This means that we get two entries per event - so we are swimming our fastest swimmers per event to give us the best chance of winning the races and overall meet.
• Who can swim Divisionals?
  • Any penguin who has swam in a Dual A Meet (Saturday Meets). Coaches are reviewing penguin swim times to strategically select the fastest swimmers per event.
  • Penguins can swim up to 5 events during Divisionals. This can be a combination of relays and individual strokes.
• Can we still attend if not swimming?
  • OF COURSE! We hope to see all our penguins and families at Divisionals to show Division N what the Penguins are all about - TEAM SPIRIT!!!

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.