December 5, 2023 NEWSLETTER 12
WORKOUT CHANGES
Thu Dec 14 NO Senior Gold/Silver am workout
Thu Dec 14 NO Age Group Gold am workout
Fri Dec 15 NO Senior Gold/Silver am or pm workouts
Fri Dec 15 Senior Bronze workout 5:00 – 6:00 pm CGAC
Sat Dec 16 NO Senior Gold/Silver/Bronze workouts
Sat Dec 16 NO Age Group Gold/Silver/Blue/Bronze/White/Orange workouts
Sat Dec 16 NO Development Skills/Fundamentals 2 workouts
Mon Dec 18 NO Senior Gold/Silver workouts
Fri Dec 22 NO Senior Bronze or Age Group Blue/Bronze workouts
Sat Dec 23 Senior Gold/Silver 5:30 - 7:30 am CGAC
Sat Dec 23 Senior Bronze swim 5:30 - 6:30 am dryland 6:45 - 7:30 am CGAC
Sat Dec 23 Age Group Gold/Silver swim 6:30 - 7:30 am dryland 7:45 - 8:30 am CGAC
Sat Dec 23 Age Group Blue/Bronze swim 7:30 - 8:30 am 8:45 - 9:15 am CGAC
NO WORKOUTS FROM DEC 24 TO DEC 28 – Happy Holidays!
TENTATIVE HOLIDAY SCHEDULE FROM DEC 29 TO JAN 6 – is posted on the LAC website under the “schedules” tab.
THE COACHES REPORT
There are a lot of LAC Swimmers Racing next week – Here are the numbers!
Ontario Junior International – December 14-17, 2023: Eight LAC Swimmers will participate at the OJI Competition, which is usually the fastest 18 and Under Short Course competition in Canada every year.
Team Showdown – December 15-17, 2023: Eighty (!!) LAC Swimmers will compete at the Team Showdown competition in Brantford. It’s a great Team opportunity and a great way to cap off the Fall 2023 Training cycle.
LAC Holiday Time Trial – December 16, 2023: 89 LAC Swimmers are registered to race at this club hosted time trial.
TOXIC THOUGHTS TO AVOID (from Olivier Poirier Leroy at YourSwimBook)
Over the course of a day we tell ourselves many things. From reminders, to words of encouragement, to the not-so- encouraging. It’s no different during our workouts, where we can ride the roller coaster of thoughts through a session in the pool. One moment we are confident in our abilities, motivated at how we are doing, the next we are doubting ourselves, thinking that all the effort is for naught.
A lot of our negative thoughts fly under the radar, barely noticeable, and yet still make a sizable impact. I can’t do that workout. I don’t deserve success. There’s no way I can go that fast. The odd thing is, you would never let someone else talk to you this way, so why should you allow this type of negativity to sprout from within?
Here are 3 more common toxic thoughts that every swimmer should drop:
1. “I couldn't do it before, so I won't do it now.” When we need reminders of how awesome we can be we need to think of times when we just killed it in practice. Those moments serve as excellent checkpoints in our journey, and remind us that we are capable of amazing swimming. Similarly, when we get into a mental rut, we tend to think back to the times when we tried but came up short. We search back through our performance history seeking confirmation that we aren't good enough, unfairly focusing on past mistakes. We need to develop a selective memory, focus more on the GREAT swims, learn the lessons from past failures without dwelling on them, and apply those lessons moving forward.
2. “What will so-and-so think?” How often have you stopped short of doing a little bit more at workout, or stopped fully chasing your dream, because you were worried what someone else would think? The reality is you will always be your harshest critic. You may think other people sit around all day thinking about you and judging your actions, but you know what? They don't. It's completely likely they don't give a second thought to whatever it is you're doing. So do what's going to bring you closer to your goals. If people are dead set on judging you, it's their problem, not yours. Don't allow the opinions of others to influence your performance in the pool.
3. “I missed my opportunity. It's too late.” No matter where you are in your swimming, and what you hope to accomplish, you can always make a change. Simply because you're frustrated that you haven't progressed fast enough doesn't mean you should squander the opportunities in front of you. Instead of worrying that you didn't start yesterday or last week, focus on starting right now. It's never too late!
LAC BURSARY PROGRAM
The London Aquatic Club (LAC) was fortunate to receive $2295 from the London Community Foundation (LCF) to help member families who may need some financial support this swimming year. If you could use some financial assistance, please take a look at the Bursary Application.
The Club Manager will receive the applications via email to [email protected] or in a sealed envelope deposited in the LAC mailbox at CGAC. Identifying information will be removed and then the applications will be forwarded to the LAC Finance Committee for review. All funds must be awarded for the 2023-24 swimming year.
Applications are open from December 7, 2023 -Jan 6, 2024 and communication of the results are anticipated the week of January 15, 2024. Any bursary awarded will be in the form of a credit to the family LAC swim account.
IT’S OFFICIAL!
Next LAC Meets (The rest of Short Course, 25M Season):
December 16, 2023 - LAC - Holiday Time Trial – Minor Official sign-ups were posted today. Senior officials, if you have emailed me, volunteering for a senior role, I should be able to get to the assignments in the next couple of days. If you are very concerned about getting a job and you can get there before they are full, then sign up for a minor official job, if you are qualified. If I then assign you to a senior position then you can remove your sign-up for the minor official job.
January 20 - 21, 2024 - LAC - 12 & Under Celebration
January 20, 2024 - LAC - 13 & Over Time Trial
February 23 - 25, 2023 - WOSA Short Course Champs – I am looking for Meet Manager(s) for this meet. I have a couple of people who have expressed an interest in being part of a meet management team. I like that approach. A whole 3-day meet in any role can be a lot for anybody. Sharing is cool and it allows you to learn when it is not all you.
It is not too soon to start offering to work senior jobs at these meets. If interested, email me, a separate email for each meet, with the name of the meet in the subject and in the body the people who will be helping, the jobs they would like, and the sessions that they would like to work at.
Clinics: I will be planning another round of clinics shortly. I definitely want to get more Intro (Timer), Inspector of Turns, and Stroke Judge clinics done before the 12 & Under Celebration. A few clinics are also available online which allows you to take them whenever it suits you. If you go to Swim Ontario - Clinics there are instructions on how to take the online clinics.
If you have any officiating questions please contact me, Mark Lukings, L.A.C. Co-Club Officials Chair at [email protected] Note: This is volunteer work for me, so I may not get back to you immediately but, if urgent, I can handle a reminder.
9TH ANNUAL JANSEN CHRISTMAS TOY DRIVE – EXTENDED ONE MORE WEEK
The need is much more than we thought this year and we need to ask for more help. The number of children just passed 1700, which is up from 1350 last year. Please help if you are able.
The Donation Box will at CGAC until December 10 for LAC families to dropoff their gifts. Further information can be found here.
SWIM MEET VOLUNTEER SESSION CREDITS
Please note that high school students can get their volunteer credits for school as well as session credits for your swim family by helping out at our meets.
To check your session credit balance - log on to your LAC account on the website, go to "my account" and click the "service hours" tab to view your account summary. Any questions contact Donna at [email protected]
Our club has a long-standing policy regarding volunteer participation in our hosted swim meets, which includes the earning of mandatory session credits through working at our hosted swim meets. The session credit policy can be found on the LAC website under the "parent info" tab under "LAC policy #2 - Club Hosted Meets and Session Credits".
Families of swimmers in Age Group and Senior are required to earn 22 session credits.
Families of returning Development swimmers are required to earn 11 session credits.
New families are not required to earn session credits but can transfer up to 5 session credits if they should decide to volunteer (which of course is encouraged and applauded).
Families with swimmers that have transferred from another team are considered returning swimmers and are subject to the session credit policy.
Any unworked session credits will be billed to your swimmer account at $40 per session at the end of the season.
The Session Credit Policy is under the constant scrutiny of the Board of Directors.
