Petawawa Predators Swim Club
58 Festubert Blvd k8h 1k7 Petawawa, ON, Canada

Good morning everyone, I'm sure you have all read the news pertaining to the upcoming province-wide lockdown, slated to begin on Boxing Day. For Renfrew County, the lockdown is currently projected to be in force until Saturday, January 23, 2021. https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-provincewide-shutdown... Although there has not yet been any explicit direction to PSP from their chain of command, we have been informed by PSP that currently, we can expect that PPSC access to the DDH Aquatic Centre will be restricted until Monday, January 25, 2021. Hopefully by that point, we will be able to resume normal weekly training schedules. Obviously, this means that we will be delaying our in-house swim meet (originally scheduled for Saturday, January 16). The Leadership Team will be holding our routine monthly meeting on January 6, 2021, where we will discuss a potential new date, as well as make a decision on how best to manage the loss of three weeks of our Fall 2020 session. I feel that our Registrar said it best earlier this week: "We are adaptive". We will figure this out, and we will keep you advised with any updates as they come, and of course we are always available to answer any questions you may have. I am so proud of how everyone has managed the pandemic so far - the coaches, the parents, the executive, and maybe most of all, the swimmers. We commit to continue to adapt, to improve, and to be safe at all times, while doing everything we can to offer some normalcy this winter with continued programming for our amazing athletes. On behalf of the entire Leadership Team here with PPSC, I wish you all a very safe and Merry Christmas, the happiest of holidays, and all the best for the New Year. Take care, be safe, and be kind, and we will see you soon. Jamie MacDonald President Petawawa Predators Swim Club

ATTENTION PPSC FAMILIES - Don't forget to attend the General Meeting TONIGHT at 7 pm (via Zoom)! Check your email for the meeting link. We'll be providing an update on all aspects of the club's operations, and closing out 2020 with some big news on what we hope will be our first competition in early 2021!... Email us at [email protected] if you have not received the link!

Well, today’s session marks the final day of training of what was undoubtedly one of the most challenging calendar years in our history. Merry Christmas, best of the Holiday Season and a VERY Happy New Year to all of our friends out there!!

Here is our final post highlighting many of the skills that our team promotes in our Predators every time they dive into the pool! Consider these three personal skills we promote in our young athletes, related to WORKING TO ACHIEVE: DETERMINATION: The resolve to compete, to train, and to dedicate yourself to your sport helps to do the same in school and in other aspects of life.... MOTIVATION: Making your 5:30 am wake up call? Staying motivated to achieve can be tough! Incorporating a motivated attitude early in life helps to make for self-driven teens and adults. SETTING GOALS: Understanding what you want and putting the plan in place to achieve it a failure to plan is a plan to fail! Keep your eye on your goals in sports, and you will have a similar way of approaching life. Our swimmers will be working hard to achieve their goals all season long! Today's photo: Canada’s Annamay Pierse showing the level of determination and motivation needed to set world records. Did you know that she held the world record for the 200m breaststroke for THREE YEARS, after swimming her FINA World Championship in 2:20.12 in 2009 in Rome! Now that is setting and achieving goals!

ATTENTION PPSC FAMILIES - Don't forget to attend the General Meeting this Sunday evening at 7 pm (via Zoom)! Check your email for the meeting link. We'll be providing an update on all aspects of the club's operations, and closing out 2020 with some big news on what we hope will be our first competition in early 2021! Email us at [email protected] if you have not received the link!

We're continuing to highlight the life skills that our team fosters in our Predators every time they dive into the pool. Here are three more specific personal skills we promote in young athletes, related to SELF-REGULATION: PRESSURE TOLERANCE: Pressure comes at us all from different areas of our lives learning to deal with pressure in sport translates into helping us deal with other day-to-day pressures.... COMMITMENT: Dedication to the team, to your coaches, and to your sport equips young athletes with the skill to commit in other aspects of life. Knowing that you can be counted on to do your best is key! EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT: Athletes run through many emotions every time they compete, be it pre-game anxiousness, the intense rush of competition, and the joy or disappointment that follows. Learning how to manage these highs and lows helps how we deal with our emotions in other aspects of our lives. Photo: We’ll never forget the look of pure joy on the face of Penny Oleksiak when she looked up to the scoreboard and realized she had swam her way to the top of the podium in the 100m Freestyle in Rio in 2016! Both Penny and her competitor - American swimmer Simone Manuel - swam a blistering 52.70 seconds to tie for the Gold Medal. The shared elation of the moment was incredible, and an excellent example of the inherent friendships we make with our competitors at any given moment in sports!

Youth sports helps our kids in developing so many life skills that they need to become well-rounded, successful people. Here are another three specific personal skills the Predators Swimming Club promotes in our young athletes, related to OVERCOMING CHALLENGES: CONCENTRATION: Sport helps athletes to develop the ability to focus, and to block out distractions when the time comes to perform, a skill that certainly helps elsewhere in life.... RESILIENCE: A resilient person can take a hit and keep on going. Whether those hits are athletic or otherwise, we need to learn to get up off the figurative mat after getting knocked down! TENACITY: Our athletes learn that working hard, in a focused and resilient way will inevitably lead to improvement. Every journey begins with a single step (or stroke) and when you stick to the path you will arrive at your destination! Today's photo: Nicholas-Guy Turbide in full concentration before entering the pool during the 2019 Para Swimming World Championships. His resiliency in the face of his visual impairment, and his tenacious approach to his training regimen carried him through to a Silver Medal in the 100m S13 Backstroke his first world championship podium finish!