CLUB NEWSLETTER

September 2026

The 2026–27 season is underway! Inside: our first Swimmers of the Month, swimmer achievements, advice from the pool deck for the car ride home, upcoming meets, the swim cap deadline and the new 50/50 raffle.

Swimmers of the Month are selected by their coach for their performance at meets and practice. Coaches look for swimmers who show significant progress, perform at a high standard, and represent the club's values: hard work, honesty, ownership and self-awareness, determination, focus, and respect for teammates, coaches and the club. Congratulations to all six!

Canada's Top 50 Rankings

Congratulations to the Peterborough Swim Club swimmers published in the Canadian Swimming Coaches Association Top Age Group Rankings for 2026!

Norah Waterworth aka "NoW" & Sydney Carroll aka "Sparkles"

Favourite swim meet snack?
We love bananas. Monkeys never get cramps, so we eat bananas! Oh yeah, and applesauce.

Favourite swim meet memory?
All the relays!

Favourite movie snacks?
Popcorn, and apples (NoW).

Funniest memory?
Making movies in Jocelyn's basement!

What should people know about you?
Sydney: I am amazingly humble.
Norah: I am very creative and Sydney's friend.

Best friend duo in the club?
Us: NoW and Sparkles!

The Car Ride Home

Written by Coach Kent

Parents, you are an invaluable part of the Peterborough Swim Club family. We truly appreciate the time and energy you invest in your swimmers and our club. However, some of the most vital "coaching" happens outside our control, specifically in the car ride home. Research in youth sport consistently shows that parents who adopt an "autonomy-supportive" communication style, one that supports the athlete's perspective and encourages independent problem-solving, foster significantly higher levels of enjoyment and long-term persistence in their children (Holt et al., 2020).

As a coach, and as a parent who spent a lot of time in the car and at the dinner table with my competitive athlete-children, I know having healthy and positive conversations with your swimmer can be challenging.

The car ride home can either build a swimmer up or unintentionally create pressure. Research shows that immediate, unprompted post-race debriefs, which can include video review, often elevate anxiety and drain a swimmer's "emotional tank" (Tamminen et al., 2021). When parents focus heavily on results or technical critique, swimmers can feel that ownership of their sport is slipping away.

One of my favourite swimming commentators and authors, Olivier Poirier-Leroy (2021), emphasizes that parents should avoid offering technical advice. When you give instructions that conflict with what swimmers learned at practice, it creates confusion and erodes the trust between swimmer and coach. Your role is to be the unconditional supporter, not the technician.

Try open-ended questions. The Positive Coaching Alliance suggests replacing judgment questions with open-ended ones. Instead of "Why didn't you go faster?" or "What happened on your turn?", try "What was your favourite part of the race today?" or "How did that swim feel to you?" This shifts the focus from external results to the swimmer's own experience.

Let your swimmer lead. Letting your swimmer lead the conversation is almost always the best approach. Give them space to decompress. If they want to talk about their practice or races, listen actively. They may prefer silence, or to talk about school, what's for dinner, or something they saw online. Almost always, let the pool stay at the pool (Hamann et al., 2025).

By focusing on effort and process rather than outcome, you allow your swimmer to own their journey. Next time you head home from the pool, try a simple:

References are available on request.

Pre-Competitive swimmers need a competitive Swim Ontario registration to race.

Want a chance to win some cash while supporting the Peterborough Swim Club? We're running one 50/50 raffle for each swim session this season: three chances to win throughout 2026–27! The winner receives 50% of total ticket sales, so the more tickets sold, the bigger the prize.

Ticket prices

• 1 ticket: $5
• 3 tickets: $10
• 8 tickets: $20
• 25 tickets: $50

Session 1 ticket sales: September 19 – December 11, 2026
Draw: Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Allan Marshall Pool, Trent University, 1650 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON

Who can play? Purchasers must be 18 or older, physically located in Ontario at the time of purchase, and pay by credit or debit card. Peterborough Swim Club staff and Board members are not eligible.

Tickets and full rules: https://raffle.ptboswimclub.com/

Please share the raffle with family and friends who may want to take part!

AGCO Licence #RAF1580564
Ontario Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-888-230-3505 · https://www.connexontario.ca

Our 2026–27 Parent Resource Guide is available online with important information for club parents, including general information about the club, the different swimming levels, what meets involve, fees and volunteering, and even a swim dictionary of terms.

Did you know that as a parent of a competitive swimmer, you can earn back some of your swim fees through fundraising? There are several ways to do this, earning money for the club while reducing your fees.

Be a Bingo Volunteer

Bingo is one of our club's primary fundraisers. The club is assigned two regular shifts at Delta Bingo each month, with the chance to pick up a few extra. The more shifts we work, the more the club receives. Each shift you work earns a $100 credit on your swim fee account. Volunteers help Delta staff call back winning cards, greet customers and help clean up.

Interested? Contact Emma Valliant at [email protected] or read more about Bingo fundraising.

Recruit a Sponsor

Know a business owner looking to give back? Swim families can earn credit and reduce their fees by recruiting new sponsors. Learn about our sponsorship levels.

Would like to know more? Reach out to Gillian Farrow and Adrienne Shields at [email protected].

Join or Organize a Fundraiser

Taking part in or helping organize a fundraiser counts toward your volunteer commitment. Have a great idea for a club fundraiser? Reach out to Christina McDannold at [email protected].

The following Board position is vacant this season, and we're looking for a club member with a fresh perspective to fill it.

Interested? Contact David Jonkers at [email protected] to learn how you can help run the Peterborough Swim Club.

Next Board Meeting

For details on the meeting, and to see dates for future board meetings, visit the club calendar.

Club Store through Ly Sports

Our club store with Ly Sports allows bags and deck coats to be embroidered with our club logos when you order them. Deck coats ordered with embroidery include a large PTBO logo on the back.

Our club's page: https://www.lysports.com/team/ptbo-swim-club/

Our PTBO Swim Club merchandise e-store is always open through Imprinted Apparel online.

E-store: https://imprintedapparelstore.com/ptsw/

Benefit to the club: 15% of each purchase comes back to the club as a donation.

Learn more about what can be ordered, plus tips and tricks for placing your order.

Keep up with meet results, photos and club news on our social media pages.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PTBOSwimClub
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ptboswimclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peterborough-swim-club/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PTBOSwimClub

Our sponsors help make swimming accessible to swimmers of every skill level in Peterborough, giving our members the chance to build life skills, healthy active habits and friendships that last a lifetime. Please support the businesses that support us!