We are VERY fortunate as a club tohave a team of dedicated coaches led byHead Coach Erin Patterson. There areclubs in Alberta who have girls whowant to swim, but not enough coachesto accommodate all the swimmers.

We are even more fortunate to haveswimmers in our Competitive Programpreparing to become coaches.

HAVE YOU GIVEN YOUR COACHA HUG TODAY?

Congratulations to Ashley Bodell,Cassandra Collett, Jill Szing, SydnyGuzowski and Morgan Kelley.. Each ofthese girls recently completed theCompetition Introduction CoachingProgram. They will be working withErin coaching younger swimmers in theclub to complete the practical portion ofthis program.

As great as it has been to have poolspace available to us during the renova-tion at Max Bell Regional AquaticCentre, the club is really eager to swimin its home pool.

Our last communication from MaxBell indicates all is on schedule for anOctober 31, 2011 opening. As there is noswimming on October 31 - no trick, makesure you get lots of treats - our first dayback at our home pool will be TuesdayNovember 1, 2011.

For the parents of our new swim-mers...Max Bell has a FABULOUS view-ing area from where you can watch yourswimmer!

For the parents of AquaSquirts, youcan watch your swimmer right on deck!

HOME SWEET HOME

October 28 All Day Wardrobe DeadlineToday is the deadline for wardrobe orders.

October 29 9am - 2pm Poppy Tag DayOptional activity for all swimmers. Come out and thank the Legionmembers for their generosity storing our equipment by helping outat Poppy Tag Day. Come for however long you can. Older swim-mers can go out and sell poppies, younger swimmers can help atthe Legion. Contact Michelle Borbely @ 403-320-2813 for moreinformation.

October 31 All Day No SwimmingHave a Happy Halloween...be safe!

November 1 All Day Max Bell OpensPlease note that some times/days for some swimmers will changeonce we return to Max Bell. Please check website for details

November 19 Afternoon Mock Swim MeetSee newsletter for more information. Early afternoon start.

November 8, 9, 10 & 12 Swim-a-ThonFundraising activity for all swimmers. Watch your e-mail for moreinformation.

November 18-20 TBA Kennel Club Dog ShowFundraising activity for all swimmers (except AquaSquirts). Watchyour e-mail for information from event chairperson Jenn Miller

November 26 TBA City of Calgary Figures Meet

See story in newsletter for more information

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER AT A GLANCE

There are a lot of questions that come up during the season. For answers contact your parent coach liaison Michelle Borbely at 403-320-2813 or

borbely@shaw.ca, or talk to a parent of another swimmer!

If you haven’t already done so,please arrange for your bingo sched-ule with our club Chair(s) Clair andCarolyn Handsaeme.

Our club is very lucky to haveClair and Carolyn chairing this com-mittee. It is A LOT of work for bothof them organizing this very impor-tant fundraiser for our club.

B-I-N-G-O

NEW WEBSITE UP & RUNNING

If you haven’t already done so,check out www.lethsynchro.ca.

This should be a first-checkpoint for everyone on our team.

For instance, under the calendar on the top left handcorner, you can click on allevents, and see the club’sevents (meets, fundraisers, holidays, etc) for the entire

swim season!

Many thanks to Helen Kelley for her efforts!!

S nchInOctober/November 2011

Welcome to the first issue of theLethbridge Synchrobelles Newsletter.

This newsletter will be e-mailed to youat the beginning of each month. Anycomments or suggestions for futureissues can be directed to MichelleBorbely at borbely@shaw.ca

the newsletter of the Lethbridge Synchrobelles

SOMETHING NEWIt will not be remembered as one of our warmer bottle drives, but it certainly was

one of the most successful.Thank you very much to the swimmers and parents who helped the

club raise $1,551.70 during the bottle drive on October 1. A specialthank you goes out to the Kelley family. Peter, Helen and Morganspent most of the day collecting bottles from businesses. Each of thedonating businesses is listed on the club's websitewww.lethsynchro.ca.

And despite the weather, the picnic after the bottle drive was a greatsuccess. This is the first time the club has had a group activity after the bottle drive.We are planning something similar after the spring bottle drive(mark your calendarfor March 31, 2012). Although it may be an indoor activity as the weather is typicallycooler in the spring!!

NOW THAT’S A LOT OF BOTTLES!!

Our first figures meet will be inCalgary November 26, 2011. As always,we will not know what time the swim-mers compete until right before themeet. Please however mark your calen-dar for that weekend.

For parents of new swimmers, a fig-ures meet consists of the girls perform-ing each of their compulsory figuresbefore a judge. Your girls will require thefollowing:

- A plain black swimsuit. A smalllogo is okay, but other than that itmust be completely black

- A white swimcap- Black shorts or track pants (for

warm-up on deck)Club T-shirts & jacket (if available)

A more detailed list will be sent outprior to the meet. If you have any ques-tions about the Figures Meet, please con-tact MichelleBorbely. You can alsoaddress any ques-tions to your coach.

FIGURES MEET

Our club is so excited to be hosting the Wildrose Classic this April. We had suchsuccess assisting the Calgary Aquabelles with hosting the Michelle CameronInvitational Swim Meet for the Calgary Aquabelles last spring, and are lookingforward to the challenge of hosting an even bigger swim meet.

Our club has the opportunity create a logo for this event that will be used onall advertising, programs, and one souvenir item (such as a t-shirt, towel, etc) thatour club can sell at the meet (and keep the proceeds!!)

We are inviting all swimmers, parents, and friends to create a "logo" for thisevent. The logo will be used on each of the above-listed items. Please keep to amaximum of three colors - and keep in mind it will also be reproduced in black &white.

All entries should be given to Erin Patterson in a sealed envelope prior to theNovember 10 Swim-A-Thon. All swimmers will be given the chance to vote fortheir favorite entry that evening. The winning entry will then be forwarded to themeet committee, as well as Synchro Alberta for consideration.

Looking for some inspiration...check out our website www.lethsynchro.ca, forour mission statement and values. Look at the other local websites, ie. City ofLethbridge, Chinook Country Tourism Association as this meet will bring swim-mers from all over the province to Lethbridge.

Any questions on this competition should be directed to Erin.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS...

The club is holding a Mock Meet on Saturday November 19. This is an opportunity for the girls to perform in front of accredit-ed Synchro Alberta judges. It’s late notice, but we were unable to book the judges prior to receiving confirmation that Max Bellwould be open for this date, and then we had to organize with the judges!

This is a great opportunity, especially for new swimmers, to see how an actual meet runs.The judges have extended an invitation to meet with parents interested in judging training opportunities. Please contact Helen

Kelley or Michelle Borbely if you are interested.Watch your e-mail for more information on this event.