There are many exciting events that are coming up quickly for members to be aware of. There is an official's clinic being offered by Swim Ontario on September 30 at the Sport Alliance of Ontario at Don Mills and Eglinton. Everyone is welcome to attend either the morning or afternoon session (or both) to achieve different officiating qualifications. Please remember that there is a requirement for all NYAC families to have at least one adult member qualified to time and to judge stroke and turns at our NYAC hosted meets. With the help of Yvonne Moy, NYAC's Officials Director, NYAC will be offering an in-house clinic on October 21, but spaces for that will be limited and we may not have the specific course that you are interested in. Please consider taking one of the other courses offered by Swim Ontario such as clerk of course, chief finish judge, chief timer, starter and referee so that we may become self sufficient when hosting our meets.

Speaking of meets, NYAC requires that each swimmer be equipped with a NYAC logo cap, t-shirt and black competition suit. These items can be ordered and purchased at Swim & Sports. NYAC parent, Philip Colford, will continue to be our equipment manager this year. He will be organizing bulk purchases through Swim & Sports; however, everyone is encouraged to visit the store to look at the complete line of products available for purchase. We will be hosting an equipment day in October to facilitate the initial order process.

This year's NYAC banquet will be held on Friday, November 17 at the Japanese Cultural Centre banquet facilities. Every swimmer has one ticket included with their registration fees. Tickets will go on sale for family and friends in October. Swimmers under 12 years of age must be accompanied by and adult. Hung Fui Lui, NYAC Social Director, is busy organizing that event. Another NYAC parent and board member, Hilary Turnock is currently putting together our annual NYAC video which premiers at the banquet. She has received many photos and video footage from swimmers and their families from last year. If it is anything like the 2004/5 video, it will be fantastic. Please remember that Hilary will be collecting any of your offerings for the 2006/7 video throughout this year. The more pictures you take the better. The more videos you shoot the better.

There are two very effective ways to become informed about the goings on of the club. First, each group will have a pool rep all of whom receive their information through our Communications Director, Vivian Hu. Your pool rep acts as the liaison between the club and you. Information is passed from the coaching staff, administration, and the board to the pool reps who then let the members know what is going on. As well, if you have any questions or concerns, you are encouraged to use your pool rep as a resource. They may not be able to answer everything, but they will know where to direct you. As always though, swim specific questions/concerns regarding your children are to be asked of the coaches.

Another great resource is our NYAC website which can be found at www.nyac.on.ca . The website is managed by Nparent, William Williams. Details about every item mentioned in this letter as well as information about our points system and fundraising, meet and club schedules, clinics, coach's bios etc. can be found on our website. Please check the site frequently as it is updated almost daily.

There will be opportunities to raise funds for the club much of which can be directed against your initial fundraising assessment. The popular Loblaws gift card program is back. In short, NYAC buys and then sells to its members Loblaws gift cards in $250 and $100 denominations. Three percent of each dollar purchased goes back to the members account until such a time as the $250 assessment is cleared. After that time, the 3% is split 50-50 with NYAC. Gift cards may be ordered via my email.

Cheryl Kicksee, NYAC Fundraising Director, is currently investigating a similar program with other retailers. Details will follow. Cheryl is looking for a team of parents who will help her organize other fundraisers throughout the year including cookie dough sales in November, opportunities for fundraising at NYAC hosted meets and the all important Swim-a-thon in the spring. Please consider volunteering your time and/or ideas!

Next year is NYAC's 50th Anniversary. This year we will begin the planning of next year's celebrations. Diane Peirce, NYAC Vice President, is chairing the 50th Anniversary committee. She, too, will be asking for support and participation from our members. Diane, Hilary and NYAC's Office Administrator, Olga Macel, are currently working on archival material to create a data base of alumni.

Other members that round out the NYAC Board of Directors are Sunny Lam and Missy Henley who are responsible for advertising and sponsorship, Jean Godawa who is one of three meet directors (along with Yvonne and Hilary) and our Treasurer, Sergio Ruivo and Secretary, Christine Henderson. The board meets once every month to address the concerns of our club. Should any member have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact a board member.

NYAC's Triathlon Swimming Program for adult triathletes has been running straight through the summer and will continue through the year. The NYAC Waves introductory program to competitive swimming will begin shortly. Information about these programs can also be found on the NYAC website.

Finally, I am always interested in your feedback. Please email me at any time. I look forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new members in the weeks to come.

Sincerely,

Marjie Chud
NYAC President