Now that Summer 2021 is coming to a close it is time to think about everything you have achieved!  You have tried new things, learned new skills, perfected skills that you were having trouble with and through it all you had fun.  Why not continue your aquatics training during the school year?

Continuing your sport through the winter is a great way to perfect skills and to develop further as an athlete.  Many of our members have followed this route and have enjoyed pursuing excellence in aquatics sports.  Maybe you will enjoy it too!

To help you navigate the information out there, here are some recommendations for clubs that have been frequented by members of the Westmount Dolphins Community.  You can speak to other Dolphin members and ask questions or contact the clubs directly. We have listed them in order of popularity for you here:

COMPETITIVE CLUBS popular with Dolphins:

CSLA (Cote Saint Luc Aquatics) (CSL Aquatics and Community Centre)


Websites:
http://www.swimteamcotesaintlucaquatics.com/; http://www.swimteamcotesaintlucaquatics.com/synchro.html;

TRY-OUTS: Try-outs for 2021-2022 season will be held on August 31st, September 1st, and September 2nd from 3:00 PM - 6:00. To reserve your spot please fill out the online form.
 
Programs offered:  Swimming, Synchro, Triathlon, Masters Swimming, Masters Triathlon
 
Many Dolphins are or have been members of this pool including:  Head Coach Ethan, our coaches Anahita, Laetitia, Leon, Mackenzie, Maya, Michael, Ralph, Yousef and Zoé as well as many former head coaches including Daniel, Devin and Hannah.

CDNDG (Club de natation Cote des Neiges-NDG) (Centre de Loisirs Van Horne)

Websites: 
https://www.loisirssportifscdn-ndg.com/cours-et-activites/club-de-natation/ https://www.loisirssportifscdn-ndg.com/cours-et-activites/club-de-nage-synchronisee/ https://www.loisirssportifscdn-ndg.com/cours-et-activites/club-de-water-polo/

Disciplines usually offered:  Swimming, Artistic Swimming, and Water Polo

Many Dolphins have been members at this pool including Coaches Mackenzie, Maya and Ralph. 

 
NEPTUNE NATATION

Website:
http://www.neptunenatation.com/
https://parcolympique.qc.ca/centresportif/cours-et-services/

Programs offered:  Swimming, Masters Swimming
Several swimmers and coaches have been members of the teams at the Olympic Pool: Neptune Natation or the former team PPO, including Coach Michael. It is easily accessible by metro on the Green line.
 
CASO (Club Aquatique de Sud-Ouest) (Centre Gadbois)

Website: www.caso-montreal.com 
Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Diving, Water-polo; Synchro
Many Dolphin members have gone to this club in the past including Head Coach Juliette and Coach Laetitia.
                                                                                                                                    
CALAC (Club Aquatique LaSalle Aquatic Club) (Aquadôme LaSalle)

Website:  www.calac.ca; 


Tryouts:  Nothing posted yet but keep an eye on their website.

​Programs offered:  Swimming, Masters Swimming

Many Dolphins have been members of this club including current and former head coaches.
                   
CAMO (Club  Aquatique de Montreal) (Centre Claude Robillard)

Websites:
www.camonatation.org
www.camoplongeon.ca 
www.camowaterpolo.com

Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Diving, Water polo, Triathlon, Masters Swiming

Several Dolphins have been involved with the CAMO Swim Team including past coaches. Past Diving coaches have been members of the CAMO Dive Team.  Several former Water Polo coaches have also been members of the CAMO Water Polo team. Current and former Olympians have trained here.


CLUB AQUATIQUE ROSEMONT PETIT-PATRIE (R2P)
Website:  http://www.clubaquatiquerpp.com/
Disciplines offered:  Swim Team, Artistic Swimming and Diving
Some Dolphins members have competed in their Artistic Swimming program.


DOLLARD DES ORMEAUX AQUATICS CENTRE
 
Website: http://www.ddoswim.com/
http://dollardsynchro.ca/
http://www.ddowaterpolo.ca/
 
Former Head Swimming Coaches Zach and Leah and former Head Synchro Coach Meagan were members at DDO Pool aquatics clubs.  Though it is a drive, the quality programs there make it worth the trek.


POINTE CLAIRE AQUATICS CENTRE
 
Website :
 http://www.natationpointe-claire.ca/
http://www.pointe-claire.ca/fr/clubs-de-competition/
 
Programs offered:  Swimming, Diving
 
Head Coach Juliette, former Head Coach Taylor and other Dolphins coaches and members have trained at this club, one of the leading clubs in Canada and Quebec. Current and former Olympians have trained here.


 
RECREATIONAL CLUBS members have attended:

Westmount YMCA
 
Website:  
http://www.ymcaquebec.org/en/Find-a-Y/Westmount-YMCA/List-of-Activities
http://westmountymcaswimclub.qc.ca/masters/

Programs normally offered:  Swimming, Masters Swimming, Water-Polo (new for 2018)

We are not certain what programs what may be offered at this time due to Covid restrictions.

YM-YWHA (Westbury Y)

Website: http://www.ymywha.com/fitness-pool-sports/child-and-teen-pool-bw/​

Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Synchro and Water Polo

We are not certain if the usual programs are being offered this fall due to Covid restrictions.



For more information regarding other swimming clubs in Quebec visit the site of the Federation de natation du Quebec   www.fnq.qc.ca. 

To find out more about diving clubs visit the Plongeon Quebec website: www.plongeon.qc.ca. 

For information regarding Synchronised Swimming clubs the website for Federation de nage-synchronisée du Quebec is here: www.synchroquebec.qc.ca. 

To find other water-polo clubs the website of the Quebec Water-polo Federation iswww.waterpolo-quebec.qc.ca. 

Continuing your sport through the winter is a great way to perfect skills and to develop further as an athlete.  Many of our members have followed this route and have enjoyed pursuing excellence in aquatics sports.  Maybe you will enjoy it too!

Dear Dolphins Members,

We hope this message finds you well. 

As promised, we have some news regarding the opening of the Westmount Pool and the implications of the new protocols for the Westmount Dolphins.

We have been officially advised by the City of Westmount that the Westmount Dolphins will not have pool time this summer.  They have made this decision based upon the capacity restrictions required by the Provincial health authorities coupled with an effort to offer the community the maximum amount of available time for general use, whether it be during lap swim periods or free swim periods, with allotted time between each for decontamination. We accept this decision knowing that our exclusive use would take away from the limited pool time available to all citizens. Please see the webpage for Westmount Sports and Rec Pool Schedule for more information as it becomes available.

We are saddened by this news because it means that we cannot run our programs this summer.  But we want to invite you to keep connected with us by following us on Facebook where we will endeavour to keep you posted about all things aquatic. We also wish to invite you to share your photos and memories with us about past Dolphins seasons.  We will post these items in our Blog and on Facebook to keep the Dolphins spirit going.

We will miss seeing you all this summer but rest assured that we look forward to organizing Dolphins programming for summer 2021.

Keep healthy and stay safe!

On behalf of the Westmount Dolphins Committee,
 
Helen Campbell
President

We hope you are all keeping safe and healthy in this time global pandemic. 

You probably have gone to our website recently and noticed that we had postponed registration to the Westmount Dolphins 2020 season indefinitely due to COVID-19. We have had nothing to update as regards our programs until now.

It has been officially announced last week by our league, the Association of Lakeshore Pools (ALPS), that all sanctioned events are cancelled for summer 2020.  It is with a heavy heart that we must relay this message to you.  It means that we will not be able to compete in our league.  Please see the message from the league.

As of today, we still have no word from the City of Westmount as to whether the pool will open or whether we will be able to offer some modified programs within any guidelines from municipal, provincial or federal authorities.  For the time being, it does not look as though we will be able to offer any activities this summer.  If there is any change in that regard, we will update you immediately.

We will miss seeing you all this summer and hope that you will check our website from time to time to see if we have posted any updates or just to remember how much fun you had with the Dolphins each summer. 

We hope we will see you all again very soon!

Stay safe!

As the season comes to a close we want to congratulate all of you on everything you have achieved!  You have tried new things, learned new skills, perfected skills that you were having trouble with and through it all you had fun.  Why not continue your aquatics training during the school year?

Continuing your sport through the winter is a great way to to develop further as an athlete.  Many of our members have followed this route and have enjoyed pursuing excellence in aquatics sports.  Maybe you will enjoy it too!

To help you navigate the information out there, here are some recommendations for clubs that have been frequented by members of the Westmount Dolphins Community.  You can speak to other Dolphin members and ask questions or contact the clubs directly. We have listed them in order of popularity for you here:

COMPETITIVE CLUBS popular with Dolphins:

CSLA (Cote Saint Luc Aquatics)
CSL Aquatics and Community Centre
5794 Avenue Parkhaven, Côte Saint-Luc, QC H4W 0A4


Websites:http://www.swimteamcotesaintlucaquatics.com/; http://www.swimteamcotesaintlucaquatics.com/synchro.html;

Programs offered:  Swimming, Artistic Swimming, Triathlon, Masters Swimming, Masters Triathlon
 
Many Dolphins are or have been members of this pool including:  Swimming Head Coaches Ethan and Elsa,  Assistant Swimming Head Coach Laetetia, our Swimmer in Residence, Ainsley. Many of our Coaches Brandon, Damian, Leon, Michael, Ralph and Zoé and CITs Ana, Anahita, Andrew, Françoise, Jeremy, Mackenzie, Maxime, Maya, Mia, Robert, Yousef have been members as well as former Head Coaches  Daniel, Devin, and Hannah.

CDNDG (Club de natation Cote des Neiges-NDG)
Loisirs Sportifs Cote-des-Neiges
4880 Ave Van Horne, Montreal, QC H3W 1J3

Try-outs for all disciplines:

• Vendredi le 7 septembre de 17h00 à 19h30
• Samedi le 8 septembre de 11h00 à 13h00
• Bring a swimsuit, cap and goggles ready to swim in an evaluation by the coaches

Websites: 
https://www.loisirssportifscdn-ndg.com/cours-et-activites/club-de-natation/ https://www.loisirssportifscdn-ndg.com/cours-et-activites/club-de-nage-synchronisee/ https://www.loisirssportifscdn-ndg.com/cours-et-activites/club-de-water-polo/

Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Artistic Swimming, and Water Polo

Many Dolphins are members at this pool including CITs Alexandre, Camille, Chloe, Christopher
 

 
NEPTUNE NATATION

Le Centre Sportif Parc Olympique
3200 Viau St, Montreal, QC H1V 3J3
Metro Viau--Green Line

Website:  http://www.neptunenatation.com/,   https://parcolympique.qc.ca/centresportif/cours-et-services/

Programs offered:  Swimming, Masters Swimming
Several swimmers and coaches have been members of the teams at the Olympic Pool: Neptune Natation or the former team PPO. Coach Michael will start training at Neptune this fall. It is easily accessible by metro on the Green line.
 
CASO (Club Aquatique de Sud-Ouest)
Gadbois Recreation Centre
5485 Chemin de la Côte-Saint-Paul, Montréal, QC H4C 1X3

Registration:  Aug 22-Sept 6
Website: www.caso-montreal.com 
Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Diving, Water-polo; Synchro
Many Dolphin members have gone to this club in the past including our two Assistant Head Coaches, our swimmer in residence, some current CITs as well as former head and assistant head coaches.

CAMO (Club  Aquatique de Montreal)
Centre Claude Robillard
1000 Avenue Émile-Journault, Montréal, QC H2M 2E7
Metro Crémazie-Orange Line

Websites: www.camonatation.org;  www.camoplongeon.ca; www.camowaterpolo.com

Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Diving, Water polo, Triathlon, Masters Swiming

Several Dolphins have been involved with the CAMO Swim Team including coaches Brandon and Damian who went there when they were young as well as some current members.  Past Diving coaches have been members of the CAMO Dive Team.  Our former Water Polo Head Coach Kimiko played Water-Polo there also as well as coaches Brandon and Damian.

CALAC (Club Aquatique LaSalle Aquatic Club)
Aquadôme LaSalle
1411 Rue Lapierre, LaSalle, QC H8N 2J4

Website:  www.calac.ca; 

Tryouts:  3&4 September 4:30pm to 7:00pm
Bring a swimsuit, cap and goggles ready to swim in an evaluation by the coaches,

Programs offered:  Swimming, Masters Swimming

Many Dolphins have been members of this club including current and former head and assistant head coaches.


 
TIBURON WATER POLO
Website:  https://www.tiburonpolo.com/
No try-outs.
Registration sessions: Aug 17  Baie-D'urfé Pool (during ALPS Swimming Finals)
August 23-26 Verdun Sidewalk Sale days 9am-5pm daily
August 31 Montreal West Pool 12:30pm - 2:00pm
September 1 Beaconsfield Recreation Centre TBA

This club offers a water polo program at various nearby pools Lasalle Aquadome, Verdun Natatorium and Verdun Beurling Academy as well as a pool on Nun’s Island and a pool in Beaconsfield. We have had kids participate in this program in the past.
 
CLUB AQUATIQUE ROSEMONT PETIT-PATRIE (R2P)
Website:  http://www.clubaquatiquerpp.com/
Disciplines offered:  Swim Team, Artistic Swimming and Diving
Two of our Dolphins CITs have participated in the Artistic Swimming program there:  Ana and Mia.

OTHER COMPETITIVE CLUBS members have attended:

DOLLARD DES ORMEAUX AQUATICS CENTRE
 
Website: http://www.ddoswim.com/;http://dollardsynchro.ca/; http://www.ddowaterpolo.ca/
 
Former Head Swimming Coaches Zach and Leah and former Head Synchro Coach Meagan were members at DDO Pool aquatics clubs.  Though it is a drive, the quality programs there make it worth the trek.


POINTE CLAIRE AQUATICS CENTRE
 
Website :  http://www.natationpointe-claire.ca/; http://www.pointe-claire.ca/fr/clubs-de-competition/
 
Programs offered:  Swimming, Diving
 
Former Head Coach Taylor, Assistant Head Coach Juliette and other Dolphins coaches and members have trained at this club, one of the leading clubs in Canada and Quebec.


 
RECREATIONAL CLUBS members have attended:

Westmount YMCA
 
Website:    http://www.ymcaquebec.org/en/Find-a-Y/Westmount-YMCA/List-of-Activities
http://westmountymcaswimclub.qc.ca/masters/

Programs offered:  Swimming, Masters Swimming, Water-Polo (new for 2018)

Head Water Polo Coach Laurée has coached water polo and Coach Jonah has coached swimming and water polo at this club. CITs A.J., Alex, Charlotte, Diego, and Tara have participated in either swimming, water polo, or both.

YM-YWHA (Westbury Y)

Website: http://www.ymywha.com/fitness-pool-sports/child-and-teen-pool-bw/​

Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Synchro and Water Polo
CIT Margarita participated in the program here.


For more information regarding other swimming clubs in Quebec visit the site of the Federation de natation du Quebec   www.fnq.qc.ca. 

To find out more about diving clubs visit the Plongeon Quebec website: www.plongeon.qc.ca. 

For information regarding Synchronised Swimming clubs the website for Federation de nage-synchronisée du Quebec is here: www.synchroquebec.qc.ca. 

To find other water-polo clubs the website of the Quebec Water-polo Federation iswww.waterpolo-quebec.qc.ca. 

Continuing your sport through the winter is a great way to perfect skills and to develop further as an athlete.  Many of our members have followed this route and have enjoyed pursuing excellence in aquatics sports.  Maybe you will enjoy it too!

It is hard to believe that we have already completed weeks 4 and 5 of our regular season. The summer is whizzing by!

Swim Team:
Dolphins swimmers have been swimming fast so far this summer keeping us undefeated so far. On July 17 we met Lakeshore Pool where we won 545 to 471. Then at Valois Pool, we fought hard in a very close match-up to break their undefeated streak with a score of 532-512, our relay performances clinching the win.

Please sign up to our next meet by midnight. The meet will take place here in Westmount against our friends and rivals from Montreal West (MWAC).  We hope every available swimmer will participate so that we can maintain our winning streak!  As hosts, we will also need to provide hospitality and the majority of the volunteers and officials on deck so we ask all parents of swimmers to offer their time to help out. SIGN UP SWIMMERS OR VOLUNTEERS HERE.

Water Polo:  Saturday, July 27 we competed in the Bantam Water Polo tournament hosted by Beaconsfield Heights Pool at their pool and at Windermere. We had 16 players participate, the most ever for our team in a tournament and it was a lot of fun. We lost two and won two and the wins in the middle of the tournament allowed us to advance further than we have ever done before! The loss at the end was unfortunate but Coach Laurée was very proud of the team and their accomplishments this season!

Diving:   The Novice Divers’ Meet will be taking place on Monday, July 29 and we have one diver participating: Diego Garcia Acevedo.  Wish him best of luck! 

Artistic Swimming: Routines are progressing apace and the girls are putting together the finishing touches in advance of the Summer Swimmers’ Meet on Thursday August 8 where most of them will be competing.
 
 
Go Dolphins Go!

The second and third weeks of the regular season have come and gone in a flash!
There were lots of things happening so here is a chance to recap:

Swim Meet vs Hudson Yacht Club July 3:   Under clear skies and no weather delays we received the team from Hudson Yacht Club and managed our second big win:  573 to 479.  It was a fun meet and we also had a few very fast swims that qualified to our record board. In fact, the first meet had even more records topple than the first meet. Have a look at the record board to see the latest updates.

See below this long list of Dolphins who toppled records during the first meet versus CAVIP:

Seamus Smalley, 9-10 boys free, new 2nd place, 35.12
Gabrielle Beasse, 11-12 girls free, new 1st place, 28.56
Christopher Alipio, 11-12 boys free, new 1st place, 28.00
Ronnie Hartal, 11-12 boys free, new 2nd place, 29.34
Temuun Uyanga, 11-12 boys free, new 3rd place, 30.09
Ainsley McMurray, 15 and over girls free, new 1st place, 27.35
Ethan Kreuzer, 15 and over boys free, new 3rd place, 25.15
Alice Zha, 11-12 girls breast, new 1st place, 38.09
Andrew Xie, 13-14 boys back, tie 2nd place, 31.03
Ethan Kreuzer, 15 and over boys back, new 2nd place, 28.72
Kieran Smalley, 8 and under boys fly, new 2nd place, 21.15
Seamus Smalley, 9-10 boys fly, new 3rd place, 17.37
Gabrielle Beasse, 11-12 girls fly, new 1st place, 32.54
Christopher Alipio, 11-12 boys fly, new 1st place, 30.81
V.Hall, A. Zha, A. Seirafi, G. Beasse, 11-12 girls relay, new 1st place, 2:03.02
C. Alipio, A. Yang, T. Uyanga, R. Hartal, 11-12 boys relay, new 1st place, 2:04.46
 
Congrats to the girls who broke records at the second meet versus HYC:
Alice Zha, 11-12 girls breast, new 1st place, 37.62              
Alice Zha, 11-12 girls back, new 3rd place 36.40
Gabrielle Béasse, 11-12 girls fly, new 1st place, 32.44
 
Swim Meet July 10 at BEAU: We met Beaurepaire on their home turf on July 10 and squeaked out a win with a nail-biter of a competition against a fun rival: 534 to 522.  We will see if there were any record swims and will update you in a future blog post if there were any.
 
A reminder to Swim Team parents: the next two meets (July 17 and 24) are away meets.  While we are not hosting, we are required by the league to bring 9 timers and 5 senior officials so we still need volunteers at away meets.  We have had a bit of struggle assembling volunteers for the meet July 10, so we hope that you will answer the call for the next two meets:  if we don’t have timers, it is difficult to run a fair and fun competition.  The kids are counting on you!

Water Polo:  We fielded a mixed team to play in the Summer Water Polo Players Tournament hosted by Valois Pool of Pointe-Claire. The boys and girls were in the 14 and younger category and got to play two matches. The suffered a big loss in the first round but in the second round they managed to tie the game and unfortunately lost in a shoot-out. Despite the losses they had a good time. Sign up has begun for the Atom 10 and under tournament taking place on July 20 and hosted by Windermere Pool of Beaconsfield.

Artistic Swimming:  Routines are progressing at a rapid pace and our “synchro” team is full this season!  Swimsuits have been ordered and we are excited to see what the 5 different routines will look like in the end.

Diving: Our diving team is small this season and they have been working hard and having fun.  They can begin signing up for the Novice Divers’ Meet scheduled for Monday, July 29 at Lakeside Pool in Pointe-Claire.  But before that, we would like to have a fun meet at our own pool on Thursday July 25 during the regular practice.  Parents that would like to learn more about diving and are available during the day are welcome to come and help out at the meet doing various tasks.

We look forward to reading about more Dolphins exploits in upcoming Blog posts.

Go Dolphins Go!

What a great first week of the regular season!

We want to thank all of you who participated in the first swim meet this past Wednesday night and came out in great force to help us toward our first win: 542 to 491 over CAVIP, the team from Ile Perrot.  Thank you for waiting out the storm that threatened which finally blew by.  It was a long night but we were successful.  Thanks to all of you who contributed to the bake sale and concessions we raised just under $600 to go towards the ribbons and our end of season banquet.

Thursday was our first theme day and we hope you all had fun playing games that morning! A small number of you also turned out for Bob Night which was a blast! The next Bob night is Thursday July 11.

All week you have been working and improving and we cannot wait to see what you can do next week with what you have learned so far.  See what is coming up:

1. Monday: There is practice CANADA DAY then afterwards Splash Bash, a Westmount tradition, will be taking place. This event is based on first come, first served entrance to the pool. Entrance is with Westmount Recreation Passes or $8.00 day passes are required.  The lifeguards will keep patrons occupied with games and then there is the traditional Flag Cake in the early afternoon, with City officials on hand to slice and distribute to all in attendance.
   

Reminder:  Sign up to the swim meet closes at midnight on Monday! 

1. Wednesday:  Westmount hosts Hudson Yacht Club 6:00pm to 9:30pm (barring any weather delays).  We are hosting the meet and so parents are encouraged to contribute to the bake sale. If you have not contributed yet to a bake sale, now is your chance. Pretty cupcakes, brownies, cookies, fruit kebabs and water melon slices, crudité snack bags (carrots and celery sticks) to name a few popular items, are nice complements to the Pendeli’s pizza we are selling for dinner. Check the lists to see what we need—drinks are needed! Please sign up to volunteer at the meet so that we can ensure a fair competition for all!
   
2. Friday:  Valois Pool in Pointe-Claire is hosting the Summer Players’ Water Polo Tournament on Friday July 5, approximately 8:00am to 2:00pm which is open to all players 14 years old and younger as of January 1, 2019 (coed teams) who would like to play at a fun level. Please sign up by Sunday, June 30 at midnight. We will need any parents who are able to drive that morning to ensure that carpooling is available to the players.
   
3. Upcoming:  We have a special opportunity for all of our swimmers to have some special coaching sessions during regular practice with a member of the Canadian Team for the World University Games, our own team member and our first Swimmer-in-Residence:  Ainsley McMurray.  We will be advising dates for these special coaching sessions as when she returns from the Games taking place in Naples, Italy starting next Wednesday.  Read about more Ainsley here.
   

Have a great weekend!   Go Dolphins Go!

It is finally here, what we’ve all been waiting for:  our favourite summertime place and summertime fun! Yes, the pre-season has finished and we are ready to embark on the regular season of Summer2019!!

Preseason gave everyone a chance to get their feet wet, but now the real action is about to begin. We’ve got lots in store but this first week is going to be rock and roll:

1. First week of morning activities starting with Swim Team on Monday and then the start of the other sports in the mornings on Tuesday.  Swim Team deadline to sign up to the first swim meet is Monday at midnight.
2. The clothing orders (swimsuits, hoodies etc) should be handed out this week, hopefully before the meet on Wednesday. If you missed the AGM and did not receive your team t-shirt and swim cap, volunteers will be around most mornings to distribute them to you. Don’t worry—we have them set aside for you. CIT t-shirts will also start to be distributed this week as well.
3. Tuesday evening:  6:30pm in Westmount Park, the small field behind the playground where the “Camping in the Park” usually takes place, we will meet for GAMES.  This should be a lot of fun with coaches and kids.  Families can bring a picnic dinner to the park if it makes their life easier.  Hope to see many of you there!
4. Wednesday evening:  6pm to 9:30pm (approximately) FIRST SWIM MEET OF THE SEASON AT OUR POOL!  We will be meeting the team CAVIP from Ile Perrot and we want to show them a warm Westmount welcome. We want to have a well-stocked bake sale full of great treats and be ready with lots of volunteers to help the competition run smoothly. We trust all our members will contribute their time and talents to making this a great success.  After the competition it is team tradition to head to Dairy Queen on Sherbrooke Street to reward our efforts.
5. Thursday:  our first THEME DAY:  UNDER THE SEA!  We invite all the athletes to come to practice with this theme in their minds. That means, costumes are encouraged and we have fun in store during every sport all morning long. Also for this first theme day we want to offer everyone the opportunity to try Supervision, Water Polo, Synchro and Diving so if you would like to stay all morning and test out the waters in these sports this will be a great chance to do it.  You can add these other activities in your Amilia account.
6. Thursday evening:  BOB NIGHT! 7:45pm to pool closing. What is BOB night, you ask?  Well BOB is one of those quintessentially Dolphin things that is so much fun and there are actually some great Dolphins skills that you learn from it too!  It is a game, similar to British Bull Dog, with one individual in the middle ready to tag the masses attempting to cross to the other side, just add water. So instead of an implacable bull dog, you have BOB, who will drag you to the surface as you try to dive down deep below him or her. As people are dragged to the surface, they must join BOB in bringing still more to the surface. Last one standing is the next BOB! Not for the faint of heart (recommended 9 years and older unless they are strong swimmers) it is SO much fun!
   

We are really excited to get back into our Dolphins groove and look forward to seeing you in the mornings! It is going to be a GREAT SUMMER!

Go Dolphins Go!
 

It is hard to believe that our 2018 season has finished and some of our coaches have started school already!

We want to thank you all for being a part of this season:  for swimming fast, playing hard, keeping synchronized and daring to dive. You have accomplished so much!

We want to congratulate our Synchro teams for moving up the standings from past seasons.  We want to congratulate our water polo team for improving upon past performances and winning a key match to make it to the final round of games in the tournament.  We want to applaud the four divers who qualified to diving finals:  way to go! And finally we want to let out a big cheer for a super swim team who were the third place team in Section A Finals, the fifth place team overall in ALPS Finals, the third place team overall in ALPS Consolation Finals, and the fifth place team overall for the 10 and under category at ALPS Finals, which shows us that the Dolphins have a great future ahead of us!

We had some record breakers this summer too and we noted them each week.  Section Finals and Finals were no different--there were many team records that were surpassed so check out the All-time Records Board on our website to see the updates.

Please congratulate Benjamin Richards (two records!), the 8 and under boys' relay (Rafael, Kieran, Finlay and Benjamin) and the 9-10 girls' relay (Margaux, Aisha, Ava and Violette)  for their performances at Section Finals on August 11. Congratulations are also in order for Violette Hall (two records!), Ronnie Hartal, Coach Juliette Vermes-Monty (two records!), as well as the 8 and under boys' relay team (Rafael, Kieran, Finlay and Benjamin) for their achievements at ALPS Finals on August 18. We would also like to note that Violette Hall managed to achieve two ALPS top-ten records at Finals: a 7th place record in 50 m freestyle  and a 5th place record in 50 breaststroke.  She will join a number of Dolphins who have over the years achieved the status of ALPS record holder!  Way to go Violette!

We want to thank everyone who came out to the End of Season Party at Victoria Hall last Sunday evening (August 19).  It was great to see all of you and we want to thank all the families who brought such delicious food! We had an amazing feast!  We don't think anyone went away hungry. Of course the games at the pool after the party were so much fun and bittersweet--there were lots of hugs and a few tears as we said our goodbyes for the summer.

During the party, some awards were distributed to children who had stood out over the summer, for their dedication, spirit, and achievements in the pool. Please have a look at the list here:  2018 Awards.  If you were not present and received an award, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@westmountdolphins.org if you would like to pick it up. We will keep it safe for you in the mean time. 

Speaking of awards, many of you have ribbons outstanding that you may still wish to collect:  again, send us a message at the email address indicated above and we will put you in contact with Leah Trineer, our ribbon lady, so you can arrange to pick them up.

Thank you again for a great season! Keep an eye on our website over the winter to see any updates about upcoming events or registration for Summer 2019!  We can hardly wait to see you all again!

Go Dolphins Go!

As the season comes to a close we want to congratulate all of you on everything you have achieved!  You have tried new things, learned new skills, perfected skills that you were having trouble with and through it all you had fun.  Why not continue your aquatics training during the school year?

To help you navigate the information out there, here are some recommendations for clubs that have been frequented by members of the Westmount Dolphins Community.  You can speak to other Dolphin members and ask questions or contact the clubs directly. We have listed them in order of popularity for you here:

COMPETITIVE CLUBS popular with Dolphins:

CSLA (Cote Saint Luc Aquatics) (CSL Aquatics and Community Centre)


Websites:http://swimteam.cotesaintlucaquatics.com/ http://swimteam.cotesaintlucaquatics.com/synchro.html
http://cotesaintlucaquatics.com

Programs offered:  Swimming, Synchro, Water Polo, Triathlon, Masters Swimming, Masters Triathlon
 
Many Dolphins are or have been members of this pool including:  Swimming Head Coach Daniel,  Assistant Swimming Head Coaches Alex and Ethan, Coaches Elsa, Laetitia, Leon, Luis  and Michael and CITs  Ana, Anahita, Brandon, Christopher, Damian, Harmony, Isabella, Mackenzie, Maxime M-O, Maya, Mia, Ralph, Yousef.

CDNDG (Club de natation Cote des Neiges-NDG) (Centre de Loisirs Van Horne)

Websites: www.loisirssportifscdn-ndg.com/club-de-natation

Pamphlet 2018

Tryouts:  Friday September 7 5pm to 7:30pm
             Saturday September 8 11am to 1pm

Disciplines offered:  Swimming,  Synchro and Water Polo

Many Dolphins are members at this pool including CIT Chloe.
 
 
CASO (Club Aquatique de Sud-Ouest) (Centre Gadbois)

Website: www.caso-montreal.com 

Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Diving, Water polo; Synchro


Coach Juliette is a member of the swim team at this club and many Dolphin members have gone to this club in the past. In diving, CIT Lexington has participated at this club.

CAMO (Club  Aquatique de Montreal) (Centre Claude Robillard)

Websites: www.camonatation.org;  www.camoplongeon.ca; www.camowaterpolo.com

Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Diving, Water polo

Several Dolphins have been involved with the CAMO Swim Team in the past as well as current CIT Blanche.  Past Diving coaches have been members of the CAMO Dive Team.  Our former Water Polo Head Coach Kimiko played Water-Polo there also.

CALAC (Club Aquatique LaSalle Aquatic Club) (Aquadôme LaSalle)

Website:  www.calac.ca;  http://www.tiburonpolo.ca/

Programs offered:  Swimming, Water Polo (Tiburon Water Polo), Masters Swimming

Many Dolphins have been members of this club including current and former head and assistant head coaches.


OTHER COMPETITIVE CLUBS members have attended:

ACADEMIE de NATATION DE MONTRÉAL (CEGEP Vieux-Montréal)

Website:  http://www.academienatation.ca/

Disciplines offered:  Swimming


DOLLARD DES ORMEAUX AQUATICS CENTRE
 
Website: http://www.ddoswim.com/;http://dollardsynchro.ca/; http://www.ddowaterpolo.ca/
 
Former Head Swimming Coaches Zach and Leah and former Head Synchro Coach Meagan were members at DDO Pool aquatics clubs.  Though it is a drive, the quality programs there make it worth the trek.

LES PISCINES OLYMPIQUES DE MONTREAL

Website:  http://www.neptunenatation.com/

Programs offered:  Swimming, Diving, Synchro and Water Polo
 
Several members of the Dolphins have been members of the Neptune Swim team or members of the old team at that pool. It is easily accessible by metro.

POINTE CLAIRE AQUATICS CENTRE
 
Website :  http://www.natationpointe-claire.ca/; http://www.pointe-claire.ca/fr/clubs-de-competition/
 
Programs offered:  Swimming, Diving
 
Former Head Coach Taylor, and several other Dolphins coaches and members have trained at this club, one of the leading clubs in Canada and Quebec.

RECREATIONAL CLUBS members have attended:

Westmount YMCA
 
Website:    http://www.ymcaquebec.org/en/Find-a-Y/Westmount-YMCA/List-of-Activities


http://westmountymcaswimclub.qc.ca/masters/

Programs offered:  Swimming, Masters Swimming, Water-Polo (new for 2018)

Head Water Polo Coach Laurée and Coach Jonah coach at this club and CITs Alex N, Charlotte, Diego, and Tara have participated in this program. The Y is planning a recreational water polo program and is considering returning to a competitive format for the youth swim team.

YM-YWHA (Westbury Y)

Website: http://www.ymywha.com/fitness-pool-sports/child-and-teen-pool-bw/​


Disciplines offered:  Swimming, Synchro and Water Polo


For more information regarding other swimming clubs in Quebec visit the site of the Federation de natation du Quebec   www.fnq.qc.ca. 

To find out more about diving clubs visit the Plongeon Quebec website: www.plongeon.qc.ca. 

For information regarding Synchronised Swimming clubs the website for Federation de nage-synchronisée du Quebec is here: www.synchroquebec.qc.ca. 

To find other water-polo clubs the website of the Quebec Water-polo Federation iswww.waterpolo-quebec.qc.ca. 

Continuing your sport through the winter is a great way to perfect skills and to develop further as an athlete.  Many of our members have followed this route and have enjoyed pursuing excellence in aquatics sports.  Maybe you will enjoy it too!