QUAC Aquatic Club: Utah's Inclusive Aquatic Club Since 1995QUAC Aquatic Club: Utah's Inclusive Aquatic Club Since 1995

The Duck Digest by QUAC

kevin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:20:44 +0000

Join us in Seattle for IGLA Before you know it summer will be here and with the season comes the opportunity to participate in the IGLA Championships in Seattle, WA August 13-18. IGLA is the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics association that puts on this annual event, but IGLA is much more than a swim meet! IGLA 2013 will include an incredible swim competition, an amazing IGLA Follies Pink Flamingo, an unforgettable Pink Carpet prior to the 2013 IGLA Awards Banquet, an open water swim, a diving competition, a water polo competition and a Women’s Burlesque Party. There will be LGBT swimmers from around the world attending these games in Seattle. The earlier you register the better as prices are less expensive. You also have the option of requesting a reimbursement after the competition from QUAC for your regular registration fee if you’ve volunteered with QUAC at least two times in the past year and you participate in the events at IGLA. See a coach or QUAC board member for details. Register at http://www.igla2013.com/ We have reserved discounted rooms in downtown Seattle for swimmers and will make pricing available for these rooms soon so you can budget for this. Also, be watching flights to Seattle for the best deals and let the team know on our facebook page if you find a great deal. We’re lucky to have IGLA so close to us this year so save your money and plan on attending! Duck Hunt March 31, 2013 The pool is closed on Easter, so we will be gathering in Sugar House Park to have a scavenger hunt and potluck breakfast. The scavenger hunt is meant to be a workout and a fun team building activity. Participants of all abilities are welcome, and children are welcome to the breakfast (the hunt will be for adults only, but there is a park right next to the pavilion for kids to play in during the hunt). Please wear workout gear, including running or gym shoes. We will meet at 11 a.m. at the Southeast pavilion in Sugar House Park. The hunt should take about one hour, and then we will enjoy breakfast. The breakfast will be potluck style, and we will have a flat grill for cooking. Please check the QUAC Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/quacquac) page to tell everyone what you plan to bring to share for the breakfast. ———————————————————— ATTENTION QUACers We are looking for a few new board members. Are you dedicated to QUAC? Do you work well with others? Are you interested in helping organize and run this amazing organization? Do you have time to donate to the largest LGBT sports club in Utah? If you answered yes to these questions, then we need you. We ask our board members to serve for at least two years, have the ability to check and reply to emails every few days, and have time to help organize and attend QUAC events. Anyone interested should email a letter of intent to editor@quacquac.org (mailto:editor@quacquac.org) and let us know that you are interested in joining the board. Please include any special skills, talents, or benefits you would bring to our wonderful organization by joining the board. What Your QUAC Membership Gives You QUAC, a non-profit organization, depends on donors and memberships to keep us going, and growing. Many people donate their time in many different ways, such as coaching, team captains, board members, volunteering for Pride, Ski-n-Swim, Aqua-Aid, and our many various fundraising efforts. And don’t forget the wonderful parties that help our team and friendships grow. Yearly memberships, elite members, gold members and BFF’s all keep the organization afloat. We use these memberships to purchase equipment such as kick boards, buoys, and paddles for the pool, . Our coaches attend various clinics to learn new skills to help train us. We have scholarships for swimmers in need for USMS registrations and meet entry fees. Last, but not least, we like to celebrate our wonderful team, and the amazing athletes we have, with a summer BBQ, a coaches party, and an awards party. So if you have ever wondered what your $25 per year will get you, look no further; one year of exercise, friends, and a QUACtastic time! We are excited to continue working with the staff at Fairmont Aquatic Center to bring you Sunday Water Polo Clinics. A new series of clinics begins Sunday, April 7 and run through May 19. Check out the Fairmont Aquatic Center website (http://www.recreation.slco.org/fairmont/aquatics/Adult_Water_Polo_Cli.html) for more details. ============================================================ Copyright © 2013 QUAC, All rights reserved.

QUAC Water Polo Wants You

kevin — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:58:09 +0000

Attention all swimmers and water polo players, QUAC is currently looking for people to join our amazing team. Did you play in high school, but it’s been a while since you have been in the water? Are you currently a water polo player looking to join a team? Never played water polo before, but you are interested in learning? Water polo practices will be every Sunday starting February 24^, 2013 from 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm at Fairmont Pool, in conjunction with their drop-in water polo time. We will have coaches on deck to provide training and guidance as well as a beginner’s clinic from February 24 to April 7. As an added bonus, we have an amazing donor who is willing to cover the cost of any QUAC swimmer that is coming to play with the team in Seattle this summer at IGLA. If you have any questions, please talk with Joshua Bytendorp or Lisa LeDuc.

Ski-n-Swim 2013

kevin — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 07:03:31 +0000

QUAC Ski-n-Swim

Registration is now open for Ski-n-Swim 2013. Ski-n-Swim is not just for swimmers–everyone is invited to join us at our parties, as spectators at the swim meet, or on the slopes of one of Utah’s best ski resorts. The three-day event begins Friday, February 15 with our opening social and after party. Saturday will be our big swim meet, dinner, and ice skating at the Gallivan Center. Sunday, we will hit the slopes at Snowbird–or you may join us for a day at the Spa at the Cliffs Lodge. Visit our website to sign up for the events you would like to attend. http://ski-n-swim.org/ IGLA 2013 The 2013 IGLA Championships are quickly approaching, and we would like QUAC to have a large presence at the event. The IGLA Championships is a multi-day, multi-aquatic-sport event that celebrate friendship, sportsmanship, and competition. Seattle will host the 2013 IGLA Championships August 13-18. Competition will take place at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center and in Lake Washington. The 2013 IGLA Championships include swimming, water polo, diving, synchronized swimming (“synchro”), open water swimming competitions and the Pink Flamingo. Go to the IGLA website for additional information.

Take the Plunge Results Twenty swimmers braved the cold winter weather of January 1 and swam for one, two, and three hours respectively. Each set a goal. Some, to swim 100 lengths of the pool. Others, to swim 100 laps. The most dedicated of swimmers planned to swim 100X100-yards. And they did it!Several of the swimmers gathered pledges for their efforts, and together they raised over $650 to support our swimmers at various meets throughout the upcoming year.What a great way to start out the year!

QUAC is Representing at Pride

wheaps — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:34:44 +0000

We need you!

QUAC has once again teamed up with The Utah Pride Center as a “community partner” for Pride. That means QUAC helps make Pride the best festival in the state and the Utah Pride Center shares the profits with us! The QUAC Wine Booth volunteers substantially impact our ability to pay for QUAC programs, and PRIDE wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for its many volunteers.We are also partnering with one of our fabulous vendors, EmbroidMe, to run a second booth. This will be a great chance to promote our team and sell some exciting QUAC merchandise. Volunteers for the wine booth get free admission to Pride on the day they volunteer. You will still have to pay admission fees if you are volunteering just for the EmbroidMe booth. Please Click here to volunteer for Pride or sign up at one of our practices.

And Now, A Few Words About the Parade

Dear QUAC, Pride is approaching and I’m really excited to help put together the dance for this year’s parade! Please see the following email for lots of information concerning costumes, rehearsals, and other essentials. Most importantly, don’t hesitate to write or call if you have any thoughts or questions (see the bottom for my cell and email address). This will be my first pride in Utah, so I’m eager to get feedback from all of you about what you’d like to see happen. Also, I hope that everyone decides to get involved! Like swimming, I see dancing as an opportunity to look good, feel confident, and most importantly have a great time hanging out with fun people. I’m fully aware that many of you won’t be able to show up to practice until the week before the parade, so I’ll choreograph appropriately. But the more of you who can come to rehearsals, the more fun we’ll have and the more cool dance steps and interesting lifts we can try.

THE SONG

The Board sent me a couple of ideas for music choice, and I think the one that will be the most fun and the most memorable will be the “Rubber Ducky” song from Sesame Street. And not just any version – but the classic 70s disco version available on the inimitable “Sesame Street Fever” album. Listen and rejoice. I know some people were gunning for LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It,” which would be a completely different style but also hilarious. If there’s enough interest and people are willing to show up to an extra rehearsal or two, I propose doing about a 1-minute interlude from that number in between repetitions of Rubber Ducky for a smaller group of core dancers. This will give everyone else a chance to recover and will also liven up our performance if we get stuck in the same spot along the parade route for several minutes.<

THE DANCING

Don’t be nervous if you’ve never set foot on a dance floor before. The moves won’t be super complicated and my main goal is to make us all look good. If you’re in doubt, I recently choreographed a musical for a high school in a small town whose only fame comes from being the place where some dude got killed while having sex with a horse. They looked great, and I’m pretty sure you’re all way more athletic than they were.

THE REHEARSALS

All rehearsals to be held in the park outside the Fairmont Aquatic Center: Tuesday, May 15 @ 6pm Thursday, May 17 @ 6pm Sunday, May 20 @ NOON (after swim – can we do a late brunch that day) Tuesday, May 22 @ 6pm Thursday, May 24 @ 6pm Week before Pride: TBA (I will be out of town for part of this week, but almost certainly there will be final rehearsals on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Sunday’s parade when we put it all together). If you have any ideas, questions, or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me. Can’t wait to see you all on the dance floor! Nate ntsf@me.com 203-859-8692

Join QUAC Multi-Sport at the Pride 5K

wheaps — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:18:15 +0000

Join QUAC at the third annual Pride 5K race on Saturday, June 2. Craig Voegeli, multi-ports team captain would like to see a large group from QUAC participate in the race, and he has asked that we coordinate our colors for the event. He would like each runner to choose a color wear shorts and t-shirts that match. As a group, we then become a rainbow of runners representing the team that we all love. WHERE & WHEN: Saturday, June 2 Race Start Time: 9AM Start Line & Registration Location: Athletes will start the race on Capitol Blvd. (which is directly east of the Utah State Capitol building). Late registration and packet pickup will be located directly south of the starting line area. Finish Line Location: Near entrance of Memory Grove. No vehicle traffic or parking is available inside Memory Grove. Click here to register for the Pride 5K.

Get Ready for Pride

wheaps — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:32:06 +0000

Spring is definitely in the air, and one of our busiest weekends of the year is quickly approaching. Pride 2012 brings some exciting opportunities for QUAC members to promote our organization and volunteer at the festival. We will once again be participating in the parade, and this year we are excited to have Nate Freeman choreographing an exciting routine for us. Practices will begin in a couple of weeks, and we will update you of the schedule soon.We will also be volunteering at the Pride Festival wine booth once again this year. We are in need of many enthusiastic people to staff the booth Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3. Volunteers get complimentary entrance into Pride Festival for the hours they are not scheduled to work, so plan you shifts and partying times carefully.We are also excited to have a presence at a second booth this year. One of our long-time supporters, EmbroidMe, has asked us to share a booth with them. We hope to be able to promote QUAC as well as sell exciting team merchandise. Click here to volunteer for Pride

Going, Going, Gone . . . But Not Forgotten

wheaps — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:12:48 +0000

It’s always a bit sad to have friends retire from the QUAC Board of Directors. Board members sign up for a two-year minimum commitment and most serve for quite a bit longer. However, change is inevitable and we have both new, exciting members joining the QUAC Board of Directors as well as a few people stepping down. With great thanks, I’d like to recognize the following Board members who are stepping down this year:

John Funk – Secretary John has served for many dedicated years as both a QUAC Board member and as the secretary. His great, easy-going personality and friendly smile will certainly be missed at all the Board meetings. John has helped QUAC extensively past with Ski-n-Swims, Utah Gay Pride, and Utah AIDS Foundation’s Aqua Aid. (Not to mention all the notes he’s taken from all our meetings!) If you see John at the pool, be sure to give him a well deserved “Thanks” for all his dedication and hard work! I’m sure he will give you one of his winning smiles and a warm hug! Will Carlson is taking over as the Secretary as John steps down.

Jeffrey Wood – Communications/Swim Team Co-Captain Jeffrey Wood has been amazing at redesigning our QUAC website, updating our Facebook page, doing the Duck Digest and creating some great graphics. (This doesn’t even count all the projects he’s helped us with such as our Showtunes Fundraiser, Aqua Aid, and Ski N Swim . . . just to name a few.) Jeffrey has a definite “can-do” attitude that all you swimmers know about! His amazing stint as a co-captain– along with all his passion for clear (and clever) communication will certainly be missed by us all! Kevin McDaniel and Dani Hawkes are helping head up Communications as Jeffrey steps down.

LaRiesse Dimmick – Treasurer Under LaRiesse’s watchful eye and helpful guidance– we’ve really grown as a club! Her financial savvy has allowed us more opportunities to make wonderful things happen like helping QUACers with the costs of attending IGLA! Treasurers are the unsung heroes of any organization– and especially non-profit organizations. LaRiesse has organized our annual budgets, pioneered our “recurring membership” program, and has been an amazing Board member. (She also makes a mean cocktail too!) Her passion and laughter are going to be missed! Audra Wood is taking over as Treasurer as LaRiesse steps down.

I’d also like to thank all the past board members that stepped down in 2011– including Charlie Ward (President), Raul Peragallo (Membership Chair), and Jory Corsi (Utah Masters Coordinator). Everyone who has volunteered their time and effort as a QUAC Board member has done an amazing (and sometimes thankless) job of keeping QUAC the great organization that it is.

Good job all!

Ski-n-Swim Registration Ends Soon!

Jeffrey — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:46:46 +0000

Registration for Ski-N-Swim 2012 is now open! Start your registration today and reserve your spot for Ski-n-Swim 2012 by clicking here! This year is going to be great as we’ve incorporated a lot of fun activities for President’s Day Weekend. Get your Weekend started Friday night at our welcome reception at Frida Bistro where light appetizers and drinks will be served. We’ll continue the party that evening at Club Jam, voted Salt Lake City’s best gay bar three years in a row! Don’t stay-up too late, we want you bright eyed and bushy tailed for our swim meet, Saturday morning at 9am for warm-ups and 10 am for spectators. If you aren’t swimming come and cheer on your friends! Saturday evening is our group dinner with ice skating at the Gallivan Center and Sunday is our big day on the slopes! This year we’re heading to Canyons, Utah’s largest winter resort, for skiing, snowboarding and hot tubbing. Ride the Utah powder for the day, meet for lunch at Red Pine Lodge and then hit the Grand Summit Spa at the end of the day for a soak in the jetted tubs, or a swim in the outdoor heated pool. Not into skiing or boarding? No problem! We’ve got activities for you that day too! Check out the Ski and Swim website www.ski-n-swim.org for full details of this awesome weekend, February 17-19! We’ll see you there!

2012! A note from our President

Jeffrey — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:45:13 +0000

Quac ended 2011 and started 2012 with style! The new year started out with a bang for the swim team who had practice on New Year’s Day where dedicated swimmers showed up for a special workout. Then late that week, QUAC had its Annual Awards Party. This “pot luck” event was well attended by our wonderful athletes, supporters, and friends! The food was wonderful, the company was warm, and the evening was delightful! All through the event, we had a great video presentation going that highlighted some of our most memorable events from 2011–including IGLA in Hawaii and the South Davis Swim Meet! My thanks to our swim team co-captains for helping with that video presentation. It was amazing!

Awards were handed out in both the swim teams and the water polo teams for most improved, most inspirational, most dedicated, and more. Of particular note– the volunteer of the year awards for 2011 went to our two head coaches for swimming (Suzanne Mozdy) and water polo (Jason Olafson) whose selfless dedication make our great programs possible.

Also awarded was the wYliss Dorman-Li QUAC Founder’s Award– a special recognition to a particular individual whose dedication, drive, and spirit have gone above and beyond. It was awarded to our past president, Paul Reynolds. Paul’s dedication and

spirit really helped QUAC through it’s growing phases a few years ago. He even taught me how to shake my stuff down main street for Utah Pride. Thanks Paul for your years of QUAC support!

QUAC continues to be a great organization due to the selfless volunteerism of its many members. Without you– QUAC would not be the wonderful and warm place it is where all people can have a place at the pool. Many, many thanks to your all– and let’s make

2012 another great year for QUAC!

Wes Heaps

QUAC President

QUAC Annual Awards Party – JAN 7th

Jeffrey — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:16:27 +0000

QUAC’s annual awards party to be held January 7th!

When: January 7th from 7 to 10 pm Where: 1136 East 3300 South (MAP) What: Potluck style party, bring one of your best dishes and drinks