The Great Penguin Adventure

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The Great Penguin Adventure The Y Penguins are a team of athletes with physical disabilities and their able-bodied siblings working together to achieve prove nothing is impossible.

The Y Penguins are a swim team for young people with physical disabilities and their able bodied siblings. This program was designed to help children and youth find pride and success through achievement. The Y Penguins provide an opportunity for young people to explore their abilities and find within themselves the confidence to pursue their goals and the capacity to develop the skills that will h

elp them see the many possibilities for their future. The Y Penguins are coached by marathon swimmer Vicki Keith. Vicki is known for her passion of selecting perceived impossible goals and then setting out to achieve them. Vicki brought this passion to the YMCA of Kingston 12 years ago. In that 12 years, the Y Penguins have had 12 national level and 4 international level athletes. 3 athletes have achieved world records in marathon swimming. The Y Penguin’s goal is to teach life lessons through sport. These dedicated athletes are taking on this adventure to challenge themselves, strengthen their ability to overcoming adversity and set a new world record. The Great Lake Adventure is in support of the Kingston YMCA’s Strong Kids Campaign. Specifically it will raise much needed funds to help young people with disabilities continue to learn about their abilities and develop the skills to step into life with strength of spirit and confidence. Team members also see this as their opportunity to give back to their community while raising awareness for the needs of accessible programs everywhere across our province. Ontarians can show their support by going to http://www.kingston.ymca.ca and clicking on the “Canada Helps” button. We welcome followers on Facebook at The Great Lake Adventure or on Twitter at . The Kingston Y penguins Slogan is “Penguins Can Fly”. This summer they will prove this to be true as they push past perceived limitations and achieve what many believe impossible.

Past Y Penguin swimmer Brian Sempowski, passed away at the age of 27, after years of living with Duchenne’s Muscular Dys...
19/03/2022

Past Y Penguin swimmer Brian Sempowski, passed away at the age of 27, after years of living with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. Brian was a vibrant, wonderful young man who lived every day to it’s fullest.

One of my favourite stories of Brian was during the Y Penguins Y Knot Tri. The team had dedicated itself to raising funds with an endurance event from Toronto to Ottawa. The youngest Y Penguins were completing a leg from Brockville to Ottawa in relay fashion.

Brian‘s mom Suzanne got them to the spot where Brian was supposed to start. She unloaded his medical equipment and helped him back his power wheelchair out of the vehicle. She reloaded his medical equipment into the van and drove a mile up the road. When Brian arrived at the designated spot, Suzanne unloaded the medical equipment and helped Brian back into the van. She told him how proud she was of him, that he had participated. He said “I’m not done. I have to help my teammates”.

Brian did another shift and remained with the team throughout the remainder of the event. That was his heart.

He spent his life thinking of, advocating for and supporting others. Brian will be missed by all of his Y Penguin family and everyone who knew and loved him.

https://muscle.crowdchange.ca/3750

01/06/2020
Last weekend the Y Penguins attended the Eastern Regional Championships. We came home with a whole pile of medals, 79% p...
07/02/2020

Last weekend the Y Penguins attended the Eastern Regional Championships. We came home with a whole pile of medals, 79% personal best times with 158 seconds of improvements.

These results demonstrate not just the intensity with which the athletes are training, but also the positive, supportive environment the Y Penguins have created around themselves. I could not be more proud of these athletes.

Thank you to the parents for their continued support and the officials who give of their valuable time. Now, on to the Y Penguins Annual Big Chill swim meet this weekend.

I love having a conversation with one of my athletes and then hear it shared with another athlete. It means what I share...
19/01/2020

I love having a conversation with one of my athletes and then hear it shared with another athlete. It means what I shared was heard and valued. At the meet this weekend I heard one athlete advise his team mate to focus on what he wanted to do well, not what he wanted to avoid doing poorly.

We had a great meet at the Pan Am Pool this weekend. Scarborough Swim Club hosts an awesome swim meet that is very inclusive and welcoming and allows for top racing opportunities.

Every Y Penguin in attendance had at least one best time or top performance. Outside of swimming, we saw old friends, made new friends, had wonderful team time, advice sharing, positive mindset focused, technique honing in a competition setting and even a little impromptu wheelchair dance.

One Y Penguin athlete made a qualifying standard for the World Series Swim Meet in Indianapolis this Spring, and another came within 1/2 a second of qualifying for the Olympic/Paralympic Trials (I’m confident he’ll make the standard at Provincials in March.

Thank you to the parents who drove, the officials who volunteered, and the Scarborough Swim Club for caring enough to throw one heck of an awesome swim meet.

Congratulations to Y Penguin's Abi Tripp for being named TAS Athlete of the month!
16/10/2019

Congratulations to Y Penguin's Abi Tripp for being named TAS Athlete of the month!

Congratulations to Abi Tripp from Kingston Y Penguins Swimming for winning a bronze medal as part of the 400 freestyle relay in the 100 fly at the WPS World Para Swimming Championships in London, England!

You can now follow the Kingston Y Penguins on Instagram.YPenguinSwimming
06/08/2019

You can now follow the Kingston Y Penguins on Instagram.

YPenguinSwimming

Meghan Balogh of the Kingston Whig Standard wrote an awesome article as Abi Tripp prepares to compete at World Champions...
06/08/2019

Meghan Balogh of the Kingston Whig Standard wrote an awesome article as Abi Tripp prepares to compete at World Championships in London this September. I am thrilled to have been selected to the coaching staff of these Championships, so have the honour of coaching Abi and 4 other Canadian athletes throughout this event.

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.thewhig.com/news/local-news/kingston-swimmer-headed-to-world-class-competition&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTM2MDE0NjYzOTgwMjg3NTgwNDkyGjBiZmMzM2MzODMzODI5OTI6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNELAKdCXWzxHwF5gYz8sku9etHDPA

A Kingston youth is headed to the World Para Swimming Championships in London, England, in September.Abi Tripp and her swim coach, world-record-holding marathon swimmer Vicki Keith, will be headed …

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