Family Y Aquatic Director Nicole Turechek with Staples Key Club members Khaliq Sana and Jessica Shaw, student volunteers at the January 2012 Youth Fun Night.
Nicole Turechek, Director of Aquatics, has expanded her leadership role in the Family Y’s Aquatics Department to include oversight of swim lessons, pool scheduling, lifeguards and teaching staff — everything except the Water Rat swim team. She will also coordinate a variety of special events.
Nicole is very excited about a new event she is planning for the April school break, called “Splash Week!” It will feature a 30-minute swim lesson Monday through Thursday and a free swim on Friday. There are several morning sessions from which to choose, for preschoolers (ages 3 to 5) as well as children ages 6 to 12.
Wednesday’s sessions will feature a special visit from Stewie the Duck, who will talk to the kids about swim safety. Thanks to the generous support from the Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities, the cost is only $10 for the week — and all participating kids receive free water-safety gifts.
For details or to register, please click here. Sign up soon, as some sessions have already filled up.
Nicole and her husband, Paul, at the kick-off event for our 2012 Strong Kids Campaign held in late March.
One of Nicole’s biggest responsibilities at the Family Y is guiding our popular Hafaday Summer Swim Lesson Program. Designed for children ages 4 to 8 and held each weekday from 8:45 am to 12:30 pm, Hafaday is primarily a swim program, with both a lesson and a free swim period each day. It’s the best way to learn to swim. Arts and crafts, music and gym time, including yoga, karate, and games round out each morning of fun.
We have 10 weekly sessions, beginning Monday, June 18 and continuing on through the week of August 20. Students in swim lessons are grouped by age and ability. The cost for Y Members is $265 per week; $290 for non-members.
Sessions fill quickly for this amazing summer program, which gives children the vital chance to build swim skills, regardless of previous experience, and have a lot of summer fun. For details or to register, please click here.
Along with Mark Sedlak, our Head Age Group Coach for the Water Rat Swim Team, Nicole is coordinating the Family Y’s Point-to-Point Compo Beach Swim – one of Westport’s longest-running annual sports events. Starting at the cannons at Compo Beach, participants swim around buoys, ending with a sprint across the sand to the finish line, covering a distance of 1 mile. This year’s event, the 34th, will also include a “Kids’ Swim,” a fun, shallow-water event for our youngest participants. It will take place on Sunday, July 15, 2012. Registration and check-in begin at 8:00 a.m., and the race begins at 9:30 a.m. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Nicole at 203-226-8981, ext. 128 or nturechek@westporty.org.
Nicole also coordinates our Lifeguard Training Courses. Our winter class, held over the December holidays, was a big success, attracting an overflow crowd of local young adults seeking certification. She’s schedule a Spring Lifeguard class, which takes place May 12-13, 19-20. For more information on this valuable program, please click here.
When free of her Family Y responsibilities, Nicole has a 2-year-old son who keeps her very busy at home. The Nebraska native is also an online student at South University studying Allied Health Science – a registered nurse program. A full schedule for a woman who has energy to spare and generously shares her talents.
The Westport Weston Family Y is a community-based organization and does not turn away residents due to lack of ability to pay for memberships or programs. We’re gratified to receive thanks from the families we help, like this recent letter from a father whose children attended Camp Mahackeno and Hafaday this past summer:
Dear Family Y,
Last year we took part in the Summer Campership and it was just AWESOME! For my wife and I, seeing our kids enjoying the camps at the Y and others was just incredible! My 4-year old learned how to swim at the Y Hafaday camp in TWO WEEKS!!! Just for that, I can’t say enough thanks! I will end with a sentence that came from my 6 year old after a day at Mahackeno: “Daddy, this is the best summer ever!”
Thank you so much!
To apply for financial assistance for a Family Y membership, contact Steve Forlano, Membership Coordinator, at 203-226-8981, ext. 165 or stop by the Member Service Desk for an application. To make a donation to our Strong Kids Campaign, the Family Y’s annual fundraising effort to support those in need, please click here.
Lots of links, but like we said, Nicole is one busy member of our Y family!
