The Y's Upper Gym bustles with activity during Open Gym time.
Modeled after successful programs at other Ys and introduced last year here in our community, the Westport Weston Family Y’s Seventh Grade Membership Initiative offers all local seventh graders free membership, from their graduation from sixth grade to the end of the seventh grade. Last year some 125 kids took us up on our offer, and this year’s enrollment is similarly strong.
We wanted to let participants of our 7th Grade Membership Initiative know more about the Family Y’s schedule next week, Feb. 18-22, so here’s a listing of the free times in our Upper Gym and one of our Pools, as well as some special activities just for you.
Monday
Open Swim 1-6 pm; Open Gym 1:30-4 pm Tuesday
Open Swim 1-6 pm; Open Gym 1:30-4 pm Wednesday
Open Swim 4-6 pm; Open Gym 1:30-4 pm/5-8 pm Thursday
Open Swim 1-6 pm; Open Gym 8:30-10 pm Friday
Open Swim 1-6 pm; Open Gym 1:30-4 pm/5-10 pm; Table Tennis in Dance Studio, 1-3 pm
The Y's free 7th Grade Membership offer includes orientation sessions on how to use the Fitlinxx exercise system.
Want to Use the Fitness Center?
If you have already taken your 3 Fitlinxx orientations, you can use the Fitness Center. If you still need to schedule your orientations, just call the Y to set them up, 203-226-8981. Use this week to get all your orientations done so you can work out the rest of the school year!
Our 7th Grade Members have access to the entire facility, including Group Fitness classes. Here’s that schedule, in case you want to try a Spin class, Yoga session or Zumba class next week.
If you have a friend who wants to sign up for their free Y 7th Grade Membership, great! Simply tell them that their parent has to sign them up on their first visit, and we need to see their student ID. Students can’t just be dropped off without an active Y membership.
Click here for our Seventh Grade Membership brochure. And click on this link to read the most recent article about this innovative program.
Remember, your membership is for your entire 7th grade school year, not just on vacation days. So feel free to come in any day — we would love to see you here at the Y!
There are activities and special programs for kids of all ages at the Y during the upcoming school vacation.
Planning a ‘staycation’ at home during the upcoming Winter Recess for Westport public schools? Have your kids climb our walls, not yours, by making the Family Y part of your family’s plans for the week.
The special programs taking place at the Y the week of February 18-22 are open to Y Members and non-members alike. Guest passes and daily drop-in options are also available for a host of other recreational options for all ages and abilities.
What follows is a listing of some of the fun to be had at the Family Y during the February school break. For more information or to register,call the Y’s Member Services Desk at 203-226-8981.
Princess Dance Camp. This popular camp focuses on a different Disney princess each day to give dancing divas ages 3 to 5 a fun introduction to ballet and jazz. Led by Dance Center Director Lillian Cenatiempo, campers will also enjoy a craft that helps bring our princesses to life, with a story about one of our princesses each day during snack time. The camp runs from Monday through Thursday from 12 to 2 pm. The camp is $180 for Y members and non-members and is limited to 15 students. Participants are asked to bring a snack and drink each day. (Note: Early registration is advised; last summer’s Princess Dance Camp was wait list only.)
Hafaday Swim Lesson Program. Designed for children ages 4 to 8 and held each day 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. The cost is $270 for Y members; $295 for non-members.
Vacation Gymnastics & Swim Camp. Learn to improve your gymnastics skills — and swim each day. This camp is for kids age six and older and takes place from 12 to 4 pm all week long. Bring a snack and a drink; participants must be able to swim without a flotation device. There’s also a daily drop-in option for this fun program, coordinated by Senior Sports & Recreation Director Sally Silverstein, who heads up the Y’s nationally renowned competitive gymnastics program. The fee is $165 for the week for all participants, or $40 per day. To register, click here.
Toddler Adventure Gym. Each weekday from 9 to 11 am, our Gymnastic Center is a wonderland of bouncy cushions, mini-slides and other tyke-size tumbling. The price is $10 a session, and it’s open to all children ages 6 months to 4 years old and their parents or guardians.
School Vacation Program. Can’t get away from work while your kids are off for the week? The Family Y’s School Age program provides days packed with fun activities at the Y for children in Kindergarten through 6th grade. There are daily field trips in the morning and swim time in the afternoons. Drop-off at the Y begins at 7 am, with pick-up until 6 pm. For more information or to register your child, please contact Tasha Dennison, Senior Director for Child Care and School Age, at 203-226-8981, ext. 113 or tdennison@westporty.org.
And who says you have to be a kid to enjoy Winter Recess?
Instructor Perry Moody (foreground) teaches a TRX class in the upstairs studio of the Bedford Building.
Y members know to take advantage of any of the dozens of group-fitness classes held each week, in addition to self-paced workouts in the Fitness Center, pools or gym. A single-use guest pass is $20 for adults and families; $10 for youth/students and seniors, and affords guests all the privileges of Y membership for the day. (A guest may use up to three guest pass receipts toward the purchase of an annual membership.)
Babysitting at the Y is available for children 3 months to 6 years of age, Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 1 pm and on Saturdays from 8 to 11 am. This service is free for Y members who are participating in Y activities (parents must remain in the building at all times). Drop-in service is on a space available basis only; the fee for non-member is $10; $5 for each additional child. Please call 203-226-8981, ext. 132 ahead of time for availability.
For quality time for the whole family, we’ve scheduled hours of free time in our three pools and Upper Gym; check http://www.westporty.org for daily schedules for the Upper Gym, Stauffer Pool (with diving board), Stauffer Shallows and warm-water Brophy Pool.
The Gymnastic Center also offers an open session on Sundays from 1 to 3 pm for children age 13 and older. It’s available to any level gymnast, and coaching staff is on hand to help spot, monitor and instruct students if needed (drop-in fee paid at the Gymnastic Center).
The Tooth Fairy brightened our Y kids' day, courtesy of Kids First Dentistry of Fairfield.
Children in the Westport Weston Family Y’s Early Learning Program got a special visit on Thursday, Feb. 7, from the Tooth Fairy.
Dressed in a long pink gown, including wings, our Fairy friend entertained toddlers and pre-schoolers while she talked about the daily habits that lead to good health and pearly whites that last a lifetime.
“Kids, so tell me, what goes into your sippy cups?” she asked. “Is it juice, or soda, or water…”
“Water!” came the merry shout-outs.
Our Family Y kids were spot-on with their responses (although “milk” is also a good answer) because they’re part of a child care program that’s committed to following nutritional, lifestyle and exercise guidelines adopted by nearly 10,000 early-childhood and after-school programs across the country to help ensure that more children have access to healthy food and physical activity.
Initiated in late 2011, the guidelines grow out of discussions the Y-USA had First Lady Michelle Obama and Partnership for a Healthier America, a nonprofit group dedicated to supporting Mrs. Obama’s campaign to reduce childhood obesity.
As our local community’s largest provider of child care services, “the Family Y’s Early Learning Program, Kinderkids and School Age Programs are dedicated to supporting and implementing new policy changes to reflect the new healthy living standards,” says Senior Director Tasha Dennison. To read more about this initiative, click here.
Specific healthy lifestyle policies and practices in place in the Family Y’s Child Care programs include:
Children are offered milk and water with snacks and meals;
Pre-packaged snacks are substituted with healthy alternatives whenever possible;
Children in all programs will be presented with a variety of health snack choices including seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables;
Each group has no less than an hour each morning and afternoon to provide the children in their care with gross motor activities and challenges;
Teachers will make educating parents about these healthy living standards a priority. Sharing articles and knowledge about the reasons behind the guidelines and providing parents with resources and healthy alternatives.
No doubt our Y kids went home last night with tales of the day, a more enthusiastic brushing after dinner, a sleepy, last-minute check for a wiggly tooth – and sweet dreams brought on the tooth fairy dust sprinkled over their heads.
One timely question surely helped them sleep well: “What happens when it snows? Does the Tooth Fairy still come?”
“Of course!” our Tooth Fairy replied, “Although sometimes it snows so much my wings don’t work very well. Then I have to drive my car…”
Stealing glimpses at the Fairy’s cute but stubby wings, the kids nodded knowingly, then focused in on a few pale little teeth the Fairy held cupped in her hand.
“Now, take a close look at these teeth,” the Fairy said as she walked past their tiny chairs. “Do you see that some have small dark spots on them? Now, how do you think they got there…?”
Tooth Fairy visits are a part of the educational outreach from Kids First Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics of Fairfield. (Spoiler alert: Our Tooth Fairy today was Laura Epifano.) As their website says, “The 30-minute, enthusiastic presentation includes colorful visuals, fairy dust, and songs, along with a discussion on the importance of good nutrition. The Tooth Fairy gives delightful presentations to children in the comfort of their own familiar environment. It truly goes a long way in establishing a positive foundation. Children develop a greater interest in their personal brushing habits.”
For more information or to schedule a visit to your own group of children, click here for the Kids First Dentistry website.
The Family Y Early Learning Program offers developmentally appropriate care to meet the needs of families who live and work in Westport, Weston and surrounding communities. It is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) – the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals.
“A mark of excellence held by just 8 percent of programs in the country, NAEYC accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early-learning experiences possible,” says Rob Reeves, Family Y CEO. “Our role in supporting this nationwide campaign to reduce childhood obesity is a critical part in fostering a healthier future for the children in our care, and through them, every member of their family.”
Jennifer Young works out on the VibePlate with Y personal trainer Matthius.
If you’re like most people this time of year, chances are your New Year’s Resolution to lose those extra pounds or add some muscle could use a boost about now.
Jump-start your fitness regimen with help from the Westport Weston Family Y. We offer more than 50 group fitness classes each week, including the popular “Body Shock” sessions with Gerardo.
Body Shock is a high-interval cardiovascular class where you burn up to 450 calories per hour while improving your stamina, balance and core strength and fashioning a lean, toned body. All fitness levels are welcome; all you need is the right mind set and will power. Classes are held Mondays 9:30-10:30 am; Tuesdays at 6:30-7:30 pm; and Saturdays 10:30-11:30 am.
Another popular class is the total body fitness program known as TRX Suspension Training. Developed to give Marines a way to exercise anytime, anywhere, TRX uses flex straps attached to the ceiling that give you a great workout using just your body weight and gravity. TRX classes are free for all Y members; simply sign up for a class each week in advance.
If your goal is simply to be more grounded this year, try any of our yoga classes, from the gentle Yoga Beginner to the faster-paced Vinyasa Yoga. Or join your fellow Yogin for a gathering of music, mantra and meditation at a Kirtan class, which uses ancient Sanskrit mantras to carry you to a place of quiet.
Looking for some high-tech help, with a personal trainer to put you through your paces? The Y’s newest piece of exercise equipment is generating quite the buzz – literally!
Tucked in the corner of the Family Y’s ground-floor Fitness Center is a small black platform with some surprising capabilities. The VibePlate produces a vibration through which energy is transferred from the platform to the body. By standing on the VibePlate, your body automatically adjusts to the vibrations. This mechanical stimulus produces a stretch reflex which results in muscles vigorously contracting 10 to 60 times per second, or up to 3,600 times per minute.
Compared with traditional training methods, Advanced Vibration Technology increases the production of regenerative and repair hormones, improves blood circulation, strengthens bone tissue, improves lymph drainage and increases basal metabolic rate. For example, a training program on the VibePlate can be performed in sets no longer than 30, 45 or 60 seconds in length, and need not to be performed more than 3 to 4 times per week with each session lasting about 15 minutes of actual time. You can cover your total workout program, including stretching and weight lifting exercises faster than normal, with faster results.
The VibePlate is available for individual use by all Y Members; the Family Y is also offering 15-minute sessions on the Vibe Plate for $25 with selected trainers. “Members are loving it, from the superfit to 80-year-olds with neuropathy,” says Shelley Moll, the Family Y’s Director of Health and Wellness.
“Exercising 15 minutes a day, 3 times a week on the VibePlate helps strengthen muscles, enhance flexibility, increase range of motion, increase balance, reduces cellulite, less fat tissue and a toner body,” adds Moll. “Some of the effects can be seen almost immediately.”
That’s the sort of New Year’s Resolution we all dream about!
To discuss Family Y membership and which fitness program might be right for you, contact Shelley Moll at 203-226-8981, ext. 198, or smoll@westporty.org.
Some repairs to our flood-damaged facility will take longer to complete, but the Family Y hopes to resume partial operations in the coming week.
We thank our members and the community for continued patience and understanding as the Westport Weston Family Y proceeds with the complex task of making the necessary repairs to our facility in order to re-open as soon as we possibly can.
As you will see from the following progress report, resuming operations even on a limited basis requires many things to be accomplished in sequence and without further complications.
If all goes well with this process, we hope to re-open our locker rooms, fitness center, upper gym and group-fitness studio the week of Nov. 19. We will announce a specific date for our re-opening as soon as that decision can be made and will provide further details regarding access to the building and the scope of the services we will be able to provide at that time.
In the meantime, Family Y staffers have arranged for some of our classes and programs to take place at alternate sites around our community. Here’s the current schedule for those Family Y activities.
We also encourage Y Members to continue utilizing other area YMCAs through the “Always Home at the Y” AWAY reciprocal program.
Membership Credit Options
We realize that these temporary measures are not convenient for every member nor do they adequately address the terms of your Membership with the Family Y. Therefore, we want to offer credit during this difficult time.
Here is a pdf of a notice we are mailing to all Family Y Members that outlines credit options. Please let us know if you would like to make any of the choices offered by following the instructions provided in the letter.
Status of Repairs
The types of major repairs required to our aged infrastructure do not happen quickly, but we continue to make positive progress each day. Here are some specifics:
Power, Heat and Safety Systems
- The new burner and replacement parts for the boiler that provides heat to the Bedford Building have been delivered. Installation will begin on Thursday and will take about 3 days to complete before we can fire up the boiler and test it for safety.
- The boiler that supplies heat to the Firehouse, which houses our Fitness Center, will be repaired once parts arrive as expected on Friday.
- The internal components for the main electric switch gear located in the Bedford basement will arrive on Thursday and will take 3-4 days to be installed.
- The secondary power supply, located in the sub-level of the Weeks Pavilion, has been rebuilt. Once the repairs are complete, a second external generator will “back feed” that panel to supply power to rest of the facility. We expect that to take place on Thursday, if all goes well.
- At that time, likely by Friday, we can get the smoke detection contractor to begin the necessary repairs to this system.
- On Monday, we expect to have our sprinkler system repaired.
- Only then can we ask the fire marshal and building inspector to clear us to allow members back into the facility.
Our beloved Brophy Pool, built in 1929, awaits water, and a whole lotta heat, to bring it back to its customary 90-degree temperature.
Pools
- The Stauffer Pool circulator motor has been removed and is being rebuilt. We hope it will be back to us on Monday to be re-installed.
- We expect the new pool heater for the Stauffer Pool to arrive by Friday.
- After the Stauffer pool heater is back in service it will take a few days to raise the temperature to an acceptable level.
- The Brophy pool is heated by the main boiler, so once that is operational we’ll be able to refill, filter and heat it.
- Bottom line: If all goes well, our pools will be ready for swimmers after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Again, we will provide you with specific dates for the re-opening of each pool as soon as they are established.
Remediation
- We are getting bids to restore the floor of the lower gym and will undertake those repairs as soon as possible. The upper gym was not affected.
- Portions of the walls and flooring of our Child Care Center that were damaged by the flood water have been removed. Once that area is completely dry and disinfected to prevent mold we will begin to rebuild that space. Most of the electrical panels have already been replaced.
Child Care
Our Family Y is the area’s largest provider of child care services, and we fully realize how hard our temporary closure has been for our Y families with young children who need care, and maybe more importantly, need a semblance of normalcy and order back in their lives.
It is impossible for us to give a firm date of when we’ll be able to restart our Child Care services at the Family Y. If everything falls into place, it’s likely that the earliest date would be the week of Nov. 26.
At that time, please be aware that Y Members will not be allowed to enter the facility through the Bedford Building. All Y Members will have to enter the Y through the doors on Church Lane or the Baldwin Parking lot. The Bedford Building entrance, and restrooms across from the Bedford Room, will be restricted to use by Child Care students.
Dance Center
Lillian Cenatiempo, Dance Center director, has been in contact with participants and reports that upon re-opening our dance classes will take place in the upstairs studio and the squash/racquet ball courts.
“I have taught classes in the courts before and they are very similar to the studio space; the only thing they are missing are mirrors,” she says. Because of this venue change for some classes, she asks that dancers check in at the Membership Services Desk 5 minutes before their class time so that their instructor can take the students up to the squash/racquet ball area should that be where their class is.
A Special Note of Gratitude
Please join in expressing our profound appreciation for the tireless and expert work being done by Pat Costanzo, senior director of facilities management, his staff and small army of contractors toiling to get our Family Y back up and running.
If you have a specific question or would like to volunteer your support, please contact Rob Reeves directly, via rreeves@westporty.org or 203-226-8981, ext. 131.
To support our Family Y with a financial contribution, please click here to access our online donation form, or contact Paul Bernetsky, Chief Development Officer, at 203-226-8981, ext. 115 or pbernetsky@westporty.org. (Use the Comment box to give us specific information about processing your gift. We thank you.)
Below are two photo galleries. The first is of various Family Y programs taking place at alternate sites during our temporary closure. The second gallery is of photos of our repair efforts.
Though our Family Y remains dark, staffers have been busy scheduling classes and programs at alternate venues across our community.
With our downtown facility likely to remain closed through next week due to flood damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, the Westport Weston Family Y has arranged for a limited number of group fitness classes, swim lessons and other programs and practice sessions to take place at other venues in our community.
“We’re grateful to the Westport Center for Senior Activities and Christ & Holy Trinity Church for opening their doors to us and allowing us to hold these classes,” said Shelley Moll, Family Y Health and Wellness Director.
The Y is equally appreciative of our other local community partners who have or will host us, including the Norwalk, Stamford and Wilton YMCAs, Staples High School, Wakeman Boys and Girls Club and Fairfield Country Day School.
What follows is a listing of the classes and other Family Y programs and practice times to be conducted over the following days/week and their locations, as well as the instructors as known.
Group Fitness Classes
Participants are asked to bring their own mat or towel, as well as to help spread the word of these offerings to other Y members you have contact with. Instructors will endeavor to have the appropriate equipment on hand.
(CHT) Mon., Nov. 12 9-10 am Body Shock – Gerardo
10-11 am Pilates – Pam
(CHT) Wed., Nov. 14 8-9 am Cardio Balance and Core – Perry
9-10 am Yoga – Leslie
(SC) 8:30-9:30 am Align and Stretch – Gayle
12:30-1:30 pm Pilates – Vicki
1:30-2:30 pm Yoga – Steve
(CHT) Thur., Nov. 15 9-10 am Zumba – Diana
10-11 am Stretch and Strength – Shelley M.
6-7 pm Pilates – Shelly G.
7-8 pm Cardio/Sculpt – Lisa D.
(SC) 6:30-8 pm Vinyasa/Restorative Yoga – Cheryl
Patty Kondub will be teaching a Cardio/Balance and Stretch class to her aqua fit participants on Wednesday and Friday from 7:30 -8:30 am at the Senior Center, Nov. 14. All Y members are welcome.
Swimming Fundamentals
Our Swimming Fundamentals class (for youth ages 9 to 14) will take place at the Norwalk YMCA (370 West Avenue, Norwalk; 203-866-4425) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6 pm, starting Thursday, Nov. 8.
Travel Basketball
The 6th Grade Y Travel team will practice this Sunday, Nov. 11, 6-8pm, at Wakeman Boys and Girls Club, 385 Center Street, Southport; 203 259-4805. Next week’s practice times and venues to be finalized asap.
7th Grade Travel will practice this evening, Thursday, Nov. 8, from 4:15-6:15 pm at the Norwalk YMCA, 370 West Avenue, Norwalk; 203-866-4425.
8th Grade Travel will be practicing next Tuesday and Thursday at Fairfield Country Day School, 2970 Bronson Road Fairfield; 203-259-2723. Times to be finalized asap.
The 5th Grade Travel team’s practice at Norwalk Y scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 7, 4-6pm, was canceled due to weather. We will alert this team as to next week’s schedule as soon as possible.
Family Y Gymnastic Showtime Exhibition Team
Advanced Showtime practice, Sunday, Nov. 11, 8-10 am at the Norwalk YMCA
Pre Showtime practice, Sunday, Nov. 11, 10 am-12 noon at the Norwalk YMCA
Water Rat Swim Team
Practice Schedule at Staples High School:
Thursday, Nov. 8:
5:15 – 7 am = Senior I & II
6:30-7 pm = 8 & Under: Blue and Red
7-7:45 pm = JAG I & II
7:45 – 8:45 pm = SAG and TAG
Friday, Nov. 9:
5:15 – 7 am = Senior I & II
6:30 – 7:15 pm = JAG I & II
7:15 – 8:15 pm = SAG and TAG
FREESTYLE FRENZY Swim Meet
The meet has been moved to Wesleyan University – one of the premiere pool facilities in the state. Please make note of the following:
Saturday, Session I: 9-10 Girls and 11-12 Boys Warm-up = 1 pm Start = 1:45 pm
Saturday, Session II: 9-10 Boys and 11-12 Girls Warm-up = 4:45 pm Start = 5:30 pm
In the meantime, Y Members are encouraged to avail themselves of the reciprocal privileges that allow them to use other local YMCAs.
We also promise to keep you up to date about the latest developments in our recovery effort and how these efforts may impact the timing and scope of our reopening.
If you have a specific question or would like to volunteer your support, please contact Rob Reeves directly, via rreeves@westporty.org or 203-226-8981, ext. 131.
To support our Family Y with a financial contribution, please click here to access our online donation form, or contact Paul Bernetsky, Chief Development Officer, at 203-226-8981, ext. 115 or pbernetsky@westporty.org. (Use the Comment box to give us specific information about processing your gift. We thank you.)
Family Y staff gathered on Tuesday in the darkened Stauffer Pool area to discuss efforts to resume operations as soon as possible.
“The good part? Realizing how important our Y is to peoples’ lives when it’s not around,” said Membership Coordinator Midge Deverin on Wednesday at a gathering of Westport Weston Family Y staff on the bleachers of the darkened Stauffer Pool.
Midge was relating her heartwarming encounters with Y Members and friends during a recent trip to the local Stop ‘n’ Shop, who stopped her in the aisles to inquire about her own family’s welfare (all fine) and to ask about our Family Y’s status and efforts to resume operations.
It was the first all-staff meeting since the facility was heavily damaged and temporarily closed by Superstorm Sandy on Monday, Oct. 29.
What follows is an update about our recovery efforts as of Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 6:
Bottom line: The Family Y is likely to remain closed through next week as we strive to restore power, heat and other essential services (such as fire-safety measures) to the facility.
In the meantime, Y Members are encouraged to avail themselves of the reciprocal privileges that allow them to use other local YMCAs.
Family Y staffers are also trying their best to arrange temporary alternative sites for certain classes and programs, as feasible.
For example, Sally Silverstein, who heads up our Sports & Recreation program, has scheduled practice time at the Norwalk YMCA, starting Tuesday afternoon, for some of our Y’s gymnastics students, who are busily training for upcoming competitions and performances.
Ellen Johnston, head coach of the 200-member Water Rat Swim Team, has used the Wilton Family YMCA and Staples High School for practice sessions. She’s also been able to shift this weekend’s home swim meet to Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
Their Y colleagues are in the process of trying to arrange temporary use by Y Members of local facilities for swim lessons, aqua fitness classes, volleyball, yoga and other Y classes. We will strive to keep Y Members and especially participants of these programs informed of these developments and their schedules as soon as possible.
The Family Y’s Kinderkids program has joined with our After School program for older students at Long Lots elementary school, with that program resuming on Wednesday.
Significant progress has been made in cleaning out the Child Care Center, submerged under feet of water.
Tasha Dennison, senior director of Child Care and School Age programs, continues to work with state authorities to secure a temporary license for hosting our other Child Care programs at the Y once heat and other services are restored and while our Child Care Center, located in the lower level of the Bedford Building, is remediated, rebuilt and restocked.
We’ve detailed the damage done, as well as the complicated task of making repairs to antiquated, “grandfathered” mechanical and electrical systems damaged by the tidal surge that flooded the sub-levels of our circa 1923 Bedford Building, the equally vintage Firehouse that now serves as our two-level Fitness Center, as well as our Weeks Pavilion Aquatics Center, added to the Y in the 1970s.
Pat Costanzo, our super “super,” sounded an optimistic note at Wednesday’s meeting when he cited tentative plans to install a second temporary external generator that would supply power to the Weeks Pavilion, which also houses our Gymnastics Center and racquet courts.
“Our schedule could change for the better, allowing members to utilize parts of our building, such as the fitness center, sooner,” said Pat, our Senior Director of Facilities Management, on Wednesday.
“My goal is to give you back your building,” he added to the 30 or so program directors, teachers and instructors, warmed only slightly by the ambient heat of the Stauffer Pool’s water. “Your jobs will be to make our classes fit with what we’ll have, at least to start off with.”
Many of our Y’s instructors have taught at the Y for years, even decades, and for them, it’s less a job than a calling. Ruth Sherman, who has taught aqua fitness classes at the Y for more than 40 years, spoke of how she has phoned many of her students, some in their 90s, to check in on them and to let them know of the Y’s status.
Other Y staffers are engaged in similar efforts to reach out to Y Members personally, particularly our seniors who may not have access to updates on our website and emails.
Our Family Y’s roots run deep and remain strong.
“This is not a speed bump; it’s a speed mountain,” said Family Y CEO Rob Reeves on Wednesday. “We hope our Members will hang with us, but we will honor requests by members who want to or need to freeze or cancel their memberships.”
“But know this,” Reeves added. “We’re not looking for a way to ‘get out’ of our old building at this critical point. We are intent on continuing our mission of service to our Members and community as soon as humanly possible.”
We also promise to keep you up to date about the latest developments in our recovery effort and how these efforts may impact the timing and scope of our reopening.
If you have a specific question or would like to volunteer your support, please contact Rob Reeves directly, via rreeves@westporty.org or 203-226-8981, ext. 131.
To support our Family Y with a financial contribution, please click here to access our online donation form, or contact Paul Bernetsky, Chief Development Officer, at 203-226-8981, ext. 115 or pbernetsky@westporty.org. (Use the Comment box to give us specific information about processing your gift. We thank you.)
Katy Schwartz was a longtime member of our Family Y.
She died on October 10, five days after her 92nd birthday.
It is difficult to describe Katy in a way that would do justice to her … she was a “force.” She was the embodiment of elegance and beauty of a bygone era. Katy would stop by the Membership Desk and regale us with tales of her past, of her eternal love for her husband, Jack, who was confined in a nursing home with late-stage Alzheimer’s, and her adoration of her adopted son, Kip.
I always pictured Katy in a dazzling ball gown, diamond chandelier earrings and an ebony cigarette holder, cascading down a long, circular staircase a la Gone with the Wind to greet her guests. Although she had battled Lupus most of her life in addition to a crippling curvature of the spine, she came to the Y to exercise and even signed on for grueling sessions with our ace Personal Trainer, Mathias Alfen, whom she adored.
Katy was that unique combination of a gritty Bette Davis, a wise Myrna Loy and a daring Liz Taylor. She had huge, blue-green cat eyes that always hinted some devilish secret and, fascinating as she was, she always seemed to be more fascinated with you, what you had to say and what you thought. Katy made you feel special and beautiful and loved. (To read her obituary, as published on WestportNow.com, please click here.)
The last few months of her life were spent at a rehabilitation facility in Fairfield. Katy lived her life so fully for 92 years, I imagine she decided she was ready for the next challenge. She will be sorely missed.
Memorial service will be held at the Inn at Longshore on Saturday, November 17 starting at noon. The Harding Funeral Home in Westport is assisting the family with the arrangements.
Scott Smith joined the Westport Weston Family Y as director of communications in January 2011. He previously held the position of director of communications, editor, for the United States Golf Association and has been a staff writer and editor for an array of magazines, including BusinessWeek, Bon Appetit and Golf Digest. A resident of Westport since 1997, Scott is active in local community affairs, most recently serving as chair of the town-appointed Longshore 50th Anniversary Committee.
ssmith@westporty.org
203-226-8981, ext. 112
Midge Deverin
Midge has served as Family Y Membership Coordinator since 2007. Born and raised in New York City, Midge worked as a researcher for “60 Minutes” and was a producer at CBS News. She moved to Westport in 1993 and has watched her two children, now 19 and 15, grow up at the Y. Midge is also an active volunteer in the community, having served on the board of the Westport Young Woman’s League, among other civic efforts. mdeverin@westporty.org
203-226-8981
