Lopez Students Go to Olympia to Advocate for Pool!

by Lisa DiGiorgio | Apr 22, 2017 | News

Lopez Students Visit the Governor’s Office!

Every spring the 4th graders at Lopez Elementary learn about state government. The unit culminates in an overnight trip to Olympia to see our government in action. This year’s field trip, led by teachers Lorri Swanson and Connie Holz, had an extra special mission – the 4th graders did some powerful lobbying for a community pool on Lopez!

The students tapped into their passion for swimming, to create beautiful artwork expressing their desire for a year-round swimming pool. A sample of the themes that emerged: wanting to be a lifeguard, being on a swim team, becoming a stronger swimmer, having fun with friends and being able to go to a pool without having to get on the ferry first. The art was reproduced and bound ahead of time and then presented to all of our state representatives in Olympia.

The students had a private audience with Representative Jeff Morris where they were able to share their ideas about the importance of a pool in their home community. Governor Inslee was traveling but the students were able to visit his impressive office and leave their artwork on his desk, as they did with other representatives, four in total. Talk about experiential learning! Afterward, the kids spent many hours swimming in the hotel pool. Several parents noted one potent effect the pool had on the kids – friend groups dissolved and a beautiful inclusive group dynamic naturally developed. Congratulations to the spirited 4th graders on their civic adventure!

Benefit Concert Stirs Excitment About the Pool

by Lisa DiGiorgio | Mar 20, 2017 | News

JP & the OK Rhythm Boys

A BIG thank you for all our supporters who were able to come out for a night of great foot-tapping music and dancing!  Everyone enjoyed the concert.  Our FLIP informational display attracted many people and we are sure attendees will be sharing the excitement with their friends and family about the importance of this community project and stepping up to donate towards the capital campaign.  Everyone wants to see some dirt moved this summer!  And, in the words of Asha Leela, FLIP Board Member:  “A pool is for EVERYONE…even if NOT everyone knows it yet….and it’s going to take EVERYONE to make this happen.”  During this time of year especially, wouldn’t we all like the opportunity to hang out in the warm water with other Lopezians without paying for a plane ticket! 

With YOUR continued support we will make this happen!  Please donate below by clicking on the “Donate Now” button.

Family Price for Benefit Concert on March 18th!

by Lisa DiGiorgio | Mar 14, 2017 | News

Calling EVERYONE! Please support FLIP by coming down to Woodmen Hall this Saturday at 7pm, for some fabulous music by JP and the Rhythm Boys. Proceeds from this benefit concert will be matched by an anonymous donor and the total raised will be matched AGAIN as part of FLIP’s $500,000 challenge gift from the Schmidt-Barton Family Foundation.

 All donations welcomed; suggested donation for this benefit concert is $20.  SPECIAL PRICING for FAMILIES: All children 12 and under are FREE and Teens are only $5! Tickets at the door or buy ahead at Lopez Book Shop or Paper Scissors.

 Come out and join us for a night of great music for a great cause! If you can’t make it, please consider making a donation by clicking on the button below or mailing a check to: FLIP PO Box 453, Lopez Island, WA 98261. Your contributions will help us break ground this year! Thank you for your generous support! Hope to see you Saturday!

Concert to Benefit Lopez Community Pool Construction!

by Lisa DiGiorgio | Mar 6, 2017 | News

*JP and the OK Rhythm Boys* 

Saturday March 18, 7 PM Woodmen Hall

Hear that joyful fiddle, the heartbeat of the double bass, the soulful saw? It’s JP and the OK Rhythm Boys returning to Lopez with their delightful swing and original homegrown songs. You loved them at Lopez Center, at Woodmen Hall and at the Galley; now dance to the catchy music, croon along with the three-part harmonies, or just sit and tap your toes again at Woodmen Hall Saturday night, March 18th. Get a taste of their style at www.jpandtheokrhythmboys.com.

Suggested Donation $20. ALL donations will be matched by a generous anonymous donor, then the total raised will be matched AGAIN as part of FLIP’s $500K challenge gift from the Schmidt-Barton Family Foundation. What an opportunity to help kick-start construction at 177 Pool Lane!

Kick up your heels and help energize pool support!

TICKETS: Paper Scissors on the Rock, Lopez Book Shop and at the door!

7 Reasons to LOVE Swimming

by Lisa DiGiorgio | Feb 14, 2017 | News

Here are the top 7 reasons to LOVE to swim!

There’s no ground impact when you swim, and so you protect the joints from stress and strain. In fact, the Arthritis Foundation strongly recommends swimming and water activities for this reason, so much so that they sponsor water classes all over the country (check http://www.arthritis.org for information). Water aerobics classes are also desirable for this reason, because even if you do jump and hit the bottom of the pool, you do so with less force because you’re buoyant in the water. Not only that, but if you wear or hold a flotation device during a water aerobics class, the impact is even less.

Because there’s no impact with swimming, it can be continued for a lifetime. If you check the United States Masters Swimming (http://www.usms.org/) Web site for age categories of their swim competitions, you will find a 100- to 104-year-old age group! And the master of fitness, Jack La Lanne, who died in 2011, reportedly still swam one hour every day at age 93!

Swimming improves endurance. In one study of sedentary middle-aged men and women who did swim training for 12 weeks, maximal oxygen consumption improved 10% and stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped with each beat which indicates heart strength) improved as much as 18%.

In a study of men who completed an eight-week swimming program, there was a 23.8% increase in the triceps muscle (the back of the arm). My take on muscle mass and swimming is that if you have been doing no resistance exercise at all and you start to swim, you will certainly get more toned and you may even gain mass like the men in this study. But even without the gain in mass, it’s well worth the strength and tone that you will almost certainly gain.

When athletes are injured, particularly in the lower extremities, they are frequently told to swim to maintain their fitness level. Swimming helps them stay in shape, and it’s even part of the rehabilitation. That’s because the resistance of the water makes the muscles work hard without the strain or impact that is experienced on land.

Swimming and other water activities are something the entire family can share. With rising levels of obesity in children as well as adults in the United States, family physical activities and good role-modeling may be one way to stem the epidemic of inactivity and obesity facing our nation.

Swimming burns lots of calories, anywhere from 500-650 per hour depending on how efficiently you swim (you burn more flopping around than swimming cleanly!) and how buoyant you are (the more body fat you have, the more you float and the fewer calories it takes to swim). Very early and original research on swimming and calorie expenditure showed that swimming, regardless of the stroke, burned about 89% of the calories burned during running and 97% of the calories burned during cycling for the same time period. Stated another way, swimming burns about 11% fewer calories than running but only 3% fewer calories than biking. One important caveat about this data is that calorie expenditure is dependent on the intensity of exercise, and so it’s entirely possible to burn more calories swimming than running in the same period of time as long as you swim hard enough, and particularly so if compared to running at light intensity.  From medicine.net

Support Grows for Lopez Pool!

by Lisa DiGiorgio | Feb 11, 2017 | News

Way to Go Donors! You make all the difference!

Thank you supporters for your generous donations towards the Lopez Pool Capital Campaign!!  See the list below of donors since July 1st.  If you haven’t given already, jump in now and keep the list growing!  We can’t do it without you!

Building a community pool on Lopez Island to support a culture of health, safety, social connection and fun for the people of San Juan County, now and for generations to come!