1) Register:
It seems like forever since our last swim, last fall. Which is okay I guess, it give you a bit more of an appetite to get going again now! But here we go… the first swim is at LOST Beach, at 8:00 am, on Saturday, June 3!
So first things first: register by clicking here, which takes you to the LOST Store & Online Registration.
And, just because I get this question every year, “no, you can’t swim unless you are registered”. Sorry but with this many people swimming, we need to cover ourselves from an insurance and safety perspective. And because we are ALL volunteers and have been for 12 years now… every penny goes back into LOST to make it better! So that’s kinda low to try and pull a fast one (but we always get 1 or 2 that think they have). Judging by the turnout, I’d have to say it’s pretty fair value too! And it’s just bad karma, man.
The cool way we keep track of who has registered is (the honour system and) making sure everyone wears this year’s cap! Once again Miguel has designed a really cool new silicone cap that you get included with your membership at the first swim! (PS. talk to Miguel if you need any professional graphic design done… he’s awesome!)
2) Best Season Ever!
I know I say this every year (but I’ve been right for the first 11 years!)… but this is going to be “the best season ever!”
Last year we set a new record, with our largest LOST Swim ever… 100 LOSTies out for a Saturday morning dip! Wow. By far the biggest LOST Race/LOST Mile ever too!
That was another big jump, as our previous record was 86 swimmers, but even more than the peak number of 100, we averaged between 80-90 swimmers each week. Wow. Again. There was the addition of Sean McNulty’s Mississauga tri team, Feet of Fury, which bumped up the numbers up. But there was a lot of returning faces, and lots of new faces too.
The funny thing is, it is quite surprising how many individual people join LOST Swimming. They call or email me and are a little unsure about our group or more often, open water swimming in general, or cold water… but they take the leap. And I tell them “just show up, I’ll explain it when you get there. You won’t be the only newbie. Don’t worry, it’ll be fun!” And the numbers don’t lie.
So why will this year be the best year ever, you ask? Well here are a few reasons:
- we are getting a plug-in! Woohoo! Okay, that alone might not be that big of a deal, but it will help me and our volunteer crew (Mike, Miguel, Darren, Edwin, Duane, Steve, etc) to blow up the buoys and SUP’s much more easily!
- we are getting a new storage shed! Okay, again, probably not that big of a deal unless you are one of the volunteers that is
trying make this whole show bigger and better… but it let’s us store more equipment on site (buoys, paddle boards, kayaks, mats, etc), which will make for better, easier and safer swimming too! It gives us a bit of a presence too, which is nice. Should be in the next couple of weeks… and I’m going to call on all of you to help us build it, kind of Amish barn raising style! Should be fun! 
we are working on getting a patio and plaque! Okay this will be really cool. We have the Town’s “go ahead” to start the process, but there are still a lot of things to work out (permits, formal approvals, fund raising, presentations, etc). I’m hoping to have it built some time this summer, but it may not be until the fall or even next spring, but it’s coming!
- the plaque will have: LOST history, LOSTies who have swum Lake O, LOSTies who have done a major marathon swim, and the winners of the LOST Race! The LOST Board will be putting together the criteria on exactly how one qualifies to get on the plaque… details to follow!
- the patio will be a large sitting area around the plaque, in the area where we usually change and where the lone picnic table usually is! Very cool. Very exciting.
3) Water Issues!
Oh ya, “what about the water this year? The water level is so high, how will it effect us?”
The short answer is, it won’t effect us too much. I mean, the beach at the other end has been washed away, but where we are, it’s still okay. And the water quality? Yes, pretty much every sewer in the GTA has been cleaned out this spring. Which sounds pretty gross and kind of is, but this is a big lake and it dissipates over time. But more importantly, and I’ve said this a million times over the years, but where we swim is really a great place to swim. It is all about circulation. Where we swim the water circulates very well. There is no bay, the water is deep, it’s not sandy, and it’s cold. This makes it a clean place to swim.
Which takes me to the next point. It’s cold. As usual, at least to start. “But how does the higher water level effect water temperature?” There are 3 schools of thought here. 1) With the addition of several billion new gallons of water to the Lake, it is going to take longer to warm up this year. 2) I believe the second school of thought, that rain water is warmer than Lake water. So adding new “warmer” rain water will actually dilute the cold water… and the Lake will actually be warmer this summer. 3) Or, it’s a big lake (11th largest in the world)… and this won’t make any difference.
4) Wetsuits
This is the time of year when people are thinking about a new wetsuit. Well we’ve got Xterra… OR... I’ve got a skype call tomorrow with the largest wetsuit provider in the world who is interested in striking a deal with us (& GSS), so I’m working on trying to get a good deal there too.
In the meantime, you now have 2 options to order Xterra wetsuits:
1) click on the Xterra logo above and order any of their “Canadian offerings”, no code required.
OR
2) Order any of their wetsuits and get it shipped to a buddy in the US and have them send it to you. Then you can use the LOST code. Just drop Rob an email for the code if you want to order this way, [email protected]
5) Swim/Run Races
I was contacted by a new “swim/run” group called: Stroke & Stride who is putting on a series of races… we have decided to support their series. What this means is that if we tell all of you about it… you all get a discount on their races! Click here: 
We’ll see on Saturday.
Cheers,
Rob