For information on Lincoln Area YMCA programs and events, contact the downtown office, 604 Broadway St., Suite 1; visit www.lincolnymca.org; or call 735-3915. The YMCA Activity Center is at 719 Wyatt Ave.

YMCA notes

[February 21, 2009] 

YMCA Youth Archery registration has begun for 2009. Y instructor Dave Duvall is back to teach proper technique and improve skills for the local archers. Children in third through sixth grade can sign up at the Y office. New this year is a bear decoy for participants to shoot, along with the classic targets and deer decoy. Be sure to sign up NOW; slots are filling up fast.

What better way to spend a Saturday morning than with YMCA Soccer. Registrations for Y Travel Soccer are now being accepted for participants age 4 years through sixth grade and for sixth- to eighth-graders. The program emphasizes basic soccer fundamentals, skills and rules, all while having fun and meeting new friends. Register before March 9 to save $10.

Hip/Hop Fitness is growing fast with limited space available. Shed unwanted pounds, have a blast with your friends and meet new people at the YMCA's best-kept secret. Hip/Hop Fitness meets on Tuesday evenings, 5:30-6:15, from now till the end of April. For a nominal fee each week you can have fun, lose weight and make new friends.

YMCA Girls Basketball 2009 is now complete, and the Y wants to give all the volunteer coaches a special "thank you." Without these outstanding people giving their time, the girls wouldn't have grown in the sport as they did. This season was extra-special since teams from Mount Pulaski, Mason City and Williamsville were able to participate. To all who helped make this season a success, thank you from everyone at the Lincoln Area YMCA.

Jan Schacht, YMCA executive director, and Krista Hoban, office manager, attended the Illinois YMCA State Advocacy Day on Feb. 4 at the state Capitol, where over 50 Illinois YMCAs were represented. Various state representatives and legislators were on hand to meet with key YMCA administrative staff and volunteers in order to learn more about the important role that YMCAs play in Illinois communities as well as more about the national YMCA movement.

[Text from file received from Lincoln Area YMCA]