Upcoming Pool Events

Saturday and Sunday, 9/14 and 9/15 - ATMA Yoga from 9:00-10:00 AM

The OPP Cafe Is Shutting Down for the Year

Some of you have already noticed that the cafe has been empty on most days for the past several weeks.  With very low pool attendance, even lower cafe sales, and other projects that the cafe staff were focused on, the group that ran our cafe near the second half of the year decided that they needed to close up shop for the remainder of the season.  They might come back for an occasional taco Tuesday (look for them in the newsletter), but we likely will not be seeing our wonderful cafe crew for the rest of the year. We apologize if this impacts anyone's plans for the last month and a half.

Let's Close Out the Pool in Style!

More specific plans will be released soon, but the party will be open to all members and is slated to cost $10 per attendee.  Please try to make this super spooooky event--which is 100% kid friendly.


Practice Updates


Fall clinics are underway!  Just a reminder that they'll run September 3 through October 24th.  Practices will be held Monday-Thursday.  Practices are 4:00 to 4:45 for 6-8 year olds, and from 4:45 to 5:45 for 9&Ups.


Please note that these practices are open to all members of the swim team.  You can drop in whenever you're free.  The coaches and team just want to keep everyone swimming and working on their craft. 


ALSO, these practices are great for our Meadow Halloween Meet on October 13th--which you can register for NOW.  Keep swimming kiddos! 


Fall Schedule (8/19-10/27)

(Please Reference the Calendar on the OPP Website for the Swim Team Schedule)

This week, we get a chance to meet another board member at OPP.  This person is at the pool nearly every day, swimming regularly, taking his kids to lessons, and also working hard to maintain the beautiful pool and surrounding area.  Today, we get to meet the unofficial head of maintenance at the pool, Chris Dunham.


Q: How long has your family been in Orinda and been members at OPP pool?
 A: We relocated to Orinda Memorial Day Weekend 2022. When we purchased our home on El Toyonal in December 2021, we immediately joined the waitlist for OPP. This is our 3rd Season at OPP and we love it!


Q: What are the names of your family members that attend the pool--and are any on swim team?
 A: The Dunham family is a team of 4: my wife, Ali, Orinda born and raised (maiden last name Harwood) and member of the OPP Mom’s Free Relay; my son is a Stingray, Leo, age 9; and my daughter, Cora, was a mini-Stingray this Summer, age 5. Cora would also like you to know that she passed the swim test recently.


Q: What do you do for your job outside of your constant attempts to improve the grounds at OPP?
A:  Outside of OPP, I manage client relationships for Empower, the second largest retirement plan provider in the country. My main goal is to keep clients as clients, so I do a lot of schmoozing.

Q: What is your current position at OPP, and what does that position usually involve?
A: I’m an At Large Board Member with a focus on Maintenance. It’s somewhat of a catch-all position in my opinion and I get roped into a lot of areas. I know enough to be dangerous in the pump room, snake a drain, coordinate repairs of infrastructure, etc. I sit on our Capital Improvement Committee and Swim Team Committee. I’m also at the pool a lot since I live so close and consider myself an ambassador to all members helping answer questions and helping out wherever I can.


Q: Word on the street is that you were a pretty good swimmer when you were a kid?  What were 1 or 2 of your favorite strokes, and if you know them and are willing to share, what were your best times?
 A: A long, long time ago, I was very into swimming and pretty decent. I grew up in Ohio and we swam short course yards in the Winter so I’ll share yard times from my high school glory days. I started as a middle distance and distance freestyler until my shoulders got too broad and I skipped a summer of training before my Senior year of High School (note to all the kids: don’t skip practice for an entire summer like I did). My best 500 yard free was a 4:37.50 in my Sophomore year. I transformed into a sprinter by my Senior year and clocked a 20.9 split on the 50 yard free leg of my team’s 200 Yard Medley relay.

Q: Do you have any other hobbies or activities that you have been pursuing for years?
 A: Yes, indeed. Many passions including but not limited to catching live music whenever possible, snow skiing, and traveling. I’ve seen the band Phish live 228 times as of September 1st, 2024 and cherish my many pilgrimages to New Orleans for funk, jazz, and Cajun cuisine; I used to get 20-30 days on the mountain before kids. Now, I just mostly dream about getting up to the mountains; and in my younger working years in high-end travel sales, I was able explore all over Europe and Asia, with a country count of 50+ visited.
Oh, and somewhat of a newer passion, I’ve taken up Water Polo in Eldad’s Dad’s Polo League. I’ve been playing for about a year, it’s a great workout, and incredibly humbling.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for new families that want to get more involved at the pool?
A: Yes, please share your feedback with the board in real-time, we want to know and hear from you! Drop an email to the Board email alias, the good and the bad. We will get right back to you, I promise!
Also, if you have a special skill or talent that you feel the pool could benefit from, let us know. Or, when the calls to join a committee or throw your hat in the ring to join the board come around, reach out. The Board is 100% volunteer and always looking for help and new ideas.
Q: Do you have any requests for our pool members that might help the pool be an even better place?
 A: Everybody is great here, we have the best members around, I’m biased of course. That said, I’d say show our lifeguards your love even when you might not agree with their call. They’ve got a tough job and keep everyone safe. And they love all of the members even if you might not think so. If it’s something you can’t get past, call Eldad, me or another of our great board members so we can get things sorted. I live 5 houses down from the pool and I work from home, so I’m generally around.

Q: Any other family members or friends that you'd like to say hi to in this interview?
A: Shout out to my in-laws Steve and Tish Harwood. They aren’t members but are long time Orinda residents and you’ll often see them dropping off Leo or Cora at the pool. Steve ran OPP’s Got Talent this summer and we’re hopeful he’ll run it back for us next Summer.
Big love for Ricardo and Denroy, OPP family.
And hi to the Cutler’s, Langham’s, Kanka’s, & McGowan’s. If you don’t know those 4 families, you should get to know them!

If you have any questions or comments for us, please reach out to us at news@orindaparkpool.org.