The Otters had their first dual A meet of the season against Sideburn Run on Saturday. It was a great first meet with lots of cheering, dropped times and our first win of the 2021 season! The final score was 300-109. Great job, Otters! Today, the Otters head to Sully Station for our first B meet.

In this week’s newsletter:

• How is a swim meet sheet created?
• Tuesday Breakfast Treats/Ribbons/Bag Tags
• Biker Safety
• Photography at Meets
• Results
• Afternoon practices
• Social Event: Field Day
• Pep Rally
• Senior Breakfast
• Senior Night
• B Meet
• Spirit wear

HOW IS A MEET SHEET MADE?
Have you ever wondered how a meet sheet for an A meet is created? It takes hours for our coaches to plan and develop a meet sheet for an A meet. They look over our ladder and the competitors ladder, as well. They place our swimmers in the events that they feel give the Otters the best chance to win. The coaches are looking at your child’s availability to make the meet sheet. If your child is undeclared (meaning, they are not marked AVAILABLE or UNAVAILABLE), they may be placed in the Meet. It is a challenge for our coaches to place a swimmer in an A meet and find out later they are not available. Our coaches want all of our swimmers to be available if they are called on for an A meet.

It is very important that you declare your swimmers availability for all A Meets. Even if you don’t think they have the “fastest times” to swim, you never know - we may need them if that helps the Otters! Please mark your child(ren) AVAILABLE or UNAVAILABLE. If you know for certain that your child is not available to swim, please enter “unavailable”.

ACTION ITEM: Please enter your child’s availability (available or unavailable) on SwimTopia for ALL Saturday A meets ASAP.

Directions on how to RSVP/declare availability can be found here.

Declare availability for Meets here.

TUESDAY BREAKFAST TREATS/RIBBONS/BAG TAGS
Please plan on your swimmers staying about 20 minutes later after practice each Tuesday beginning this week (this does not apply to Pups) for breakfast treats, bag tag distributions (time drop awards) and ribbon distributions.

BIKER and PARKING LOT SAFETY
Your child’s safety is a priority. Please work with your children to reinforce the safety rules about riding bikes to the pool. When exiting the parking lot, bikers need to STOP and make certain to look both ways before biking out onto Flemish Mill Court. Bikers should always stay to the right side of the road. Once in the parking lot, bikers should proceed directly to the bike rack and park their bike.

When walking in the parking lot please be mindful of cars and instruct your children to do so also, especially during busy times when practices are starting and ending.

Drivers: as you are entering and leaving the parking lot and neighborhood roads, please use extreme caution. We have many Otters who walk and/or bike to and from practice each day.

PHOTOGRAPHY DURING MEETS
We all love to snap pictures of our kids while swimming, however, parents may NOT come up by the referee/starter to take photos or videos. This area must remain open and free of people at all times. Thankfully, we have a talented team of photographers. If you haven’t requested access to the team Shutterfly account, please do by clicking TEAM PHOTOS  

RESULTS
The results from all A meets can be found here each week. The swim team ladder for all swimmers can be found in a binder in the pool lobby. It is updated by Wednesday of each week.

AFTERNOON PRACTICES
Afternoon practices are held every Tuesday and Thursday for those swimmers who cannot make it to the morning practice or for those who want to have extra practice time in the water. You must SIGN UP to attend. If the sign-up has no swimmers signed up as of noon on the day of, there will be no practice. These practices are not for Pups.

12 & under: 5:00-6:00
13 & older: 6:00-7:00

TEAM SOCIAL EVENT (Thursday, June 24)
The Otters will have an outdoor field day at OSRC on Thursday from 3:00-5:00. You must RSVP on SwimTopia to join the fun! There will be games, a cannonball contest, and a dunk tank so that the swimmers can dunk their favorite (or not so favorite) coach! Do you want to take a shot?

$5 for 5 throws

$10 for unlimited throws (in 10 throw increments)

PEP RALLY (Friday, June 25)
We invite all the Otters and Otter Pups to join us on Friday night from 6:00-7:00 for our 2nd pep rally of the season. The theme is “Country”. Come dressed in your best flannel, overalls, trucker hat, etc! Frozen treats will be available for all members of the swim team! The Otters of the Week will be announced and prizes will be given to the most spirited costumes!

SENIOR BREAKFAST (Swimmers 13 & older)
Attention all senior swimmers! Stay after practice this Friday and enjoy Anita’s breakfast burritos with your fellow swimmers on the volleyball courts at OSRC.  Please order your burritos no later than Thursday, June 24th at noon by CLICKING HERE.

DUAL A MEET @ KENT GARDENS (Saturday, June 26)
We will have our second dual A meet of the season at Kent Gardens. Selected swimmers will be notified via email no later than Thursday morning.

SENIOR NIGHT (Saturday, June 26)
All 13+ year old swimmers are invited to attend Senior Night. A fun night of games for our older swimmers. This event is from 8PM to midnight at OSRC and will have parent chaperones.

B MEET (Monday, June 28)
The Otters will host our next B meet on Monday, June 28. Remember, all B meet entries must be submitted on SwimTopia no later than Saturday, June 26 at 6PM.  Please read the entry restrictions before signing up. Call or text our B Meet Rep with questions: Devon Brinn @ 571-286-6423 or Email

SPIRIT WEAR ORDERS
If you have not picked up your team Jedi shirt, please contact team reps to make arrangements.

If you ordered spirit wear and/or silicone caps, please contact Kristin Walsh to arrange for pick-up: [email protected]

We have some extra Jedi team shirts for sale. Please contact us if you’re interested:

• Youth Medium - $8
• Youth Large - $8
• Adult Small - $8
• Adult Medium - $8
• Ladies Cut Medium - $15
• Mens Cut Medium - $15

Sincerely,

Otter Team Reps