The Rep Report - Week of 6/13
It was cold and rainy on Saturday, but the Otters were still excited to start off the season at Time Trials. Tomorrow kicks off our first official week of summer, which means morning practices, our Pups get started, our first team social event, and we’ll kick off the first meet of the season on Friday night at our pep rally.
On Saturday, we will have our first away meet vs Orange Hunt. Selected swimmers will be notified if they have been chosen to swim for our first dual meet by Wednesday, June 15. It is important that you reply ASAP once notified. There are several things that happen “behind the scenes” and deadlines we must work within for the NVSL. We appreciate your help for a quick turnaround.
ACTION ITEMS:
- Otters Giving Back food drive
- Declare availability for ALL A meets
- Undercover Otters
- RSVP for Mini Golf
- RSVP for Pep Rally
- RSVP for Senior Night (13+ swimmers only)
Practices
Morning practices begin this week (June 13). Practice times can be found here. Parents are strongly encouraged to drop their swimmers off at practice. Beginning Monday, June 13, if you would like to observe practice, you are welcome to look on from the grassy areas outside of the pool deck fence. Parents will not be permitted on the pool deck during practices.
The Otter Pups begin their practices this week. Pups practice Monday through Thursday from 11-11:30am. Pups should all come with goggles. We encourage Pup parents to drop off their swimmer(s) and watch from the chaise lounges by the clubhouse.
Dryland Training - New This Year
Swimmers aged 11+ will also have a dryland component to their practices. They should have sneakers and socks for all practices Monday-Thursday.
Otters Giving Back
We are continuing our annual tradition of Otters Giving Back. This year we will be accepting non-perishable donations for Food for Others starting this week through June 20th. Donations should be put in the social room in age group boxes. The age group that donates the most food gets a fun practice!
The most requested items: oil, cereal, canned tomato products, canned meats, canned fruit, dried or canned beans, pasta, 100% fruit juice
Declaration of Availability
It is very important that we know if your child is available to swim on Saturday A-meets. Please log-in to SwimTopia and declare your child as “Available” or “Not Available” for every Saturday A-meet. If you have not declared your swimmer, they will be assumed as “not available”.
Undercover Otters - deadline to join is Tuesday
Our annual Undercover Otters fun is back this year! Think “Secret Santa” with your swim team friends. Participating swimmers will be assigned an Otter teammate to leave small treats and clues for all week long. On Friday, you will reveal yourself to your Otter teammate.
Undercover Otters will be held June 20-24. If you’d like to participate please complete this UNDERCOVER OTTER form by tomorrow, Tuesday 6/14. Swimmers will be informed of their Undercover Otter on Friday 6/17 and the fun will begin on Monday 6/20.
For more information and the schedule of events for the Undercover Otters week, click HERE. If you have any questions, please contact Perri: [email protected]
Tuesday Practices
You won’t want to miss Tuesday practices! After practices every Tuesday, there is breakfast for all swimmers (Mmmm, treats!) and the coaches will distribute ribbons from previous meets. Plan to pick-up your swimmer 20 minutes after the scheduled end times each Tuesday.
If you are unable to stay, please check your swim team family folder once a week to pick up any ribbons. The family folders are in the lobby of the pool house in the top shelf of the gray filing cabinet.
Team Event - Thursday
This week’s team event is on Thursday, June 16 from 2:00-3:30pm. We will be playing mini golf at Oak Marr (we have the course to ourselves). We must get an accurate headcount so all swimmers must RSVP on Swimtopia. All swimmers (including Pups are welcome). We will have a shotgun start (every group starts at a different hole).
Feel free to drop off your swimmers, however we ask that all participating 6&under swimmers have a chaperone. If you drop off your child(ren), please be sure to arrive at 3:30 for pick-up and tell a coach or team parent that you are dropping your child off.
Oak Marr Rec Center: 3200 Jermantown Rd, Oakton, VA 22124
The cost is $10 per swimmer. Please pay by Thursday at noon. Cash (in a clearly marked envelope), check made out to OSRC and leave it in the Kaplan family folder, or Venmo to @Lara-Kaplan. Please note: Venmo and/or check memo should include the child's name and event.
Senior Breakfast - Friday mornings
Senior swimmers (age 13+) are encouraged to attend Senior Breakfasts. This week, they will be dining at iHop (Fairfax) immediately following their practice.
Pep Rally - Friday
Get excited for our first Pep Rally of the season on Friday, June 17! Get your best costumes ready for a brand new theme: LAND SPORTS. Hang up your swim suits and come dressed up in your best land sport attire. Awards will be given to best costumes and Swimmer of the Week. Please RSVP so we have enough food for all swimmers.
The spirit and fun for all (hair braiding, nail painting, etc) will start at 5:30, dinner for swimmers will be served at 6:00, and we will wrap up with team cheers by 7:00.
Parents are welcome to stay on deck and enjoy their own happy hour with friends, or feel free to drop off your child(ren)*.
*Parental discretion to be used for 8U swimmers.
*Pup families are welcome to join the fun. This is not a drop-off event for Pups.
*Please note that swimmers are not using the pool doing the pep rally.
Senior Event - Saturday, June 18
Calling all 13&over Otters! Senior Night will be Saturday June 18th and is a great way to get to know your fellow Otters. New this year - water polo and gator ball! Please RSVP by clicking here. Cost $10 to be paid directly to Coach Laura or Venmo @lbranton123.
Private Swim Lessons Available
If you are looking for private swim lessons for your child, please contact one of our coaches. You can read their bios and get contact information here. You do not need to be on the swim team to have lessons with our coaches.
Meet Expectations
At all meets, there will be designated areas to view the event or take photos. Parents may not take photos from the areas directly surrounding the pool as these areas are for team reps, swimmers, and officials.
Did you know we have a team of talented photographers at events? They upload photos after each event to our shared team site. If you’d like to join the site, click HERE. Photos from time trials are already posted.
Swimmers should stay in the TEAM AREA until they have completed all of their events. If your child comes to you after his/her first event, please quickly congratulate him/her and send him/her back to the team area. In order to keep the meet running smoothly, it is important for your child to be in the team area to hear his/her name called for the next event.
We strongly recommend that you don’t allow your child to purchase food and candy until after he/she has completed all events. You may pack light, healthy snacks and water for him/her to eat while waiting between events.
Rowdy behavior will not be tolerated, as it is disruptive to coaches, meet officials, and other swimmers.
CHEER, CHEER, CHEER! Nothing is more motivating to the swimmers than to hear the crowd cheering. Show your Otter spirit (blue and green) and let's get loud!
If you have a question or a concern, please bring it to the attention of the team reps - not the coaches or officials during the meet.
Volunteering
Thanks to all of our Otter families that braved the rain and chilly temperature to volunteer at Time Trials. We couldn’t have done it without you! A special thanks to Julie West, who is our Otter Volunteer of the Week! Julie arrived at time trials dressed in her blue and white, ready to work, even though she wasn’t scheduled. Julie, make sure to check your family folder this week for a token of our gratitude for your contribution to the team. This team runs on volunteers and we thank you!
Thank you for reading the Rep Report! If you are new to the game, the secret password this week is “chlorine.”
Team T-Shirts & Spirit Wear Orders
Our team and parent t-shirts are arriving this week. We will hand them out at practices and at the Pep Rally on Friday night. If you ordered spirit wear and/or silicone caps, please contact us to arrange for pick-up: [email protected]. Latex team caps were distributed to swimmers during Time Trials. If your swimmer did not receive one, please see one of the Team Reps during our upcoming home events/meets.
Meet Results
Time Trials results are available via the SwimTopia app. Click on “Past Events” and then “Time Trials” to see your swimmers’ results. To view the full meet results, click “Events” and then “Session 1” within the Time Trials screen. You may also use the website and app to track your swimmers’ best times throughout the season!