On Wednesday night, the Otters won their 6th consecutive Division Relay Championship with a score of 174 points. Each and every Otter showed up ready to swim - and boy did they swim! The sportsmanship and spirits were high (and their hair was blue and green). We are so proud of how our swimmers came together: cheering, fist bumping, hugging, and smiling. Congrats to everyone!

On Saturday, the Otters remained in high spirits with a win over Mantua! It was a close and exciting meet and our relay teams secured the lead with a final score of 222 to 199. Our fifth and final A meet of the season will be on Saturday vs Vienna Aquatic.

Click here to see photos from the meet.

As the season begins to wind down, we want to thank you. We could not have a swim season without your help. We know it is a lot of work for parents and we appreciate you all making it happen for our children. The Otter community is a special one and we want to recognize all of you and say thank you.

IN THIS REPORT:

• Coaches Gifts and Scrapbook
• Afternoon Practices
• Tuesday Breakfast
• Social Events: Tie Dye
• Pep Rally
• Senior Breakfast
• Coaches Scrapbook
• Upcoming Meets
• End of Season Awards Banquet & Pool Party
• Season long volunteer roles

ACTION ITEM FOR ALL SWIMMERS

All swimmers must declare their availability (available or unavailable) for all swim meets in SwimTopia ASAP (no later than Tuesday morning). Declare availability for all Meets here. It is very important that we have our full roster available for all Saturday A meets.

COACHES GIFTS

Every season, we ask parents for a donation towards end of season gifts for our coaches. We want to reward our hard working coaches for a great season. Your donation will be split between our seven coaches. However, if you’d like, you can designate an amount(s) to which coach/coaches you would prefer by making a note with your donation. Please consider making a donation before next Friday, July 22. We will give these to our coaches at the banquet on 7/23.

There are 3 ways to donate:

1. Cash or check to the Hansen family folder (checks payable to Lauren Hansen)
2. Venmo: @HeatherSmithLim (*please indicate “coaches gift”)
3. Give cash/check directly to Lauren, Heather, or Maggie

COACHES SCRAPBOOK

An Otter tradition of creating a scrapbook for all of our coaches will begin this week. There will be a scrapbook paper box in the lobby for people to take papers home and work on. Decorated pages can be returned to the Divakar family folder. Supplies will also be out the week of Monday July 18th in the social room around practice times for kids to complete pages then. The deadline for page collection is July 21st. Questions? Contact Prabhakar Bhagyashree at [email protected].

TUESDAY & THURSDAY AFTERNOON PRACTICES

Just a reminder that afternoon practices are held every Tuesday & Thursday from 5-6pm for those swimmers who cannot make it to the morning practice or for those who want to have extra practice time in the water. Any 8U swimmer must have approval from Coach Laura to attend this practice. Please click HERE to sign up for practice. Practice will be canceled if no one has signed up by noon on the day of this practice. These practices are not for Pups.

TUESDAY BREAKFAST TREATS, RIBBONS & BAG TAGS

Please plan on your swimmers staying about 20 minutes later after practice on Tuesday (this does not apply to Pups) for breakfast treats and “bag tags”. We will be serving donuts this Tuesday! If your swimmer is not able to attend Tuesday practice, then please check your family folder for any ribbons or bag tags.

SOCIAL EVENT (Thursday, July 14) 

Stay after practice on Thursday, July 14th to tie dye a shirt with your teammates. Bring a cotton shirt from home to tie dye. Please RSVP. Parents - plan to pick-up your swimmer about 30 minutes after practices end on Thursday.

PEP RALLY (Friday, July 15)

We invite all the Otters and Otter Pups to join us on Friday night from 5:30-7:00 for our final pep rally of the season. The theme is Superheroes & Princesses, so come dressed up as your favorite hero/princess! The Otters of the Week will be announced and awards will be handed out to the most spirited costumes!

Parents: Events start at 5:30pm, dinner will be at 6pm, and everything will wrap up by 7pm. Feel free to drop off your swimmer(s)* or use this time to gather with friends and neighbors for happy hour! Swim team members swimming in the Saturday meet are not permitted in the pool during this time.

SENIOR BREAKFAST (ALL SWIMMERS 13&OLDER)

Attention all senior swimmers - join the coaches for breakfast immediately following practices on Friday, location to be determined.

DUAL A MEET @ OSRC (Saturday, July 16)

It is hard to believe that this weekend will be the final A meet of the season, Vienna Aquatic at OSRC. Selected swimmers will be notified via email no later than Thursday morning. During the meet, we will recognize our graduating Otters!

SENIOR RECOGNITION LUNCH

Please join us for a luncheon honoring our graduating Otters. A BBQ lunch will be held at OSRC immediately following Saturday’s A Meet. The cost is $5 per person (families of seniors are no charge). RSVP here no later than 9AM on Friday.

Please PRE-PAY for the luncheon by Friday (7/15)

• Venmo Beth Moynihan @Beth-Moynihan
• Cash/check in the Moynihan family folder (payable to Beth Moynihan)

B MEET @ OSRC (Monday, July 18)

Our final B meet is AWAY on Monday, July 19 @ Pleasant Valley. Remember, all B meet entries must be submitted on SwimTopia no later than Saturday at 6PM (there are no exceptions). Please read the entry restrictions before signing up. Call or text our B Meet Rep with questions: Devon Brinn @ 571-286-6423 or Email.

LAST PRACTICE

The last practice of the regular season (for Otters & Otter Pups) will be next Tuesday, July 19. Those swimmers who qualify for Divisionals will continue to have practice through July 22.

END OF SEASON AWARDS BANQUET @ OSRC (Saturday, July 23)

Mark your calendar for the Otters end of season awards and banquet on July 23 from 5-10PM. Please bring your own chairs and dinner to Waples Mill Elementary @ 5:00pm. The Otters often like to sit on towels up front with their friends. Please RSVP to this event. It is important that we know who will be there as we plan to expedite the awards ceremony by only recognizing those swimmers who are present.

Following the awards, there will be a pool party at OSRC for all Otter families. There will be light snacks, drinks, and dessert for both children and adults. Please RSVP for a fun evening!

VOLUNTEERING

This week we would like to give a huge thanks to Kristin Walsh. She stepped in to take awesome photos at divisional relays when she was not scheduled to volunteer - and this is not the first time she has given her time to the team! Kristin is always ready to help out and for that we would like to say thank you!!

Are you interested in a season long swim team job next year? Are you interested in getting certified as a stroke and turn judge, starter or referee? Many of these jobs are essential for our team. Please contact our volunteer coordinators for questions or for more information.

THANKS & GO OTTERS!