Hello Otter family!

 

The season is well under way, and our first meet is coming!  In preparation, here are a few details to consider. 

 

--Newsletters will now be weekly until the end of the season.  If you have items you believe should be included, email Kathy Wingert at dkwingert@comcast.net.

 

--There are changes to the practice schedule this week on Tuesday-Friday.  Correct times are listed on the paper calendars distributed by the coaches and on the Otter website, www.swimotters.org.  November’s calendar, as listed on the website, is accurate.  The succeeding months should be posted accurately by the end of the week.  (Sorry, it takes a while to hand-enter all the info.)

 

--In case of inclement weather, check WLBR.  You can also call the Sports Center of LVC.  Use your best judgment—if it looks too dangerous to travel, don’t! 

 

--Team suits for those who ordered will be available for pick-up on Wednesday, Nov. 28, from 4:30-7:00 p.m. at LVC.

 

--Giant card fundraiser.  Kelly Wynn is now in charge of this program.  For those of you new to the Otters, here is how it works.  You purchase $100 Giant gift cards at face value for your own personal use or to sell to friends and family.  For each $100 card you purchase, the team makes a $2.50 profit.  We will also credit your family, for each $100 card sold, with $2.50, to be applied towards future assessments and fees with team.  Some families have paid their entire assessments by selling Giant cards (swimmers eat a lot!), so go for it!  Kelly can be reached at  ask98@comcast.net.  In general, it takes about 5 days to order cards, although there may be instances in which she has extra cards on hand.

 

 

--***MEET INFO***--Our first meet is at home against Palmyra on Saturday, December 1, at 8 a.m.  Our warm-ups will begin promptly at 7 a.m., so plan to arrive 10 minutes before that. 

 

In order to participate, you must sign up on the meet sheets BY MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26. Jim will make these sign up sheets available on the desk outside the fitness area this week.  Please indicate (both yes and no) whether you will attend.  A great deal of paperwork goes into each meet, and your timely attention to this matter reduces stress for our wonderful coaching team.

 

ALSO, our team will be manning a bake sale table at this meet.  Contribution assignments will be in next week’s newsletter.  Every Otter family is asked to participate.  If your child is not swimming and you will not be in attendance that day, the bake sale ladies (Deb O’Conner and company) would appreciate a monetary contribution so that they can purchase the necessary items. 

 

Finally, it takes a lot of bodies to run these home meets.  We need timers, officials, runners, kid choralers, bake sale workers, line up ladies, and set up and tear down folks.  Those of you who are old-time Otter families know I usually quote my grandma at this point:  “Many hands make light work.”  Well, now I’m going intellectual in my plea for help and quoting a dead English poet: “No man is an island entire of itself. . . . Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”  I will personally buy a cup of coffee for the first person who answers the call and signs up to work the meet and who can correctly identify the dead guy. Seriously, if your child is swimming, we NEED you!  If you have questions about what job best suits your abilities and limitations (i.e. “My child needs my supervision during the meet,”) we will help you find an appropriate way to volunteer.