What’s ahead: We will conduct virtual meets, meaning Otters refrain from going to away team’s pools nor will we host any face to face meets at home; we expect to have no more than 4-5 official meets on Tuesday’s. All TSA roles need to be present for a meet, all TSA rules apply for points as well as for disqualifications. Meet winners will be based on swimmer times and our TSA rep will meet with the competitor’s TSA rep to compare notes, points, etc to determine a winner. Because TSA deemed 2021 as an exhibition year, Otters will keep their divisional standing whatever the results are going into 2022.
Registration. We invite you to fill out the 2021 Olive Chapel Swim Team Registration. For 2021, the registration fee is $75 for the first child, $65.00 for any additional children; no charge for 15 and overs. There will be a $25 non-refundable fee for each child who decides not to participate, the last day for a partial refund is June 15th, 2021. Please pay after June 1st. (note: we cannot refund any portion of payment through PayPal should the season be canceled or stopped for any reason). We expect for 2022 to return to the regular Otter’s or Otter pups fees. Please set a payment reminder in your calendars.
Schedule. We expect to now have practices beginning approx. 4 weeks prior to the season’s start; Friday’s will be FUN practice days led by our coaches. We expect to start the season on time June 15th. Leading up to June 15th we’ll publish the meet schedule, including a Red and Black practice meet the week prior to the season’s start. We are working right now on the Otter Pups schedule and will get back to you. We also expect meets to run a little faster and be complete within day-light hours.
Community Safety: We affirmed with the OCSTC Pool board the Otters and Otter Pups will follow the State recommendations yet be more stringent in how our team and our families practice; and hold virtual meets. To do this we’ll take on the initial measures:
Coaching: We’re pleased to welcome back:
Jr. Coaches: From the prior survey we also have four Jr. Coaches interested in the upcoming role. We’ll be working with Ryan to determine next steps with them – (THANK YOU OTTERS) for helping grow coach talent into the future!
BigFish/LittleFish: we'd like to have this program as well to help our youth both lead and have good examples to look up to. We'll put our feelers out to our Otters a bit later to help align our BigFish with our LittleFish.
To help limit contact as well as some things we’ll need to let go for 2021 are:
What’s next? Please register. As you do, please remember, family volunteers are the essence of our team. Please consider your options to help this year when registering – this also helps grow roles and talent into future seasons; especially in Key and Other Roles. This is also a great season to learn other roles you might have been interested in trying something new.
Key Roles: Please put in your registration notes you interest in filling one or any of these roles. We cannot have a meet without these roles.
Other vital roles: We’re about to have some age out Families and need to fill these pivotal roles.
Registration. We invite you to fill out the 2021 Olive Chapel Swim Team Registration. For 2021, the registration fee is $75 for the first child, $65.00 for any additional children; no charge for 15 and overs. There will be a $25 non-refundable fee for each child who decides not to participate, the last day for a partial refund is June 15th, 2021. Please pay after June 1st. (note: we cannot refund any portion of payment through PayPal should the season be canceled or stopped for any reason). We expect for 2022 to return to the regular Otter’s or Otter pups fees. Please set a payment reminder in your calendars.
Schedule. We expect to now have practices beginning approx. 4 weeks prior to the season’s start; Friday’s will be FUN practice days led by our coaches. We expect to start the season on time June 15th. Leading up to June 15th we’ll publish the meet schedule, including a Red and Black practice meet the week prior to the season’s start. We are working right now on the Otter Pups schedule and will get back to you. We also expect meets to run a little faster and be complete within day-light hours.
Community Safety: We affirmed with the OCSTC Pool board the Otters and Otter Pups will follow the State recommendations yet be more stringent in how our team and our families practice; and hold virtual meets. To do this we’ll take on the initial measures:
- No more than 100 swimmers (volunteer staff are not included in the 100) can be on the deck for an event (or meet). While unlikely this year, we may need additional volunteers to help manage the deck. Practices are held during routine and defined pool hours and are not considered events
- Spectators should follow social distancing and other state recommendations and are limited to community members only-no outside guests
- Please be flexible if we ask you to help us with staggered practices by age groups – we will evaluate practices more as time goes on
- Swimmers and Otters staff must wear masks at all time on the deck for practice and warm ups, as well as for meets
- Swimmers can remove their masks to swim at practices – At meets, a mask runner volunteer role will need to be filled for 6 and unders, as well as those age groups only swimming 25 yards
- We’re evaluating if our kids can be with their age groups for meets or will need to remain with the Household family as per the State’s recommendations
- Coaches will be masked while on deck – we’re assessing if for example Otter Pups coaches can coach in the water without a mask
- Meet concessions we think will be limited to personal pizzas and cold drinks – we’ll work to see if a food truck is an option
- The Otter’s board reserves the right to update this list as conditions change
Coaching: We’re pleased to welcome back:
- Ryan Wahlers – will be our Otter’s Head Coach this year; leading:
- Amber Henges – will be our coaching focus for the Otter Pups; and,
- Will Scudder – will be an Assistant coach
Jr. Coaches: From the prior survey we also have four Jr. Coaches interested in the upcoming role. We’ll be working with Ryan to determine next steps with them – (THANK YOU OTTERS) for helping grow coach talent into the future!
BigFish/LittleFish: we'd like to have this program as well to help our youth both lead and have good examples to look up to. We'll put our feelers out to our Otters a bit later to help align our BigFish with our LittleFish.
To help limit contact as well as some things we’ll need to let go for 2021 are:
- Candy, food or gift exchanges of any sort
- Excessive contact play
- Water fountain will remain closed; Please BYOW to practices and meets
- The soda machine will be working
- Otter’s T-shirts
- We have no information yet on the Cary City meet
What’s next? Please register. As you do, please remember, family volunteers are the essence of our team. Please consider your options to help this year when registering – this also helps grow roles and talent into future seasons; especially in Key and Other Roles. This is also a great season to learn other roles you might have been interested in trying something new.
Key Roles: Please put in your registration notes you interest in filling one or any of these roles. We cannot have a meet without these roles.
- TSA Representative. This role enforces TSA’s rules and works with the other team’s TSA Rep to call a winner for the meet; seen as the head referee. Our TSA Rep, Ryan Adley, needs a back-up starting this year. Please put in your registration notes you interest in filling this role. Ideally we’d like to leverage the next few seasons with 2-3 TSA Reps for coverage
- Stroke and Turn Judge: This role evaluates swimmers stroke and turn while swimming meet heats. They also disqualify swimmers for improper stroke or turns. Training is available online or in person with TSA for role certification. Our head S&T Judge, Bill Scudder, needs a backup this year. We need 2 more volunteers to fill this role to allow for adequate coverage. Remember, disqualifications while bad for meets are good feedback for our coaches in improving our teams performance
- Starter: The starter announces the meet heats (and other meet announcements) as well as starts the heats, or recalls them in the event of a false start. We self-teach this role and it’s a role that often leads to or is also qualified as a Stroke and Turn Judge. This role works with the TSA rep and meet manager to help drive the meet cadence and flow. There is also TSA training for this Starter role (recommended, yet not required). Mike Martino assumed the Parent and Team Liaison role and needs your help filling his prior role.
Other vital roles: We’re about to have some age out Families and need to fill these pivotal roles.
- Volunteer Coordinator: While the three roles above are officially needed, we will not be a functional team without this role shadowing Mary Petersen for the next couple of years. PLEASE, PLEASE help us here.
- Timing System Manager: This role manages our Dolphin timing system and helps align our roster for the Cary City meet. This system is our timing system of record. Have technical experience? Mark Lavender would like to talk with you.
- Volunteer at-large – please indicate in the registration for if you can fill this generalist role – these will be used as needed to help with team safety
