PARENTS INFORMATION
Parents Handbook (updated Sept 2022)
Team Store 
Oyster River Otters Swim Team Store Swim Shop
- https://www.swimoutlet.com/collections/oro
- Our swim shop is now always open. Items are sent to your home.
- Personalized Otter cap orders are done at the beginning of the fall/winter season. Pay attention to BLASTS for information on how to order yours. Non personalized caps are available to purchase from the team at any time.
- T-shirts and sweatshirts are now available in this store.
Team suits can be ordered at any time from the team store. We have sizing suits available to help you determine what size your swimmer needs. Sizing times will be available at the beginning of each season or reach out to the Team Admin at any point to request sizing suits.
Parent Responsibilities
- The success of the Oyster River Otter Swim Team depends on its parents.
- When you sign your swimmer up to become a part of the Otter team, you step into roles that will allow you to share the sport with your child.
- All families are asked to participate in various team activities as well as the general running of the team.
- Parents who have swimmers in a meet are assigned jobs for that meet.
- The team makes every effort to meet schedule obligations that you may have. Please ask if you have any questions. If any unusual circumstances arise which prevents you from fulfilling commitments to the team during the season, it is your responsibility to speak to the parent coordinator or head coach as soon as possible.
- After you have been with the Otters for 3 seasons, at least one member of your family is expected to attend a training to become a certified Stroke & Turn Official.We understand that being an official is not for everyone, but until you try it, you won’t know.As you gain more experience, you will be trained to be a starter and then a referee. This helps distribute the workload and meets the requirements within the leagues.
Communication
HOW DO I KEEP TRACK OF IT ALL?!?
Website
- The website is our primary form of communication.
- Register for meets and RSVP for team activities.
- Check your account balance
- Gain access to your swimmer’s times
- Email is our secondary form of communication. The majority of the emails will remind you to check the website for deadlines or upcoming events.
- All families are to have regular access to email or pair up with a family that will get the info to you.
- Please make sure your email address is listed correctly with the team. If using an account that has limited storage capacity, be sure you have cleared out unwanted mail so that our messages can get through to you. Once a message has been sent out by email, the information is considered common knowledge and it is the swimmers’ & their families’ responsibility to know the content and respond in a timely manner if that is required.
- Do not ignore emails. They are sent out for specific reasons. The coach has taken the time to provide you with vital information and you need to read what is sent.
A communication “Blast” is emailed on Wednesdays alerting you to changes in the schedule, upcoming deadlines, and points of interest.
Meet Sign-ups
- All MEET SIGN-UPS are to take place on the website. Each meet is listed. You do not have to wait until right before the meet to sign up.
- All swimmers are expected to sign up for each meet in which she/he wants to compete. Beware of the deadline date. Swimmers can always be scratched from a meet, but they cannot be added.
- Swimmers can indicate what races they want to swim when they sign up. A note can be left for the coach if a special consideration needs to take place.)
- Requests for particular events will be noted, but entries are at the coach’s discretion
- DECK "NO SHOWS" HURT YOUR TEAMMATES. BE A TEAM MEMBER AND BE THERE WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL.
Importance of Volunteers
The Otters Swim Team can accomplish all it does and keep fees reasonable because of the involvement of our parents.
Our board of directors which oversees the administration of the team is composed of parents. These individuals develop policies and procedures, develop budgets, approve spending, organize and distribute team apparel, and prepare payroll.
Our parents who work the meets as timers, runners, computer operators, deck parents, and Colorado operators enable us to provide 6 or 7 home meets per year and an annual March championship meet at no additional charge to our families. They help provide a safe and fair environment for our competitors.
Our parents who volunteer to train and work as officials make it possible for us to host meets. Without meet referees, administrative officials, starters, and stroke and turn officials, the Otters could not host meets and would have to ask families to pay additional fees to attend meets hosted by other teams. They, too, help provide a safe and fair environment for our swimmers.
Our March championship meet is a revenue producer for the team. Without this meet, our fees would be higher.
The parents who step up to help with odd jobs throughout the year enable the coaching staff to offer a more varied program, to offer small incentives for our swimmers, and build a family of swimmers and parents.
Volunteer Job Descriptions
The Otter Swim Team is run by a volunteer Board of Directors.
This consists of a President, Treasurer, and Secretary as well as at least 3 additional parents. Their responsibilities include but are not limited to hiring a head coach, coordinating with the head coach the practice season and its meets, receiving fees and paying bills, budgeting, registering swimmers with USA Swimming, and attending league meetings.
Parent Coordinator:
Organizes all of the other volunteers to keep the Otter meets running smoothly. Parents sign up online for the job they want.
NOTE:
All parents who have swimmers in the meet are required to work the meet. If you have more than 1 swimmer, both parents may be needed.
Otters Meet Job Overview:
*Before the job means it is GREAT for parents with small children or children who need mom/dad around during the meet!
Bring Items:
Occasionally, we will ask parents to bring in items either in lieu of or in addition to a regular job. This may be food, drinks, pumpkins etc.
Decorations:
For certain meets you will arrive early (at time specified by Head Coach) to decorate the pool area.
Same Day Training
*Candy/Caramel club:
You are responsible for providing the candy (smartees and starbursts/tootsie rolls) and then handing them out to swimmers after their heat if they have improved their time or attempted a new event. . You will need a few bags of individual candies. You will sit down on the pool deck for the entire meet.
***Clean up Crew:
Please clean up the bleachers/pool deck/hallway/locker rooms after the meet. You will find trash bags typically downstairs where the lifeguards keep their belongings. This is great for families of young swimmers or swimmers that need more assistance.
Deck Monitor:
At some meets, a parent stays on deck by the stairs and makes sure only swimmers, coaches and other necessary persons are on pool deck. This job requires you to be on deck for the entire meet.
*Deck Parents:
Help the swimmers organize for the meet. They are given a list of their swimmers' names and their events including heat and lane assignments by gender and age group. They keep track of what's going on in the water and when they should be sending swimmers to the blocks. You will send them down by event. They also help maintain order on the bleachers and know where their swimmers are at all times.
*Hallway Monitor:
Primary responsibility is to keep people/swimmers form hanging out in hallway and keeping doors closed. Making sure all people who do travel the hall have shirts and shoes on. Make sure there is no running in the halls. Ensuring that people do not enter the pool through the last door (closest to the women’s locker room door) while the meet is on. This is great for families of young swimmers or swimmers that need more assistance.
Head Timer:
You will run the timers meeting at about 20 minutes before the beginning of the meet in the hallway. Coordinates the timing personnel to ensure that there are 2 timers (with working watches) on every lane for the duration of the meet. If enough people sign-up, feel free to schedule the timing in shifts. Serves as the backup for all timers during the meet and is responsible for training timers. Responsible for stopwatches, clipboards, and pencils.
Job Check in Person:
Checks in parents at start of meet. Also helps get coverage when short jobs last minute. Could be a good job for someone with small children.
*Locker Rooms Supervisors:
All locker room supervisors will meet at the beginning of the meet and plan to check locker rooms on regular 15 minute intervals. People (swimmers/parents etc) should not be loitering in locker rooms. You are also asked to help keep the locker rooms tidy and report any issues to the head coach. This is great for families of young swimmers or swimmers that need more assistance.
Safety Officer:
Makes sure all safety requirements are being enforced. Is on deck by the warm lap lanes. Makes sure swimmers are using lap lanes to lap swim. Will also be doing locker rooms checks with the locker room supervisors. This is great for families of young swimmers or swimmers that need more assistance.
Ribbons:
Meet in the stands over by the computer and Colorado. Affixes printed labels to the backs of place appropriate ribbons. Ribbons are divided by teams and given to coaches at the end of the meet.
Runner:
Collects the timer sheets and sends them up to the computer table.
Set up/Break Down:
arrive early, set up equipment, then take down and put away equipment. Good for families with small kids (as long as your kids do not need your supervision while you are working). If this is new to you- we'd prefer someone who plans to attend ALL home meets regularly.
Timers:
You need to meet in the hallway 20 minutes before meet begins for the timers meeting. Training is provided at this meeting. You will likely time for the whole meet. If enough timers sign up it will be possible to time for a shift or have breaks. Each timer is provided with a working stop watch and each lane with a clipboard and pencil. Timers start their watches at the beginning of the race and stop their watches when the swimmer in their lane touches the wall.Both stopwatch times are recorded on the timing sheets.If touchpads are used, both the stopwatch and the button are pushed when the swimmer touches are wall.
Apprenice Training Required
Colorado:
This involves managing the equipment that records the times during the meet. You would be sitting at the table at the far left of the pool by the starting blocks. Need to have been trained and apprenticed.
Colorado Trainee:
Great for someone who is interested in technology and loves to be busy during the meet! We need people to train this year. Please consider it!
Computer Trainee:
Great for someone who is interested in technology and loves to be busy during the meet! Ensuring the swimmers time are accurate recorded by touch pads, push button and timers stopwatches. Also putting DQ's in the meet system received from the meet referee. Printing labels for awards and meet paperwork. We need people to train this year. Please consider it!
Computer/ Admin Official:
Ensuring the swimmers time are accurate recorded by touch pads, push button and timer’s stopwatches. Also putting DQ's in the meet system received from the meet referee. Great for someone who is interested in technology and loves to be busy during the meet! We need people to train this year. Please consider it! Need to trained and apprenticed.
Official: Need to have been trained and apprenticed.
Official Apprentice:
Training to be an official. You will be on deck the entire time. Must attend training session first. Great job for those who like to be close to the action!
Officials
For more information about becoming an Swim Official please select the link below.
https://www.teamunify.com/team/lscnes/page/officials3
Coaches:
Will be picked by the head coach
Safe Sport - Parents
USA Swimming is committed to fostering a fun, healthy, and safe environment for all its members, and in 2010, it formally implemented a comprehensive Safe Sport program to respond to and prevent instances of abuse and misconduct within the sport of swimming. Since then USA Swimming Safe Sport has worked tirelessly to educate members, put policies in place, and empower LSCs and clubs to create the best possible environments for all members.
Full implementation of the Safe Sport Program involves six key components:
- Policies and Guidelines
- Screening and Selection
- Training and Education
- Monitoring and Supervision
- Recognizing, Responding, and Reporting
- Grassroots Engagement and Feedback
ORO Safe Sport Coordinator: Nicole Upton, Email Link
- Deal with a Safe Sport Concern USA Swimming (719) 866-4578
Contact the U.S. Center for Safe Sport to make a report. Call 5US-SAFE (587-7233) or use the online reporting form or find more information at http://www.uscenterforsafesport.org/
Otters Lost and Found
If you child has lost something we will post it here. There is also a lost and found bin under the stairs at the UNH pool. Please send an email to [email protected], if you need something posted. Also, please update us if your item has been found so we can update the page.
How to mark a swimmer's arm for a swim meet
So you’ve signed up for your kid's first swim experience, and now your child is about to have their first meet. How do you make sure they get where they needs to go? Nobody wants to be ‘that’ parent and have their child’s arm look like this:
How is your child going to get to their race with THAT? The first step to getting your swimmer ready to compete is marking their Event, Heat, and Lane (or EHL for short).
The first thing you’ll need to do is purchase a copy of the Heat Sheet (if not free on the "Meet Mobile" APP or provided by the host team), the seeding sheet that tells you when and where your swimmer is to compete. The heat sheet is comprised of little groupings of “heats” that each may look something like this:
Events, listed numerically, are usually categorized by gender and age. Note, that they do not always start at 1. Check out “A” above to see where you would find the Event Number.
Heat information can be found listed below the event line, and tell you the groupings of entrants. These groupings are usually based on seed times. There are often multiple heats of an event and specific heats will be listed as “Heat x of x”. Pay special attention to your child’s assigned heat, located at “B”.
Lane assignments can be found listed vertically (“C”) and indicate the respective lanes in which the swimmers will compete. Lane assignments will sometimes start with a 0 and sometimes with a 1, depending on the pool.
Once you’ve identified all of your swimmers’ races, it’s time to mark their event (E), heat (H), and lane (L) in an easy to read format. Most parents chose to organize this information on their child’s arm, via a water-proof, permanent marker, making it easy for their child to frequently check when they are to be swimming. This grid will look something like the one below:
This Swim Grid shows what a completely filled out EHL should look like. In our version of the Swim Grid, we added a fourth column to add a description of the stroke, and/or position on a relay if you so choose.
With your child’s EHL filled out, they should be more than ready to be where they need to be, when they need to be there. EHL is part of the swim meet experience, and removes some of the fear and anxiety kids have when starting out in the sport. It provides a safety net, that they can fall back on when they lose track of where they are. It also provides assistance to bullpen monitors and volunteers, charged with helping the kids get to their events in an orderly and timely fashion. No one wants to be the person who has to tell a 6 year old they missed their only opportunity to swim for the entire session.
Part of the experience of swimming, comes through having fun and competing. Missing events is never fun, and marking your swimmers’ EHL, helps provide you and your athlete the assurance that your athlete will be where they need to be to gain competitive experience.
