Otter Blast 4 - New Practice Times & Fun Team Events Ahead!
Practice Time Changes Tomorrow
On Monday, we kick off the Otter Pup season for the next generation of Otters! Practice time for all age groups has been slightly adjusted this week.
| Age Group | Monday - Thursday | Friday |
| Otter Pups | 3:55 - 4:15 (20 min) | No Practice |
| 6&U | 4:15 - 4:45 (30 min) | 4:00 - 4:30 pm |
| 7-8 | 4:45 - 5:30 (45 min) | 4:30 - 5:15 pm |
| 9-10 | 5:30 - 6:30 (60 min) | 5:15 - 6:15 pm |
| 11-12 | 6:30 - 7:30 (60 min) | 6:15 - 7:15 pm |
| 13 & up | 7:30 - 8:30 (60 min) | 6:15 - 7:15 pm |
Volunteer Jobs
Get ready for an exciting season ahead! Here's everything you need to know about signing up for jobs:
When: Job sign-ups start on Tuesday, April 30th, at 6 a.m. You must be fully registered and paid to access the website. If you encounter any issues, contact Neal Meyer ([email protected]).
How: Log in to your TeamUnify account, go to Events and Competition, then Team Events. Click on Edit Job Signup to choose an open job. Remember, you can select only one position per meet.
How many points?: All families are required to work 7 points during duel meets and social activies plus 2 points at Pentathlon.
Details to Note:
- The minimum age for shift work is 16 years old (18 for BBQ positions).
- Teen subs are only allowed for certain jobs timer (16+) and snack shack.
- CORE jobs are pre-filled by our Core crews.
- Invitational Meets, and Pentathlon jobs will be posted later as we get the details of the work requirements.
- Social activities and other team support jobs will have additional opportunities for points.
Etiquette and Expectations:
- Be courteous and don't block favorite jobs until your calendar is set.
- Sign up only for jobs you're qualified for.
- Include your cell phone number with each job sign-up.
- You're responsible for the job you sign up for, even if your child doesn't swim.
- No-show fines apply, so be punctual and responsible.
New for this Year:
- When committing to an Invitational meet you should expect to work that meet. There will be a small number of timer shifts or other commitments for these meets, which will vary dramatically between the meets. We will create small timer shifts (2 hours), open the jobs for volunteers and then randomly select the remaining positions. We expect every family will work 1 job at an invitational this season.
- You may NOT hire a teen sub for any invitational work commitments.
- No Swimmers can work at meets except for Saturday of Pentathlon
- If you miss a committed job, a fine of $150 will automatically be assessed to your account.
- Core Positions have already been marked and prefilled. Please contact [email protected] if you need to make any changes to a CORE role.
We're looking forward to a fantastic season! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to [email protected].
Buddy Program 2024
We are bringing back the buddy program! The buddy program is a fun tradition that builds relationships and team spirit between the age groups. Since we have grown into an incredibly talented LARGE team, we will form buddy “families.” Rather than exchanging gifts and goodies, we will encourage buddy families to do fun things together during meets and social events. Each buddy family will have a variety of age groups represented. There will be 3-5 younger buddies and 2-3 older buddies within each buddy family. We hope everyone will participate! Please email [email protected] with the swimmer’s name and age if your swimmer wants to join the buddy fun!
Opening Social & Auction
Join us for an exciting kickoff to the Otter Olympic season with our Opening Social and auction! Prepare for fun adult and children's competitions and games starting at 6:00 p.m. Our live auction kicks off around 6:30 p.m., featuring fantastic items up for bid. Plus, enjoy the creativity of an airbrush tattoo artist to boost our team spirit for time trials! Adults and kids should bring their suits if they wish to participate in any pool activities. We'll also cover essential buddy family information.
El Gran Taco Loco will have their taco truck in the parking lot so you can order food or bring your food and drinks for the evening. Alcohol and glass containers are not allowed in the pool area.
Don't miss out on a night of camaraderie and excitement!
Time Trials
Time Trials mark the official start of our swim meet season, which establishes the starting point for swimmers as they begin their journey of setting personal best times and chasing their goals!
It's a fantastic opportunity for new families to dive into the swim team experience. This meet is exclusively for Dana Hills swimmers and provides a smaller, more intimate setting than our other meets. It's also a great chance to familiarize yourself with various roles around the pool deck and get to know our incredible team families!
Please sign in for the meet if you can attend this Sunday, May 5th. The deadline to commit is Wednesday, May 1st!
Commit to the meet here:
Meet Commitments
While all meets are optional for swimmers, we do need to know in advance if you plan to attend. For some meets, this deadline is over a month ahead of the event! For the first part of the season, the hard deadline is Saturday night for the next week's meet. For example, the deadline for the May 11th meet is May 5th. Please take a few moments to update your swimmer's availability if you already know!
We highly encourage swimmers to participate in Invitational meets throughout the season. Our team participates in several fantastic events, including MCST 8&under Invitational (NEW), Devil Mountain Pentathlon, Battle of the Ages (Back this year!), Crossings Challenge, Woodlands Invitational, and Concord City Meet.
OPT-OUT Meets:
New this year! Swimmers in the 6&Under through the 15-18 age groups have been automatically committed to attending the Pentathlon (June 22nd or 23rd) and the City Meet (July 28th-30th). If you do not plan to attend, please opt out of these meets.
- The pentathlon is our hosted event, and all families are expected to work, and all swimmers are encouraged to participate. It's a crucial meet in June and one of our final home meets.
- City Meet marks the end of the regular summer season. This year, City Meet returns to Cowell Pool and promises to be an exciting wrap-up to the season! We expect a larger number of jobs this year, as we have committed to running the Clerk of the Course in addition to all-hands jobs needed to help other parts of the meet run effectively.
We're looking forward to a fantastic season ahead, and please reach out if you have any questions!
Sync your Calendar!
Do you want all Team events synced to your Google or Apple calendar? Subscribe to the following to add this to your calendar!
https://www.gomotionapp.com/rest/ics/system/3/General.ics?key=dDUYlgk%2By41%2FTsrDSgQZrw%3D%3D&enabled=true&startDate=1709280000000&endDate=1743490800000
Upcoming Events
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