Hello Otter Families

Hello Otter Families,

Are you ready for the first meet of our season? Time Trials is an excellent time for new families to see what this is all about without the pressure of a full meet or scores. This is a mock meet where we expect a lot of questions and some swimmer nervousness. Please make sure you ask questions. Look for Board members in their RED board shirts or our RED Team Information Tents behind the diving boards.

Schedule for Set-Up and Time Trials:
Friday Night (May 12)
7:00 PMSetup crew begins setup
8:00-9:00 All are welcome to set up their family tent area.
Please do not set up before 8:00 unless you are assigned to deck set up or computer operations. We need to place team tents before family set up begins.

Saturday Morning (May 13)
7:00 AM Gates open, setup crew finishes setup
7:00 to 7:30 Swimmer check-in (all swimmers must report to the check in table in the classroom by 7:30. Those who do not check in by 7:30 will be removed from the meet)
7:45 to 8:20 Warm-ups
8:25 Team cheer
All first shift volunteers at their assigned locations
8:30 National Anthem
Event 1: 9/10 Girls, 100 IM, report to the blocks

Parking and unloading:
You may park in the loading zone (yellow curb) and unload your gear to the curb in the morning before parking your vehicle. Please remember to remove all valuables from your car.

Swimmer Events and Check in:

On Saturday morning you and your swimmer will go to the red brick classroom to check in for the meet. You must check in between 7-7:30 am. If you arrive later than 7:30 am or you are on the property but fail to check in before 7:30, you will be unable to participate in that day's meet. If you have a last minute cancellation, please email and your cancellation will be forwarded to coaches, volunteer coordinator and any other people who need the information.

For Time Trials, swimmers are entered in every event for which their age group swims. (At a dual meet, swimmers may only swim 3 individual and 2 relay events). Swimmers may have the opportunity to participate in a practice relay. Swimmer coaches will be in the water as needed to ensure safety of our younger and less experienced swimmers. The order of events is listed in the handbook.

You may view your swimmer's pre-scratch events, including heat and lane assignment, before you get to the meet Saturday morning. An email will be sent on Friday when that information is available. Many families like to copy or print out a copy of their swimmer's events before leaving home. Just know that heat and lane assignments may change Saturday morning based on check in reports.

Volunteering:
You were able to sign up for your own volunteer assignment. On Saturday morning you will check in for your volunteer job with your job lead. Before the meet starts, find your job lead, introduce yourself and find out if they will have a short meeting before the swim meet starts. If you do not know who you should check in with, please ask (look for RED).

The volunteer coordinator will check with leads to make sure all volunteers are at their assigned jobs. Volunteers who do not check in and work their self-assigned shifts will be fined. Make sure you sign in with your lead when you report to your job to ensure you are credited for your volunteer hours.

Please report to your job on time. First shift starts prior to the National Anthem. Second shift begins after the long free and will be announced, but a good way to ensure you’re not late is to ask the lead for your job when he or she wants you to start (after which event). While the job sign up had particular time frames listed, meets do not run by the clock. Listen for announcements about shift changes.

Suits and caps:
Please have your swimmer wear their team suit or an all black suit for this and all meets. For those with long hair, you will need to have a team cap or a black cap.

Food and Beverages:

The Folsom Sea Otters have partnered with Jimboy's Tacos for our home meets. They will have breakfast burritos at breakfast time and burritos and tacos at lunch time. The truck will be parked outside the classroom. Starbucks, Raley's, Baker's Dozen Donuts, McDonald's are all a short walk away. You are also welcome to bring a cooler of snacks and drinks for your family.

Team Tent:

This is the place to go to find out what events your swimmer is in and get any of your questions answered. Look for the red tents behind the diving board area.

What to Pack:

Early season meets often start off chilly. Bring warm clothes, blankets, sleeping bags for chilly mornings. Bring extra towels- they take longer to dry in cool weather. Bring chairs, cooler of snacks, water, sunscreen, games, extra goggles and caps. If you have a wagon, you may want to bring it to cart all your items from the car and back. If you have a pop up canopy, bring it or set it up between 8 and 9 PM, Friday night.

Most Importantly:

Get ready to have fun watching your kids! You will be amazed at how far your swimmers have already progressed in three short weeks. And just wait until you see them at Champs!

Any questions or changes? As always, email us at .

GO OTTERS!
Karen Reid, FSO President