On behalf of the Sea Otter Swim Team Board, welcome back to the pool! I'm looking forward to a fantastic 2010 swim team season. This is the 41st year of the Sea Otters and this year's team has over 15 new swimmers!

For those that are new to the team, the swim team website is www.stseaotters.org. Please bookmark this webpage, which will contain my swim team updates, calendar of events, practice & meet schedules, maps to away meets and much more. Future newsletters will be posted on the website only, and I will send out a short email notifying you of the latest newsletter.

Spring Practice Schedule (April 5th through June 11th): (Note times have changed from last season due to local school schedules)
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm - 8 and under
5:00 pm - 6:15 pm - 9 through 12 year olds
6:15 pm - 7:30 pm - 13 and up

Coaches: We are honored to welcome back our coaching staff this year! Coach T (Janet Thorsrud) our Head Coach, and Coach Vince one of our Assistant Coaches will start things off for us next week. Coach Chad and Coach Chelsea will join the coaching staff later this spring when they return from college.

Swim suits and merchandise: This year we have contracted with Finis, Inc. to provide us with our swim suits. They have given us incredible prices which we are passing along to you. If you were not able to order a suit or merchandise on registration day, order forms are available on the website. We will be placing an order soon for suits, so please return it to me during the first week of practice. If you don't see me, you can turn it in your form/payment to Sea Otter mailbox in the club office.

Swim caps: This year you have the option of purchasing a latex cap or a silicone cap. Silicone caps have the same Sea Otter logo, but also have the option to have your last name on it. Both styles can be ordered on the same form with the swim suits.

Gate code: Unfortunately, there have been several break-ins and acts of vandalism during the offseason. Because of this, the club needs to take extra precautions to not allow any non-members inside the club unless they are an invite guest. During most days in spring, swim team will be the primary user of the facility. Therefore, we can no longer prop the gate open during practice times to allow easy access into the club. Please make sure you or your child has the new gate code that was mailed out recently.

New families: For those that are new to swim team, the club looks and operates very differently on swim meet days. I would like to meet with each of the parents that are new to the swim team so I can walk through the operations of a swim meet from start to finish and answer any questions you may have. If I don't end up meeting with you during practice next week, we can schedule a time that works for both us us.

Volunteer Positions: If you haven't already done so, please take the time to register on our online volunteer sign up list: http://stmaa.volunteerhub.com The website will send you a convenient reminder before each swim meet to remind you of your position. It takes about 50 people to run a home swim meet and we need every family to pitch in. The positions are very social and not difficult. However, they are on a first come first served basis, so sign up right away for your favorite positions.

If you have any concerns or questions to start the season, feel free to contact me at stseaotters -at- hotmail.com or Coach T at thorsrud -at- sbcglobal.net

Lars Samson ST Sea Otters President www.stseaotters.org