🦦 Edison Otters Parent Information Guide – Summer 2026

Welcome to the Edison Otters Summer Swim Team!

We are excited to kick off another great summer season. This guide contains the most important information for the start of the season, including practice schedules, swim meets, volunteer requirements, team expectations, and important dates.

📅 Important Dates

Parent Meetings

• Monday, June 1
• Thursday, June 4

These meetings will be held during practice and will cover team procedures, volunteer requirements, meet information, and answer any questions families may have.

Swimsuit Fitting

• Thursday, June 11
• 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

The swimsuit fitting will take place during practice.

All swimmers are required to have a team suit. We do not allow standard recreational swimsuits as team suits because they do not match the team uniform and generally do not hold up well for competitive swimming.

The good news is that we are using the same team suit as last year. If your swimmer already has last year's suit and it still fits, there is no need to purchase a new one.

🏊 Practice Schedule

Phase 1: June 1 – June 23

🔵 Blue Team (11 & Under)

Monday – Friday 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

⚫ Black Team (12 & Over)

Monday – Friday 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Phase 2: June 24 – July 31

⚫ Black Team (12 & Over)

Monday – Friday 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM

🔵 Blue Team (11 & Under)

Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM

🏁 Swim Meets

One of the most exciting parts of summer swim is competing in swim meets.

Most meets will take place on:

• Wednesday evenings
• Saturday mornings

Our first dual meet is scheduled for June 24.

Meets may be hosted at Oakcrest or at other swim clubs in the area. Most locations are within approximately 20 minutes of Edison.

A full meet schedule will be posted through SwimTopia.

🏆 Championships

At the end of the season, swimmers have the opportunity to compete at Championships.

To be eligible for Championships, swimmers must participate in at least:

✅ Three Swim Meets

This requirement applies regardless of swim times or performance level.

The goal is to encourage participation and commitment throughout the season.

📱 SwimTopia Registration & Communication

All team communication will be handled through SwimTopia and email.

Step 1:

Visit:

edisonotters.swimtopia.com

Step 2:

Click the Register Now button on the homepage.

Even if you had an account last year, you still need to register for the current season.

Through SwimTopia you will:

• Register swimmers
• Sign up for meets
• Volunteer
• Receive team announcements
• Access schedules and team information

We also strongly recommend downloading the SwimTopia mobile app.

🙋 Volunteer Requirement / Parent Bond

Each family is responsible for completing a volunteer requirement during the season.

The Volunteer Work Bond is:

$200 per family

The purpose of the bond is not to collect money. It is simply to ensure that everyone contributes fairly to helping the team operate.

We will be using a point system.

Volunteer Point Values

✅ Working an in-person volunteer shift:1 Point

✅ Approved donation (food, supplies, etc.):0.5 Points

Families are expected to complete:

4 Half-Points Total

(Equivalent to 2 full volunteer sessions)

Any incomplete portions of the bond will be charged at:

$50 per Half-Point Not Completed

This system helps ensure that a small group of families is not doing all of the work required to run the team.

🏅 Officials Needed (Very Important)

We are in need of parent officials throughout the season.

Officials are responsible for helping ensure that meets are run fairly and according to league rules.

The Good News:

No experience is required.

There are free certification classes available that take approximately two hours to complete.

The classes teach:

• Stroke rules
• Legal turns and finishes
• Meet procedures
• How officiating works

Everything is covered during the training.

Why This Matters

Without enough certified officials, our team can be disqualified from participating in meets.

No officials = no swim meets.

No swim meets = no summer swim team experience for our swimmers.

Please consider becoming an official if you are able. More information on certification opportunities will be sent out soon.

⏰ Practice Expectations

Please help us keep practices running smoothly by:

Arriving on Time

Swimmers should be ready to begin practice at their scheduled start time.

Prompt Pick-Up

Please pick swimmers up promptly after practice.

Our coaching staff must remain on site until all swimmers have been picked up.

Sign In / Sign Out

There will be a sign-in and sign-out sheet at the front entrance.

Please make sure swimmers:

• Sign in upon arrival
• Sign out when leaving

This helps us maintain accurate attendance records and track who is entering and leaving Oakcrest.

📧 Questions?

For general team and logistics questions:

[email protected]

For additional team communications and support:

[email protected] (Attention Coach Kelly)

We are looking forward to a fantastic summer season and can't wait to see everyone at the pool!

Thank you again for your support, and have a wonderful summer.

Coach Adam Soural
Edison Otters Swim Team
YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, and South Amboy