January 16th Weekly Newsletter
This is your River Falls Swim News for January 16th!
Action items are highlighted in yellow.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tonight is the annual club meeting. It will be held at 6:30pm in the RFHS media center and on Zoom. This meeting will include a vote for a board member position. If you did not receive the previous email announcing the annual meeting, and would like the Zoom link, please drop me an email.
Our first home meet of the Winter session is this Sunday. All Competitive families must complete two blocks of volunteer time per session. Developmental families are not required to volunteer, but we would greatly appreciate the help, and it’s a great opportunity to learn and see what competitive swimming looks like. Please volunteer here.
As a reminder, parents/legal guardians are discouraged from entering the locker rooms and changing areas. If your swimmer requires assistance changing, please notify a coach.
Also, if you would like to stay and watch practice/lessons, please use the pool’s observation deck. Parents are not allowed to remain on deck during practice/lessons.
There is a gymnastics meet on January 19th, and boy’s basketball games on January 20th. Bring the new bag tag to access the pool’s observation deck for free. During these events, the south door (normal entrance) will be locked. Please use a northern entrance to enter the high school.
River Falls High School Swim and Dive – We are in need of timers for the high school home meets. The last home meet for the Boys’ season is January 26th. Please sign up on the spreadsheet posted on Google Drive. Please note this volunteer opportunity does not apply to the Fall session volunteer requirement
ON DECK
WINTER COMPETITIVE SESSION: The Winter Competitive session is in full swing and runs through March 19th. If you have questions, contact Robert at [email protected] or Coach Marissa at [email protected]. Winter practice times are shown below:
- Seniors 7:00PM-9:00PM (Monday-Friday)
- Pre-Seniors 7:00PM-8:30PM (Monday-Friday)
- Age Group 6:00PM-7:00PM (Monday-Friday)
- Novice 6:00PM-7:00PM (Monday-Friday)
- Novice Transition 6:00PM-6:45PM (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday)
WINTER DEVELOPMENTAL SESSION: Our first Winter Developmental session is in progress and runs through February 10, 2023. Our next swim evaluations will be February 7-8, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. Share with your family and friends if you would like them to get started with RFSC in the coming sessions!
UPCOMING SWIM MEETS & EVENTS
The meets for the Winter Session are posted below. Team meets are posted on the Team Events page of the website and in this newsletter. As a reminder, once the deadline passes, we will not be able to add/remove swimmers or swimmers’ events from the meet registration.
January 22: RFSC Winter Blast (River Falls, WI). This is a 1 day meet, with two sessions (12 & Under in the morning, 13 & Over will begin 70 minutes after the conclusion of the morning session). Registration deadline for this meet has passed.
This will be a Winter Session volunteer opportunity for all Competitive groups (Developmental groups can also volunteer, but are not required). Please volunteer here.
January 28-29: OMNI Winter Classic (Oakdale, MN). This is a 2 day meet, consisting of one session each day. $30 flat fee per swimmer, and $5 per individual splash. Warmups begin at 9:00AM, meet begins at 10:00AM. Registration deadline for this meet has passed.
February 3: RWSC Valentines Mini-Meet (Red Wing, MN). This is a practice meet for new swimmers to learn how a meet operates and other swimmers to assist with modeling great effort swims and cheering for teammates. $20 flat fee per swimmer. Warmups begin at 6:15pm, Meet begins at 7pm. Registration deadline for this meet is Friday, January 20, 2023.
February 19: RFSC Snowflake Splash (River Falls, WI). This is a 1 day meet, with two sessions (12 & Under in the morning, 13 & Over will begin 70 minutes after the conclusion of the morning session). Registration deadline for this meet is Friday, February 3, 2023. This will be a Winter Session volunteer opportunity for all Competitive groups (Developmental groups can also volunteer, but are not required). Please volunteer here.
February 25-26: RIPT Bronze Classic (Apple Valley, MN). This is a meet ideally for swimmers with no times and Bronze level times, intended to provide swimmers the opportunity to earn motivational times eligible for the Minnesota Regional Championships meet. This meet consists of one Saturday session and two Sunday sessions. $5 facility fee, plus $9.00 individual splash fee or $12 relay splash fee. Event file pending. Registration deadline for this meet is Wednesday, February 8, 2023.
March 3-5: Minnesota Regional Championships (New Prague, MN). Meet information and event file pending. Registration deadline for this meet is TENTATIVELY Monday, February 6, 2023.
March 9-12: Minnesota 14&Under Short Course State Championship (Rochester, MN). Meet information and event file pending. Registration deadline for this meet is TENTATIVELY Friday, February 10, 2023.
March 16-19: Minnesota Senior Short Course State Championship (Hulbert Aquatic Center, West Fargo, ND). Meet information and event file pending. There is a list of hotels available here along with a discount code for reservations. Registration deadline for this meet is TENATIVELY Friday, February 17, 2023.
July 8-9: Minnesota Achievement Championships (River Falls, WI). Minnesota Achievement Championships are the first in a series of swimming finals meets for the Summer session. All swimmers competing in the meet must have times that are slower than Silver time standards in order to participate. Registration deadline for this meet is TENTATIVELY Friday, June 16, 2023.
This will be our home swim meet for the Spring/Summer Session, and we will need everyone’s help to volunteer at the meet and make the weekend a success.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
Have you ever considered a volunteer position on deck during a swim meet? Would you like to have the best seat in the house at your child’s swim meet events? Meet new friends? Get free entry into the meet? Free food and drinks while you officiate? Consider giving back to the swim community by becoming a swim meet official! We are looking for Stroke And Turn judges, Administrative officials, Starters, and Referees. Serving as an official completes all volunteer requirements with the club for the year. If you have any questions about becoming an official, you can contact Robert at [email protected].
If you have taken pictures of your swimmer at practice or at swim meets, and would like them shared on the RFSC website, Facebook, and/or Instagram, please email them to [email protected]. Any emailed photos will only be shared publicly with the parental consent of all identifiable photographed swimmers due to league athlete protection policies.
If you are shopping on Amazon.com, Amazon.com will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the River Falls Swim Club. You can donate to River Falls Swim Club by using this link or by visiting smile.amazon.com, and clicking on the orange word “supporting”. Search for River Falls Swim Club and click on “select” next to the River Falls Swim Club located in River Falls, Wisconsin. Only purchases at smile.amazon.com or through AmazonSmile activated in the Amazon Shopping app will support your selected charity. Your purchases between July 1 and September 30, 2022, led to over $37 in donations! Thank you for using Amazon Smile!
If you are shopping on SwimOutlet.com, SwimOutlet.com will donate 3%-5% of your eligible purchases to the River Falls Swim Club. You can donate to River Falls Swim Club by using this link.
If you have been a part of the River Falls Swim Club for any length of time, and you have a Google account, would you mind leaving a review on Google? Word of mouth is pretty powerful, and there have been many positive things said about the club on social media and amongst friends. If you would like to share your experiences with the community and let others know about the developmental and competitive sides of the club, you can add your review here.
Over the summer break, we became an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) affiliated swim team. Athlete membership is only $16. This keeps expenses low for Developmental swimmers ($16 AAU membership vs $30-$76 USA Swimming membership). All Developmental swimmers have been invoiced for the $16 membership. Batch registration was sent to AAU and will be processed as soon as it is received. All Developmental swimmers will be registered with AAU. Competitive swimmers (Novice Transition through Senior) are still required to register with USA Swimming, in order to participate in local swim meets, but will now have the option of adding the AAU membership, which provides swimmers the ability to participate in the AAU Junior Olympics ($76 USA Swimming membership + $16 AAU membership). If there are any questions about this information, email me, at [email protected], and I will do my best to answer them.
HAPPY SWIMMING!
Robert
