October 17th Weekly Newsletter

This is your River Falls Swim News for October 17^th!

Action items are highlighted in yellow.  

There will be a RFHS home volleyball game tonight.  The south doors of the gym may be locked (the entrance doors on the main level may still be open for swimmers).  If you want to access the pool’s observation deck, you will need to enter the gym through the north end (commons area).  Bring your swim pass to get in for free.

THERE WILL BE NO COMPETITIVE  PRACTICE OR DEVELOPMENTAL LESSONS ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18^th.

River Falls High School Swim and Dive – We are in need of timers for the high school home meets.  The third home meet for the Girls’ season is October 18^th.  This should be the last girl’s regular season home meet.  Please sign up on the spreadsheet posted on Google Drive.  Please note this volunteer opportunity does not apply to the Fall session volunteer requirement.

With the changes to USA Swimming registration, there appears to be some growing pains.  USA Swimming is only charging $68 for membership.  They are not collecting the $8 fee for Minnesota Swimming.  In order to get the appropriate funding to Minnesota Swimming, an invoice will be added for all Competitive swimmers in the amount of $10 for Flex memberships or $8 for Premium, Seasonal, or Single Meet membership types.  The link for USA Swimming Online Member Registration was sent out on Wednesday, September 14^th.  If you are in Novice Transition, Novice, Age Group, Pre-Senior, or Senior, please use the emailed link to pay for USA Swimming membership.  Many families have been running into issues while registering on the USA Swimming website.  If you are one of those families, and you are unable to get registered, please email [email protected], and we will work together to get you registered.

Our swim club will be hosting the Skeleton Splash Meet, on October 22^nd and 23^rd, at the River Falls High School pool.  This is the primary volunteer activity for the Fall session.    The volunteer deadline has passed, but there are still approximately 60 jobs open.  If you have not volunteered yet, please email [email protected] to get on the list.  To see which jobs are still open, visit the Skeleton Splash Volunteer page of the website.

Meet times should be as follows:

Saturday AM: 8:30AM-11:15AM

Saturday PM: 12:30PM-2:33PM

Sunday AM: 8:30AM-10:35AM

Sunday PM: 12:00PM-1:45PM

*Volunteer times will be adjusted to correspond

  All families in the competitive groups: Novice Transition, Novice, Age Group, Pre-Senior, and Senior must complete at least two blocks of volunteering each session. Developmental families are not required to volunteer, but we would greatly appreciate the help, and it is a great opportunity to learn and see what competitive swimming looks like!

Please remind your swimmers to be respectful of other swimmers, the property of other swimmers, and the property of the school.  Failure to act in a responsible and respectful manner may result in a loss of locker room privileges.

If you raised money for the Swim-A-Thon this year, you may be eligible for some swag.  The swag has arrived!  You can pick up your items before or after practice.  If you raised over $400, you should be eligible for a single item from USA Swim (the highest tier item you qualify for based on amount raised).  If you raised over $50, there are RFSC items that will also be handed out.  The RFSC items are cumulative, so you get your highest tier item along with every item below your highest tier.  The tiers are list below:

FALL COMPETITIVE SESSION: The Fall Competitive session is underway and will run through December 9^th.  If you have questions, contact Robert at [email protected] or Coach Marissa at [email protected].  Fall 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)

FALL DEVELOPMENTAL SESSION: Our first Fall Developmental session ends this Friday, October 21st.  Registration for the second Fall Developmental lessons will open October 21^st for returning swimmers and October 26^th for new swimmers.  The second Fall Developmental session will run from October 31^st through December 9^th.  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 Fall Session are posted below.  Team meets are posted on the Team Events page of the website and in this newsletter.

October 22-23:  RFSC Skeleton Splash (River Falls, WI).  This is the home meet for the fall competitive session.  This is a 2 day meet, with two sessions held each day (12 & Under each morning, 13 and Over each afternoon).  There is a $2 Facility/Program fee per athlete.  Individual splash fee is $6.  Relay splash fee is $24.  Morning session warmups begin at 7:30AM, meet begins at 8:30AM.  Afternoon session warmups begin 10 minutes after the conclusion of the morning session and run for 60 minutes.  Afternoon meet will begin at the conclusion of afternoon warmups.  Meet information and event file are posted.  Registration deadline for this meet is closed.  The volunteer deadline has passed, but there are still about 60 jobs open.  If you haven’t signed up for a job, we would appreciate your help.  The swim meet can’t happen without your support!

October 29-30: NSC Spooky Splash (Northfield, MN).  This is a 2 day meet consisting of one session per day.  All events are Mixed Open (with the exception of the relay teams).  $12.00 individual splash fee, $16.00 splash fee per relay.  Warmups begin at 10:00AM both days, meet starts at 11:10AM both days.  Registration deadline for this meet has passed.

November 6: HAST Candy Cleanup (Hastings, MN). This is a 1 day meet consisting of two sessions.  There is a $20.00 flat fee per swimmer and an additional $2.20 MNSI individual splash fee/$8.80 MNSI relay splash fee ($2.20 per swimmer).  Warmups begin at noon, with the meet starting at 1:00pm.  Registration deadline for this meet is October 20, 2022.

November 12: RIPT MN Fall Festival Invite (Apple Valley, MN).  This is a 1 day meet consisting of one session.  Events alternate gender with the exception of the Mixed 8andUnder events.  There is a $21.00 flat fee per swimmer and an additional $2.20 MNSI individual splash fee/$8.80 MNSI relay splash fee ($2.20 per swimmer).  Warmups begin at noon, with the meet starting at 1:00pm.  Event file pending.  Registration deadline for this meet is Wednesday, October 26, 2022.

November 19-20: OMNI Invite (John Glenn Middle School, Maplewood, MN).  This is the first meet held at their new pool and facility!  They are planning on a standard 4-session meet over the weekend.  Meet information and event file pending.  Registration deadline for the meet is TENTATIVELY October 31, 2022.

December 2-4: Minnesota 14 & Under Age Group State (New Prague, MN).  Meet information and event file pending.  Registration deadline for this meet is TENTATIVELY Wednesday, November 16, 2022.

December 17-18: MYWO Otters Invitational (St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN).  Meet information and event file pending.  Registration deadline for this meet is TENTATIVELY Monday, November 21, 2022.

January 7-8: AQJT Winter Invite (Eden Prairie, MN).  This is a 2 day Timed Finals meet with two sessions each day: Open and 12 & Under.  $35 per athlete flat fee, $2.20 individual splash fee.  Session 1 and 3 (Mixed Open) will not start before 9:15AM.  Session 2 and 4 (Mixed 12 & Under) will not start before 11:15AM.  Registration deadline for this meet is Tuesday, December 20, 2022.

February 25-26: RIPT Last Chance (St Paul, MN).  This is a Bronze only meet intended to provide swimmers the opportunity to earn motivational times eligible for the Minnesota Regional Championships meet.  Meet information and event file pending.  Registration deadline for this meet is TENTATIVELY Wednesday, February 8, 2023.

March 3-5: Minnesota Regional Championships (TBD).  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 (West Fargo, ND).  Meet information and event file pending.  Registration deadline for this meet is TENATIVELY Friday, February 17, 2023.

MISC 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 April 1 and June 30, 2022, led to nearly $35 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