January 8th Weekly Newsletter
This is your River Falls Swim News for January 8th!
Action items are highlighted in yellow.
| ANNOUNCEMENTS THERE WILL BE NO COMPETITIVE PRACTICE ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 9TH, DUE TO A RFHS SWIM MEET. Since there is no practice, we would appreciate any swimmers and/or parents (age 11+) volunteering as a timer for the high school meet. Please sign up on the spreadsheet posted on Google Drive. *This does not count towards the Competitive volunteer requirement.* There will be a gymnastics meet on Thursday, January 11th, and boy’s basketball on Friday, January 12th. Bring your bag tag to access the pool’s observation deck for free. During these events, the south door (normal entrance) may be locked. Please use a northern entrance to enter the high school. This past weekend, we attended the AQJT Winter Invite in Eden Prairie, MN. Results have not been posted yet. I will send out a separate email once official results are published. The St. Croix Valley Magazine is holding its annual readers’ poll. Just a few minutes of your time could help out the River Falls Swim Club. Please cast your vote to help us make it to the next round of voting and maybe even earn the title “BEST OF ST CROIX.” You can vote for us using this link. One entry is allowed per person and ballots must be submitted by 5:00pm on January 31, 2024. Voters need to vote in at least five categories to ensure their ballot is counted. There is a “Learning” category for “Best Swim School or Lessons.” We will be holding our Annual meeting on January 15th, at 6:30pm, in the RFHS library. During this meeting, there is a vote on new board members. The Board of Directors consists of three members serving 2-year terms. We are seeking nominations from club members interested in serving on the Board of Directors. If you are interested in the operation and future of the club, we encourage you to run for a seat on the board. If you would like to get more information, please reach out to Robert at [email protected], or Coach Michael at [email protected]. |
| ON DECK WINTER COMPETITIVE SESSION: Our Winter session is moving along nicely and will run through March 15th. If you have questions, contact Coach Michael at [email protected] or Coach Marissa at [email protected]. Winter practice times are shown below:
WINTER DEVELOPMENTAL SESSION: We have completed the first full week of the Winter1 session. The Winter1 session will run through February 9th. Next swim evaluations will be held February 6th, from 6:00pm-7:30pm. Registration for the Winter2 session is expected to open on/about February 3rd. A separate email will go out when registration goes live. Report cards should be passed out on February 1st and 2nd, but lessons will continue until February 9th. 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 6-7: AQJT Winter Invite (Eden Praire, MN). This is a 2 day meet with two sessions per day: Open and 12 and Under. $35 per athlete flat fee and $2.10 per individual splash. Session 1 Saturday = Warmups will not start before 9:15am. Session 3 Sunday – Warmups will not start before 8:15am. Time will be dependent on entries. Registration deadline for this meet has passed. January 20: RIPT Snowball Invite (Apple Valley, MN). This meet is a 1 day, one session meet for all swimmers of all ages. There is a $21 flat fee per swimmer and a $2.10 splash fee per individual event. Warmups start at 12:00pm, meet starts at 1:00pm. Registration deadline for this meet has passed. February 3-4: OMNI Winter Waves Invite (Oakdale, MN). $15 per swimmer flat fee plus $5 per individual splash ($20 per relay). All ages will be combined into 1 session each day, with warmups beginning at 9:00am. Meet starts at 10:00am. Registration deadline for this meet is January 21st, 2024. February 24-25: RFSC Last Chance Invite (River Falls, WI). This is the home meet for the Winter competitive session. This is a 2 day meet, with two sessions held each day. 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. Registration deadline for this meet is February 7th, 2024. This will be our home swim meet for the Winter Session, and we will need everyone’s help to volunteer at the meet and make the weekend a success. The volunteer event is available for signups here. March 1-3: Minnesota Regional Championships (Lakeville, MN). Order of Events is available. Meet information and event file are pending. Registration deadline for this meet is February 13, 2024. March 7-10: Minnesota Senior Short Course State Championship (TBD). Meet information and event file are pending. Registration deadline for this meet is February 20, 2024. March 9-10: Minnesota 10 and Under Short Course State Championship (Eden Prairie, MN). Order of Events is available. Meet information and event file are pending. Registration deadline for this meet is February 20, 2024. March 13-14: RWSC Mini-meet Championships (Red Wing, MN). This is a great final meet option for the end of the Winter session! There is a $20 flat fee per swimmer. Warmups are from 5:40pm-6:20pm. The meet begins at 6:30pm. Registration deadline for this meet is February 26, 2024. March 14-17: Minnesota 11-14 Short Course State Championship (Minneapolis, MN). Order of Events is available. Meet information and event file are pending. Registration deadline for this meet is February 27, 2024. |
| MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION USA Swimming registration (for Competitive groups): Our team will be returning to bulk registration for 2024 returning swimmers. If you were not a USA Swimming member in 2023, please contact Robert at [email protected] to help with new registrations. USA Swimming membership is good from January 1-December 31 (CY24). Registration for 2024 opens September 1, 2023. A premium membership will be $78 ($70 to USA Swimming and $8 to MN Swimming) while a Flex membership, available to swimmers 12 and under, will be $40 ($30 to USA Swimming and $10 to MN Swimming). 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 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 among 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 2022 summer break, we became an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) affiliated swim team. Athlete membership is only $20. This keeps expenses low for Developmental swimmers ($20 AAU membership vs $40-$78 USA Swimming membership). All Developmental swimmers will be invoiced for the $20 membership. Batch registration is sent to AAU and is 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 ($78 USA Swimming membership + $20 AAU membership). If there are any questions about this information, email Robert, at [email protected], and I will do my best to answer them. |
HAPPY SWIMMING!
Robert
