January 22nd Weekly Newsletter
This is your River Falls Swim News for January 22nd!
Action items are highlighted in yellow.
| ANNOUNCEMENTS There will be boy’s basketball and girl’s basketball on Monday, January 22nd, a wrestling meet on Thursday, January 25th, and girl’s basketball on Friday, January 26th. 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. We will be holding a mock meet, at the River Falls High School pool, for swimmers in Developmental 1 and 2, as well as all Competitive groups. Join us this Saturday morning to learn the processes and procedures of a competitive swim meet, and try out a few events for some fun racing against your teammates! To register, visit our website, sign in, click on this link, and then click on the “Edit Commitment” button. Once there, click on your swimmer’s name, declare “Yes”, then select which events your swimmer would like to swim in, and finally, click on “save changes”. If you run into any troubles with meet registration, you can contact Coach Michael at [email protected] or Robert at [email protected]. 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.” |
| 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:
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| 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 27: January Mock Meet (River Falls, WI). RFSC is offering a Mock Swim meet at the River Falls High School Pool for swimmers in Developmental 1 and 2 as well as all of the Competitive groups! Join us Saturday morning to learn the processes and procedures of a competitive swim meet, and try out a few events for some fun racing against your teammates! Registration deadline for this meet is January 23rd. 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 has passed. 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). 50s and 100s need a verified time (No NTs permitted). 200s need a Bronze/Silver/Gold time. 400s-1650s need Silver/Gold times. No Champ/Zone times permitted at this meet. 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 has returned 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). 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). AAU memberships are valid from September 1 – August 31. If there are any questions about this information, email Robert, at [email protected], and I will do my best to answer them. 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. |
HAPPY SWIMMING!
Robert
