July 8th Weekly Newsletter

ANNOUNCEMENTS

     Our Summer Developmental lessons begin tonight and will run through August 16^th!

ON DECK

SUMMER COMPETITIVE SESSION:  Our Summer session runs through August 3^rd.  If you have questions, contact Coach Michael at [email protected] or Coach Marissa at [email protected]. 

Summer practice times:

• Masters 6:00pm-7:30pm (Monday-Thursday)
• Seniors 7:00am-9:00am (Monday-Friday) Dryland from 9:00am-9:30am
• Pre-Seniors 6:00pm-7:30pm (Monday-Thursday)
• Age Group 5:00pm-6:00pm (Monday-Thursday)
• Novice 5:00pm-6:00pm (Monday-Thursday)
• Novice Transition 5:00pm-5:45pm (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday)

UPCOMING SWIM MEETS & EVENTS

The meets for the Summer 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 cannot add/remove swimmers or swimmers’ events from the meet registration.

July 11-14: Speedo Sectionals (Westmont, IL).  This is a 4-day Prelims/Finals meet. Meet check-in is July 10^th from noon (12pm) to 7pm and July 11^th from 7am-9am.  Pool will open for Prelim warmups at 7am each day, with meet start at 9am.  Finals warmups begin at 4:30pm on Thursday-Saturday and 3:30pm on Sunday.  Finals competition begins at 6pm on Thursday-Saturday and 5pm on Sunday.  There is a $1.25 Central Zone surcharge, a $2 Illinois Swimming surcharge, and a $15 facility surcharge per athlete.  $14 individual splash fee, $25 per relay.  Registration is accomplished on USA Swimming website (log in, click the “Competition” tab, and search for “2024 IL CZ North Section Summer Championships”.  Registration has passed.

July 12-14: Summer Minnesota Regional Championships (Austin, MN).  This is a 2.5 day meet to provide a season-ending championship for swimmers.  Swimmers must have a “Silver” or “Gold” MNSI time standard to participate.  No Champ times or NT times are allowed.  There is a $5.00 MN Championship fee per swimmer, a $12.35 individual splash fee, and a $49.40 relay splash fee.  ESTIMATED Warmups: Friday afternoon session – Warm-ups at 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM meet starts at 2:10 PM. Saturday and Sunday Morning sessions: Warm-ups start at 7:45 AM to 8:45 AM, meet starts at 8:55 AM. Saturday and Sunday afternoon sessions will not start before 11:30 AM preceded by a minimum of a 60-minute warm-up period.  Registration deadline has passed.

July 18-21: Long Course Senior State (Rochester, MN).  This meet is for swimmers 15 & Over with Champ (CH) times, OR who won their event at MRCs. Prelim warmups are scheduled to start at 3p on Thursday, 7:30a Fri-Sun. $12.10 per individual splash, $48.40 per relay. $10.00 MN State Championship Fee.  Registration deadline has passed.

July 27-28: Long Course 10 and Under State (Rochester, MN).  This meet is for swimmers 10 & Under with Champ (CH) times, OR who won their event at MRCs. $12.10 per individual splash, $48.40 per relay . $10.00 MN State Championship Fee per swimmer. Warmups are projected to run 10:00- 10:50 AM, with meet start at 11:00 AM.  Registration deadline is July 12, 2024.

July 30: Swim-A-Thon (River Falls, WI)  Swim-a-Thon is a USA Swimming Foundation approved fundraiser used by swim teams all over the United States to raise money for their respective club. To raise money for Swim-a-Thon, swimmers receive pledges and donations from family members, friends, neighbors, and local businesses.

This is a family event. Parents of swimmers can help count laps and keep track of times. We hope that everyone is able to get the whole family involved. We will also be having a cookout at the pool, games and activities after the event, and a movie in the pool to cap off the night!

Our goal is to raise money from friends and family. With our athletes fundraising participation and your financial support, we will be able to provide critical support to our team. Your support of our Swim-a-Thon is very much appreciated!

August 1-4: 2024 Summer 11-14 Long Course State (Minneapolis, MN).  This meet is for swimmers aged 11-14 with Champ (CH) times, OR who won their event at MRCs. Prelim warmups are scheduled to start at 11a on Thursday, 8a Fri-Sun. $12.10 per individual splash, $48.40 per relay. $10.00 MN State Championship Fee.  Registration deadline is July 19, 2024.

August 3: RFSC Summer Blast Championship (River Falls, WI).  Summer Home Swim meet hosted by RFSC! $30 flat fee per athlete This is a 1 day, 1 session meet. Warmups will be from 9:00a-10:00a, with meet start at 10:00a. There will be a 20 minute mid-meet warmup after event 8.  Registration deadline is July 20, 2024.

This will be our second home swim meet for the Spring/Summer Session.  The volunteer event is available for signups here.  Volunteer by July 29, 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.