August 5th Weekly Newsletter

ANNOUNCEMENTS

     This past weekend we hosted the RFSC Summer Blast and we attended the Minnesota 11-14 Long Course State Championship in Minneapolis, MN.  First, we would like to thank all of the families that volunteered this weekend.  Your time and efforts helped make this meet a great success!  Overall, we had a total of 32 swimmers compete in 116 races. There were 78 new PRs achieved, 22 swimmers met new Achievement Time standards, and three new team records were set.   

     On our last weekend of the Summer session, there were many swimmers that showed improvement!  Here are 10 notable achievements from just this past weekend.

1.  Tinsley Lamm captured four PRs from four splashes.  She earned a “BB” National Time standard and a “Gold” MNSI Time standard in the 100 Free, and dropped a combined total of 24.16 seconds while placing 1^st in each of her events!
2. Isla Page netted four PRs from four splashes.  She earned a “B” National Time standard and a “Silver” MNSI Time standard in the 50 Free and dropped a combined total of 17.71 seconds.  She placed 1^st in three events and 2^nd in one event.
3. Nate Zimmerman bagged three PRs from three splashes.  He placed 1^st in all three events while also earning a “BB” National Time standard in the 50 Free and the 100 Free.  He dropped a combined grand total of 25.33 seconds.  In the largest time drop by percentage, he reduced his 100 Free time by 27.79 percent when he eliminated 20.95 seconds from his previous PR.
4. Jenna Juetten seized three PRs from three splashes.  She had podium finishes in all three events with one 1^st-place finish and two 2^nd-place finishes.  She grabbed a “B” National Time standard in the 100 Free and a “Bronze” MNSI Time standard in the 100 Back.  She also knocked off 12.63 seconds from her 100 Back time, which was a 14 percent reduction of her PR. 
5. Ryan Sell hooked three PRs from three splashes.  He earned 2^nd-place finishes in all three events.  He also had the largest cumulative time drop on the team with a reduction of 31.19 seconds from his previous PRs.
6. Margot Thompson nabbed two PRs from two splashes.  She pulled in 1^st-place finishes in both events, captured a “B” National Time standard in the 100 IM and the 200 IM, and earned a “Silver” MNSI Time standard in the 200 IM.  Additionally, she shed 17.28 seconds from her previous 200 IM PR, which was a nine percent reduction, and contributed to her cumulative time drop of 21.50 seconds!
7. Syd Thompson earned three PRs and three 1^st-place finishes from three splashes.  She earned a “BB” National Time standard in the 100 Free along with a “B” National Time standard and “Silver” MNSI Time standard in the 100 Breast.  She cut 7.63 seconds from her 100 Breast PR and had a cumulative time drop of 11.46 seconds.
8. Wes Thompson secured four PRs from 4 splashes and earned a 1^st-place finish in each event.  He earned a “BB” National Time standard in the 100 Free, the 50 Back, and the 100 Breast and had a cumulative time drop of 8.15 seconds.
9. Niya King set a new short course team record for the girl’s 9-10 200 Breast with a time of 3:21.57, reducing the team record by 20.54 seconds!
10. Connor Perfect set two new long course team records at the MNSI 11-14 Long Course State meet.  He lowered the team record by 4.77 seconds on the 50 Back with a time of 38.30 seconds.  He also lowered the team record on the 100 Back with a time of 1:23.40, which dropped the previous record by 3.03 seconds.

ON DECK

SUMMER COMPETITIVE SESSION:  Our Summer session has concluded.  Registration for the Short Course 1 session will open August 19^th.  Short Course 1 session dates are September 3-November 3.  An email with roster advancements was sent out.  If you didn’t receive the email or have questions about roster placements, contact Coach Michael at [email protected] or Coach Marissa at [email protected].

Short Course 1 practice times:

• Masters 7:00pm-8:30pm (Tuesday-Thursday), 6:00pm-7:30pm (Friday)
• Seniors 7:00pm-9:00pm (Monday-Thursday), 6:00pm-8:00pm (Friday)
• Pre-Seniors 7:00pm-8:30pm (Monday-Thursday), 6:00pm-7:30pm (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)

SPRING DEVELOPMENTAL SESSION:  The Summer Developmental session will run through August 16th!  Registration for the Fall1 session is expected to open August 16^th.  The next swim evaluations will be held August 20^th and 21^st from 6:00pm-7:00pm.  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.  As a reminder, once the deadline passes, we cannot add/remove swimmers or swimmers’ events from the meet registration.

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 $30-$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.