August 26th Weekly Newsletter

ANNOUNCEMENTS

     We have updated our club phone number.  Please update your contacts to 715-222-7975.

     Registration for Developmental lessons is open!

     Registration for Competitive swimming is open!

     Registration for Masters swimming is open!

ON DECK

SHORT COURT 1 COMPETITIVE SESSION:  Registration for the Short Course 1 session is open until September 5^th.  Short Course 1 session dates are September 3-November 3.  Roster advancements were emailed out August 1^st.  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:  Registration for the Fall1 session is open until September 4^th.  Fall1 session dates are September 4^th to October 11^th.  The next swim evaluations will be held October 15^th and 16^th 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.

October 5-6: RFSC Fall Invite (River Falls, WI).  This is a two-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. The distance session will run in between the AM & PM sessions. Afternoon session warmups begin 10 minutes after the conclusion of the distance session and run for 60 minutes.  Afternoon meet will begin at the conclusion of afternoon warmups.  Meet information and event file are pending.  Registration deadline for this meet is September 30, 2024.

This will be one of two home swim meets for the Spring/Summer 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.  Volunteer by September 30, 2024.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

USA Swimming registration (for Competitive groups):  Our team has returned to bulk registration for 2025 returning swimmers.  If you were not a USA Swimming member in 2024, please contact Robert at [email protected] to help with new registrations.  USA Swimming membership is good from January 1-December 31 (CY25).  Registration for 2025 opens September 1, 2024.  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 $30 ($20 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.