Storm Forecast for March 13th, 2025
A SUPER Busy Newsletter
We’ve got our last championship meet happening right now followed by a break from action, but you’d never know from all the events coming up. There’s a lot of content in this one, so break it into pieces!
Capital Campaign
In the decade I’ve been here, we’ve only done two fundraisers where we just flat out…ask, for money. The first happened in 2017--we were working on ways to make Fall River’s pool more practice-friendly with lane ropes, acoustic paneling, backstroke flags, and a pace clock. The second was in March of 2020--I’m sure you remember what was going on then. This year, we’ve targeted several specific items where we wish to improve: adding the final pieces to an automatic timing system, retractable backstroke ledges, and heart rate monitoring technology. These additions would enhance the experience of Storm Swimmers, both in training and competition, while also benefiting the swim community in Sun Prairie and the surrounding areas. Timing system enhancements would make running meets more efficient, whether a small time trial or assisting teams with Rising Stars & Summer Rec meets. Backstroke ledges would provide swimmers at Storm meets all the “bells and whistles” of a higher level competition. And heart rate monitoring would allow for swimmers and coaches to visualize the effort swimmers are putting into practice.
These enhancements, in collaboration with grant money we’ve collected over the last year, will make a lasting impact on our program and on swimming in the Madison area.
If you’re interested and want to give, there is a shortcut right on the homepage. Click the banner and look for the green “Please Donate” button. It’s not necessary to go through the “Find Participants,” button, that’s more for Swim-A-Thons and situations where someone donates in the name of someone else.
Thanks for all you continue to do to support Storm, with the participation of your swimmers, the donation of your time, and of course--the financial piece. We don’t take these things lightly, and we’re incredibly grateful.
Spring & Summer Sessions
We’ve been on the ball in terms of scheduling, with both spring & summer practice & fee schedules laid out. Spring session & summer session details can be found here, and practice schedules can be found on each training group’s page. The last pieces missing are the meet schedule (which we’ll have up by the end of the weekend) and dryland. Registration for the 8 week spring session starts on the 17th for returning families.
Swim Clinics
Starting Monday, we’ll run three days of swim clinics for those interested. These are totally optional and designed for swimmers who are BB or lower swimmers; no A cuts. Find details on all the clinics (8&U, 9-10, and 11&O) on the event page here.
Fish Fry
The Knights of Columbus will be sponsoring a Fish Fry Dinner at the Round Table on Friday, March 28, from 5-8 pm in support of Storm Aquatics.
To sign up for volunteering or to make a dessert donation, please visit this link. We have quite a few volunteering slots left.
We have to sell 130 more tickets before the event! If you can't make it to the Fish Fry, tell your family, friends, or neighbors. Tickets are available for both children and adults here.
Parent Practice
On Saturday, April 6th we’ll run our 2nd Parent Practice at SP West. This fun hour allows parents to experience a bit of what their swimmers go through on a daily basis, and gives some tender moments of swimmers getting to coach their moms and dads. It’s genuinely a sweet time. Parents don’t need to be fantastic swimmers, they just need to not sink and have an open mind. No signup for this one, just come join--bring goggles, a suit, and towel. Practice starts at 9:50, following the Cyclone/Tsunami practice.
Awards Banquet
Details are now up for our Awards Banquet, Sunday April 6th,now at Sun Prairie West Performing Arts Center. The event starts at 5pm and typically runs about 90 minutes, with cake to follow. We’ll hand out awards from championship meets, end-of-season awards, and highlight achievements from last year’s long course season and this year’s short course season. Everyone is encouraged to attend--no charge! Sign up on the event page.
Blood Drive
If you’re like me, you’re not planning super far ahead in terms of when you can give blood. But, if you know your availability is coming up soon, we’re hosting a Blood Drive at the Prairie Athletic Club on the 19th. Details can be found here. I know, it’s not the most fun of events but I’ll be honest--I read this story a couple weeks ago, and redoubled my efforts to stay committed to making a difference.
Kalahari Day
The annual tradition that is the Kalahari Day is ready! On April 26th, we’ve got a two-part day. Part 1 is open water training. We’ll get exclusive access to the lazy river to have swimmers train a little bit of aerobic training, spotting, sighting, and pack swimming to prepare for the summer open water meets. That portion of the day is reserved for swimmers under 9:00 in their 500 freestyle. Part 2 is open to EVERYONE, with a day of swimmers, siblings, family, and friends at the waterpark. Signup is open for the open water portion, and tickets are now on sale for the Play Day package, which includes admission, pizza, and a drink.
May 3-4 Weekend - Swimming AND GOLF
The fun doesn’t stop after April, with the first weekend in May being action-packed as well. We’ll be hosting our first meet of the season on May 3rd at SP West, and on May 4th we’ll be hosting the 3rd Storm Golf Scramble. This year, we’re trying out the newly renovated Prairie Pines Golf Course right in SP. If my score yesterday was any indication, it’ll be a fun challenge. If you’re interested in playing or sponsoring, click here.
Mini-Camp
With several swimmers moving groups for the spring session and others not realizing they missed the deadline, a few families have reached out recently to ask about getting their swimmer into the June Mini-Camp. This 4 day adventure to Indianapolis is for Cyclone, Tsunami, and Typhoon swimmers registered for the Summer Storm session. An overview of the event can be found here. We’ve re-opened the signup for ONE WEEK.
Thanks for making it through this one--even with no sermon, we cracked the 1000 word barrier.
