SwimRI

The SwimRI and South County Y workout groups are once again helping New England Masters Swim Club (NEM) defend its national club title in the two-month-long USMS 1-Hour ePostal National Championship by running organized heats for 2019 USMS-NEM members. This is a USMS-sanctioned participatory event. You may swim whatever stroke(s) you wish, at whatever pace you wish, continuously or with rest breaks. All participants must adhere to event rules during the swim and officially enter your results online after swimming.

For past years' results, click here. To read about the long history of the 1-Hour Swim, click here.

Check-in and warm-up open at 7:30am. Heats start at 8:15, 9:35 & 10:55. Minimum donation is $20 per swimmer (additional donations accepted). Proceeds go to the RWU swim team, in exchange for which the college team records splits for us. For more information contact douglas.sayles@swimri.org.

HEAT ASSIGNMENTS (lane pairings will be posted onsite):

South County Y workout group members are given priority. Other NEM members are welcome if/as space allows. Heats start at 8:10, 9:20 and 10:30am. Cost is ~$10-$12 per swimmer. Swimmers usually time/count for each other. A post-swim completion party is planned for 1pm at Turtle Soup Restaurant. For more info contact Fred Bartlett at swimtrirunman@aol.com.

Can't join us on the above dates? Ask a coach or friend to time for you during January-February and submit your results online via the official event website by March 8th. Every yard counts toward NEM Swim Club's total!

Registration closes on August 1, 2019, or when the cap is reached.

As you plan your summer calendar, please consider supporting these local cause-related, community-based events and organizations:

Saturday, June 23: 13th Annual Narrow River Turnaround Swim, URI Campanella Rowing Center, North Kingstown, RI. One-mile open water race and fundraiser for the Narrow River Preservation Association. $35 registration. Low key race that traditionally kicks off our local summer open water season. The 2017 event sold out with 150 swimmers. Water temp is usually in the mid to high seventies. Wetsuit and non-wetsuit divisions.
RESULTS  PHOTOS  Narragansett Times

Saturday, June 30: 25th Annual Buzzards Bay Swim, New Bedford to Fairhaven, NA. 1.2 mile open water race and fundraiser for the membership-supported nonprofit Buzzards Bay Coalition. This event includes individual age group, youth team, and adult team awards. Use the code MASTERS18 to save $25 on the registration fee. $150 fundraising minimum. The 2017 event had over 350 swimmers registered but was canceled due to lightening. Water temp is usually 68-70 degrees. Wetsuits allowed.
RESULTS  PHOTOS

Sunday, July 8: Clean Ocean Access Newport Harbor Swim to Skim (formerly the Newport Sharkfest Swim), Newport, RI. Two distances to choose from: 0.9 mile or 1.5 mile open-water swim through Newport Harbor from Perrotti Park to King Park. $55 registration fee. Wetsuits allowed. Proceeds benefit the Middletown RI-based nonprofit Clean Ocean Access, which does great work on a shoestring budget. VIP swimmers will include Olympian Elizabeth Beisel and local marathon swimmer Trent Theroux who is preparing for his ”Back to Britain” English Channel charity swim later this summer.
RESULTS  PHOTOS  Newport Daily News ARTICLE & VIDEO

Saturday, July 14: 8th Annual Waterman Eco-Challenge, Narragansett Town Beach, RI. One-mile swim (wetsuits allowed) and three-mile paddle board races with awards, sponsor tents and environmental awareness displays at one of the nicest beaches anywhere. $40 registration for one race or $60 for both. Proceeds from this event help support the Janice “Mama C” Causey Memorial Art Scholarship for young students. The 2017 event had over 150 swimmers.
RESULTS  PHOTOS  MORE PHOTOS

NEW! Friday, August 3: Beisel Youth Freestyle Clinic, Roger Williams University Aquatic Center, Bristol, RI. Olympian and Saunderstown native Elizabeth Beisel will provide freestyle swim technique instruction to 8-to-12-year olds at 10 AM and 13-to-18-year-olds at 11:30 AM. There will be time for photos. Spaces are limited. Part of the $50 registration will benefit Save The Bay.

Saturday,  August 4: 42nd Annual Save The Bay – Narragansett Bay Swim, from Newport Navy Base, Newport, to Potter Cove, Jamestown, RI. Iconic 1.7 nautical mile (~2 statute mile) open water swim across the channel along the span of the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge. $400 fundraising minimum. With up to 500 swimmers, this event is Save The Bay’s largest annual fundraiser to help protect and restore the Narragansett Bay region. Join our SwimRI Save The Bay Team, swim with Olympian and Save The Bay Ambassador Elizabeth Beisel and get in on our team shirts, photo, mimosa brunch at “The Ganny,” and potential team party later that day (TBD).
RESULTS  PHOTOS  ProJo  Newport Daily News  Jamestown Press

Wednesday, August 8: Salty Brine Swim Charity Dinner to benefit the Alzheimer's Association @ George's of Galilee Restaurant, Narragansett, RI. Casual $10 dinner buffet at 7:15pm after the 6pm NOSE open-water training swim at scenic Salty Brine State Beach. Please click the "Chip In" button to pay $10 for the buffet and be added to the RSVP list. Donations to the charity will be accepted onsite via cash or check (made out to Alzheimer's Association) or online via the Tribute Fund page at http://act.alz.org/goto/pauline-capobianco.

Saturday, September 8: Swim Across America Rhode Island Open Water Swim, Roger Wheeler Beach, Narragansett, RI. One-mile and half-mile fundraising open water swims to support cancer research and clinical trials at Women and Infants Hospital Rhode Island. $250 fundraising minimum. The 2017 event sold out with ~600 swimmers and multiple Olympians on hand. Last year SwimRI continued the post-Swim festivities on the beachfront deck at George’s of Galilee. Join SwimRI's SAA-RI fundraising team.

See the SwimRI UPCOMING RACES & EVENTS webpage for more open water and pool events of potential interest to local competitive and recreational swimmers.

Coached practices Tuesday & Thursday 5:30-7:00pm at the six-lane, 25-meter John H. Chafee Pool. Base pass required.

This group caters to DoD employees and their families, and includes some non-DoD civilians. To make arrangements for non-DoD civilians to get on base for swim practice contact mikegarr@msn.com or (401) 741-7193 or attend as the guest of someone with a base pass.

Most of the coaches are USMS-certified and SwimRI members. Some swimmers are SwimRI members, most are not. Written workouts are available to morning swimmers during lap swim hours without coaching or dedicated lanes.

Contacts: Mike Garr (SwimRI), mikegarr@msn.com or (401) 741-7193

                  Rachel Meyer (MWR aquatics head), rachel.m.meyer@navy.mil or (401) 841-2268

                  Bob Nelson (SwimRI), Diann Uustal (SwimRI)

Click here to see all SwimRI Practice Locations & Schedules.

April 29, 2018 -- Masters practices at Cumberland High School were canceled the past two weeks due to maintenance issues -- check the pool status with Coach Jeff Miksis at jmiksis@enviousswimming.com before attending. For the time being these Masters swimmers are going to Bryant University's Mon/Wed/Thursday practices from 5:15 to 6:30am. $5 drop-ins for USMS members.

Click here to join SwimRI’s team for the 2018 Save The Bay Swim and help us support and protect a healthy Narragansett Bay. This 42-year-old event is a 1.7-mile fundraising open-water swim across the channel from the Naval War College in Newport to Potter's Cove in Jamestown, Rhode Island. This year's Swim will take place on August 4th.

Anyone swimming, kayaking or raising money for Save The Bay is welcome to join our team. This year we're honored to welcome Save The Bay Ambassador and former Olympian Elizabeth Beisel to our SwimRI team. We always take a team photo in SwimRI t-shirts before the Swim, and often hold a team social event later that day.

For the past several years the SwimRI team and its predecessor (the former Newport Athletic Club team) has been the largest team at this event, both in the number of participants and the aggregate funds raised -- usually $20K to $40K.

Your participation will help support Save The Bay's mission to protect and improve Narragansett Bay as a swimmable, fishable, healthy waterway that is accessible to all and recognized as the natural treasure it is.

Save The Bay defends the public's right to use and enjoy the Bay and its surrounding waters, and it fosters an ethic of environmental stewardship among people who live in or visit the Narragansett Bay region.

Save the Bay's leadership, staff and volunteers support an ecosystem-based approach to environmental action:

• The Narragansett Baykeeper, Narragansett Bay Riverkeeper and South County Coastkeeper act as watchdogs to ensure the Bay and its watershed is protected.
• Educators keep the public aware of the importance of our waters and teach good stewardship.
• The policy team works with state and local governments to pass laws that protect the Bay and keep lines of communication open with lawmakers on the importance of environmental action.
• The habitat restoration team restores and improves the ecological health of coastal habitats and watershed areas.

Click here to join our SwimRI Save The Bay Team. You do NOT need to be a USMS-registered Masters swimmer. However, if you're interested in our SwimRI Masters swim team and social network check out the rest of this website and our Facebook page or contact douglas.sayles@SwimRI.org.