SwimRI

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.

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.

Sunday, July 8: Clean Ocean Access 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.

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.

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).

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. Join SwimRI's SAA-RI fundraising team. Last year we continued the post-Swim festivities on the beachfront deck at George’s of Galilee.

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.

1. Jessica Ackerman
2. George Alexandre
3. Rob Allen
4. Jill Beveridge
5. Catherine Brunell
6. Eric Burtchell
7. Stefanie Carter
8. Steph Cotsonas
9. Lynne Czech
10. John Dickmann
11. Sara Dinardo
12. Chris Dockray
13. Chris Doppke
14. Lynnette Dow
15. Paul Dow
16. Kaan Duru
17. Theresa Ferreira
18. Daniel Force
19. Brian Franco
20. Albert Garcia
21. Jeanne Garr
22. Mike Garr
23. Matt Gilson
24. Neil Greenspan
25. Bart Grimes
26. Wayne Grover
27. Rita Hansen
28. Steve Imbusch
29. Jill Lancaster
30. Gillian Langton
31. Kathy Lewis
32. Tom Manfredi
33. Jen Morin
34. Seann Mulcahy
35. Donna Neuendorf
36. Bruce Novis
37. Jim Porter
38. Mark Rafferty
39. Lisa Rauschert
40. John Roccabello
41. Jillian Scheider
42. Doug Shemin
43. Elliot Silva
44. Don Sorterup
45. Marianne Teixeira
46. Trent Theroux
47. Rob Torgerson
48. Kaitlin Wilcoxen

To be added to the waiting list, contact douglas.sayles@swimri.org.

We ask all confirmed swimmers to honor their commitment. However, we can often accommodate swimmers from the waiting list due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances that require previously confirmed swimmers to drop out.

The SwimRI and South County Y workout groups are once again helping New England Masters Swim Club defend its title in the Speedo USMS 1-Hour ePostal National Championship by running organized heats for 2018 USMS-NEM members.

This is a USMS-sanctioned event where you swim whatever stroke(s) you wish for one hour, at whatever pace you wish, continuously or with rest breaks, with a counter/timer recording your incremental times/yardage on the official split sheet. After completing your swim, you must officially enter your results online by March 1st so that your individual and club results count versus others nationwide.

February 11th @ Roger Williams University in Bristol (48 swimmers = 2 per lane x 8 lanes x 3 heats)

Check-in and warm-up open at 8:00am. Heats start at 9:00, 10:20 & 11:40. Cost is ~$15 per swimmer (additional donations accepted). Proceeds go to the RWU swim team -- the college swimmers count/time for us. Some heat 3 swimmers choose to do a side-by-side interval-based workout together rather than continuous swim. Swimmer spots are available for USMS members affiliated with New England Masters Swim Club (NEM). Post-swim lunch at Aidan's Irish Pub.

As an added incentive, each participant in the RWU heats will have the option to contribute $5 to the winner-takes-all Total Yardage Betting Pool. To see last year's results, click here.

RSVP to douglas.sayles@swimri.org with your prioritized heat preferences (e.g., 2-1-3). 

Priority given to SCY and SwimRI members who practice with Coach Fred Bartlett at the South County Y. There may be room for other NEM Swim Club members at Fred's discretion if/as space allows. Heats start ~8:10, ~9:35 & ~10:55. Cost is usually ~$10 per swimmer. Swimmers generally time/count for those in other heats. There is usually a post-swim luncheon. For more info contact Fred Bartlett at swimtrirunman@aol.com.

Meet Roster: $20 per person payable at check-in

September 9, 2017 -- Roger Wheeler State Beach, Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Despite the serious purpose behind the annual Swim Across America-Rhode Island Swim -- the motto for which is "Making Waves to Fight Cancer" -- the clear skies, large turnout, upbeat music and festive vibe surrounding this year's fundraising event was more than welcome after a summer swim season that saw the cancellation of four R.I. open water events and two others held in less-than-stellar weather.

However, on this near-perfect Saturday morning, three dozen SwimRI team members arrived early, displayed their trademark enthusiasm and team camaraderie, and stayed well after the finish to revel in the sun and sand before moving the gathering to the upper deck of George's of Galilee just down the beach at Salty Brine.

The day's pre-swim ceremonies included a moment of remembrance and dedication, acknowledgements by SAA CEO Rob Butcher, statements from Providence College Head Swim Coach John O'Neill, doctors and clinical researchers from Womens & Infants Hospital, and heartfelt remarks from a local cancer survivor. Overall, there were well over 500 swimmers -- including over 200 college swimmers and coaches -- who collectively raised more than $180,000 in donations to support local cancer research.

Kudos on a job well done to SAA event director and former USMS-NEM member Kathleen Tetreault, the SAA staff and volunteers -- including USMS-NEM members Rick Osterberg, birthday girl Jessica Stokes, Jennifer Dowling, Tom Phillips and Ildiko Szekely -- Olympians Liz Beisel, Alex Meyer, Craig Beardsley and Clara Lamore Walker, and all of the event participants and patrons.

Special thanks to our SwimRI SAA team captain Alexis Santoro and to Frank McQuiggan for rallying the troops. Next year we anticipate an even bigger SwimRI turnout and hope to raise more funds in support of this worthy cause and very well-run event.

Additional event photos are posted on the SwimRI Facebook page.