Longtime New England Masters swimmer Frank Wuest touched many people's lives. Some knew him better than others, some not at all. As the attached document indicates, Frank was a lot of things, but most of all he was a good man. During this time of mourning and remembrance there are no teams or rivalries, there is only a swimming community that shares in the shock and grief that Frank's family and our friends at Cambridge Masters must be feeling. Those of us from SwimRI who were at the Save The Bay Swim are honored to have shared some laughs with Frank before his final swim and to have competed with him one last time. We will miss him.
For more information, see Upcoming Races & Events:
June 18 -- 28th Annual Mashpee Super Swim, John's Pond, Mashpee, Mass.
June 25 -- 11th Annual Narrow River Turnaround, URI Campanella Rowing Center, Saunderstown, R.I.
July 16 -- 6th Annual Waterman Eco-Challenge, Narragansett Town Beach, Narragansett, R.I.
July 23 -- 2nd Annual Misery Challenge, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.
August 6 -- 5th Annual Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame Swim, Galilee Beach, Narragansett, R.I.
August 13 -- 40th Annual Save The Bay Swim, Newport-Jamestown, R.I.
August 16 -- Salt Pond Challenge, Wuskenau Beach, Westerly, R.I.
September 10 -- Swim Across America Rhode Island, Roger Wheeler Beach, Narragansett, R.I.
September 11 -- FIRMman Rhode Island, Narragansett Town Beach, Narragansett, R.I.
September 18 -- 4th Annual Newport Sharkfest Swim, Newport, R.I.
The 2016 Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame Banquet is Saturday, May 7th, at Quidnesset Country Club in North Kingstown. See the attached registration form and inductee and special award information. Anyone interested in attending who would like to sit together at the same table can also contact Matt Gilson at mgilson@metlife.com.
There will be coached Saturday practices from 7:00 to 8:30am at Roger Williams University's eight-lane pool on 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 5/7, 5/28 and 6/11. $5 per person payable to the coach on deck. USMS membership not required. Attendance is usually between 20 and 30 eager swimmers. Special thanks to RWU Aquatics Director and Head Swimming Coach Matt Emmert and Assistant Coach Connor Devers for making this happen.
Any schedule changes will be posted in Locations & Schedules.
Please be on time. Early practice means we can beat the rush at Green Eggs!
Thank you to Harvard's Blodgett Pool staff, the officials, timers, volunteers, host team Cambridge Masters and Meet Director Rick Osterberg for another extremely well-run New England LMSC Short Course Yards Championship Meet. Congratulations to all 823 swimmers, 80 teams and dozens of coaches on your personal and collective accomplishments, and thank you as well for your participation, competitiveness and camaraderie.
SwimRI's spirited, back-and-forth team points battle with Cambridge Masters encompassed hundreds of "splashes" in dozens of races over two weekends, with both team's amassing over 7,400 points each (and a few ill-timed relay-start disqualifications). The title was ultimately decided in the last relay event on the final day, with SwimRI prevailing by a mere six points.
Kudos to all 97 SwimRI members who competed on a well-deserved victory and SwimRI three-peat!
On February 20th, don't miss SwimRI's Albert Garcia and Vince Burks co-coaching "an inspiring, informative and entertaining session" at CCRI-Lincoln from 8:00 to 9:30am (pool opens at 7:45). $5 per person. This workout is open to all. USMS membership is not required.
On February 27th, join us for a rare practice at St. George's School's pristine 8-lane pool in Middletown from 7:00 to 9:00am. $10 per person. USMS membership is required for insurance purposes. One-time 30-day trial USMS memberships are available at no charge for adults who have never been a USMS full or trial member. Please note that there is no practice at CCRI-Lincoln on the 27th.
With the "Harvard Meet" just a few weeks away, we're expecting a big turnout at upcoming weekend workouts. And don't forget to sign up for the meet and help SwimRI three-peat as New England champs!
Winter is here, but "The Harvard Meet" is just around the corner on March 12 (distance day) and 18-20, 2016. Other than USMS national championships, the New England LMSC Short Course Yards Championship at Harvard University is the largest annual Masters meet in the country.
SwimRI has won the total team points title the past two years running. We're calling all hands on deck to help defend our title and bragging rights! Enter now and, if you're staying overnight, book your hotel rooms ASAP.
When registering, enter a few extra individual events to give yourself some options. You do not have to check in for every event, but if you don't enter an event when registering you won't have the option to swim it on race day. In addition to your favorite or "comfort zone" events, we encourage SwimRI members to enter a distance-day freestyle event and the 400 IM and/or 200 fly. These events (and relays) help us rack up points across age groups. And if you prepare, they are really fun ;)
About 100 SwimRI members swam in the Harvard meet two years ago when we set a new team points record, but our attendance and number of "splashes" dipped last year even though we still won. Let's see if we can get our numbers back up this year and hold off all challengers. We'll be missing a few of our studs at this year's meet, so we'll need everyone to contribute, including newbies!
Winning is often a team goal, but SwimRI is first and foremost about participation, camaraderie and enjoyment. To quote Frank McQuiggan, "If you're not having fun, why the @#%$ are you doing it?"
Saturday 8:00am practices at CCRI-Lincoln's six-lane pool will continue for a few more weeks, except February 27th (pool closed). These CCRI workouts are open to the public.
On February 27th there will be a 7:00am to 9:00am practice at St. George's School's pristine eight-lane pool in Middletown. The cost will be $5 to $10 per person depending on attendance. We are hoping for a good turnout, both to promote SwimRI camaraderie heading into the Harvard meet and also to cover pool rental costs. USMS membership is required for insurance purposes. One-time 30-day trial memberships are available at no charge for adults who have never been a USMS full or trial member.
After the Harvard meet in March, Saturday practices move to Roger Williams University in Bristol during Spring. USMS membership is not required at these RWU workouts.
UPDATED 1/23: Below are the heat assignments for the 2016 Speedo USMS 1-Hour ePostal National Championship heats SwimRI is running for New England Swim Club members at Roger Williams University on Sunday, January 24th. Lane assignments will be posted onsite. The pool opens at 8:00am and the heats start at 9:00, 10:20 and 11:40. The cost is $12 per person payable onsite in cash or by check made out to "Roger Williams University". The RWU college team swimmers will again serve as counters/timers. When arriving on campus, use the North entrance and park in Lot D as requested by RWU Aquatics Director Matt Emmert.
Each heat will have 16 swimmers (2 per lane). Please honor the spot you reserved. If you cannot, call or text Doug Sayles at (401) 633-5756 immediately.
Before you swim, please read the USMS event info and rules. After you swim, use this same link to formally enter and submit your completed yardage for the national event.
Post-swim luncheon: A few swimmers usually arrive at Aidan's Pub in Bristol a little early (after heat 2) to secure tables upstairs, and others follow after heat 3.
Cancellation: If RWU cancels the event due to weather concerns, a notice will be posted on this website and on the SwimRI Facebook page. The cancellation backup plan is to preempt CCRI-Lincoln practice next Saturday, January 30th, and instead run make-up OHS heats at the six-lane CCRI pool.