Riptide News Week 6

It’s hard to believe we are already starting into the last full week of Riptide practices! The summer has flown by.

As the season starts to wind down, it is important to begin to reflect on all we’ve accomplished. While our A meet record may show that we did not have a “winning” season, there are many intangibles that illustrate that we did in fact “win” this season. All of our coaches have worked hard to make every swimmer feel that they are an invaluable part of the Riptide. Our pep rallies have each included team bonding activities and have been more well attended by swimmers than many in recent seasons. The Riptide Spirit has been unmatched this season! Our coaches and swimmers showed up to both A meets and B meets in their best dress-up gear and have cheered their loudest at each meet. Our swimmers swam with heart in both A meets and B meets and we have hundreds of team personal bests to show for it. We still have a few meets and team events to go this season and our team has a lot to be proud of!

A big CONGRATULATIONS to our Boys Mixed Age Relay of Cooper Crowell, JP Crowell, Tyler Harris and Kamsi Anyalebechi who will be competing in Relay All Stars this week on Wednesday. We will all be cheering them on!

The Riptide News will come to you through email each week on Sunday, but you can also find it as a news post on our website at SwimTopia.

Lots of news to share this week, as always don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions [email protected].

NVSL Division Seeding: A small committee of NVSL volunteers spend about 100-200 hours looking at and considering a multitude of factors to seed each team into a division for the upcoming season. Their goal is to make the best decision for every team in the NVSL. Decisions about which division a team will be placed in are not made solely based on a team’s record in a single season. Every team receives a Seeding Survey to complete each year. Team reps provide insight into the make up of the current team, predictions about the team make up for the following season and reflections on each A meet. The committee uses the survey information in conjunction with other indicators of the overall strength of the team to make the best decision for each team. If you have more questions about how the NVSL does division seeding, please reach out to Karen Harris.

Riptide Shout Outs:

A Big Riptide Shoutout to the many families who have gone above and beyond already! Thank you!

Another Big Riptide Shoutout to out a few in particular who have stood out with their sign-ups. Thank you to the Wang, Vaughan, Boyd, Li, Lord, Minogue, Dolber, Do, Jones, Livingston, Rein, Thur and Wall family!!

Have a parent volunteer who is going above and beyond that you’d like to give a Riptide Shout Out to? Email Karen Harris ([email protected]) with your shoutout, we’ll include it in the next Riptide News.

Riptide Swimmer Conduct Reminders: Please take a few moments to review the Riptide Code of Conduct with your swimmer prior to practices this week. As a team we value respect, teamwork, integrity and sportsmanship. Any violations of the Riptide Swimmer Code of Conduct will be handled as stated in the Code of Conduct.

Virginia Run Riptide Code of Conduct (must be signed into your Riptide account to view).

Photography Reminders: To protect our swimmers andaccording to NVSL/USA Swimming Rule pictures and videos may not be taken from behind the starting area. Please move to another location off to the side to take a picture or video of your swimmer.

Meet Results: Results from all of our meets so far are on our new website! You can visit https://variptide.swimtopia.com/results after every meet to see things meet results, personal bests, and the current team top times (The "ladder").

We ask our families to remember that the ladder is one tool that our coaches use to select swimmers for A meets, but many factors go into those selections. Please remind your swimmers that good sportsmanship means swimmers should not be bragging about their place on the ladder, and should not be getting upset with the coaches if decisions for A meets do not exactly reflect the ladder. If families have questions or concerns about A meet selections, they should be directed to our A-meet reps, not directly to the coaches.

Photos From Swim Meet and Events: Our team photographer, Chris Do, has been uploading photos from recent events. Thank you, Chris! You can view them on our website under the Photos link. The password is: bubbles.

In addition, a link has been created for families to upload candid photos (not already on the team website) from meets, pep rallies, practices, and other team activities to be included in our end-of-year video. Throughout the season, please share your photos to our Dropbox: https://virginiarunriptide.smugmug.com/upload/WV4VBg/pu

Photos wanted for end-of-the-year video: A link has been created for families to upload candid photos (not already on the team website) from meets, pep rallies, practices, and other team activities to be included in our end-of-year video. Throughout the season, please share your photos to our Dropbox: https://virginiarunriptide.smugmug.com/upload/WV4VBg/pu

Volunteers: We have two B meets and one A meet left! Unfortunately, volunteer slots are still unfilled at those meets. If you know you will be attending a meet and can help out, we really need the extra help! Sign-up or contact [email protected] if you can help out in any capacity. If you've met your five minimum slots and are able to do an extra slot or even half of a slot, we would appreciate it!

Spirit Wear: If you are in need of a swim cap, car magnets, discounted (previous year) tees, or VR tattoos, we have you covered. Also, limited stock of 2025 tees for $20. We will have a table set up tomorrow or you can e-mail Jen Snitselaar ([email protected]) to coordinate.

Riptide Gives Back: In lieu of the Lap a Thon that we’ve done in previous years, we will be hosting a week long food/toiletries drive to benefit WFCM. Please consider donating food items to those less fortunate. We’ll have boxes set up each day at practice and at our B Meet on Monday evening and our A Meet next Saturday. Please reach out to Coach Sam with any questions. A big thank you to Minh Tonthat for offering to bring our donations to WFCM.

13&U Progressive Dinner: We are still finalizing plans for the 13&U Progressive Dinner on Tuesday evening. Below is the tentative format for the evening:

6-7 Appetizers at House #1

7-8 Entree at the Roundtree Home

8-9:35/9:45 Dessert and Swimming at the Pool

We are still in need of a family to host the Appertizers and parent volunteers to set up and clean up dessert at the pool. If you would be willing to help out please reach out to Coach Sam. If we can’t find a house to host Appetizers we will adjust the format. All adjustments will be sent out via email to the families of 13&U swimmers.

If your swimmer plans to attend, we ask that they indicate what dish they will bring to share on this Sign Up Genius.

LAST Starts, Turns and Finishes Clinics: Starts, Turns and Finishes Clinic this Thursday from 7:00-8:00 at the pool. This a great time for swimmers of all skill levels to brush up on their starts, turns and finishes. Completely optional and open to all swimmers.

Only Three Meets Left to Complete the Riptide Challenge!

Great job to everyone who’s already taken on the challenge!

Challenge:

●Ages 8 & Under:
Complete legal freestyle and backstroke.

●Ages 9 & Older:
Complete all four legal strokes — freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly — plus an Individual Medley (IM)!

Let’s keep cheering each other on, pushing your limits, and celebrating every achievement!

You’ve got this, Riptide swimmers!

Coach Appreciation is Next Week (July 9 - 11): Let's show our appreciation to our wonderful Riptide coaches!

Wednesday - Friday - Swimmers provide each coach with cards and a favorite snack and / or treat (i.e., pretzels, chips, gummies, chewing gum - nothing that melts please, no chocolate)

-A complete list of coaches and favorite snacks/ideas will be posted on the Riptide bulletin board at the pool shortly

-Bags for collections for each coach will be ready for collections Wednesday - Friday (until 11:00) by the lifeguard desk

Congratulations to Our 2025 VR Riptide Seniors! Celebrate our Seniors!: 

Saturday, July 12
Join us at our final Home A Meet this Saturday to cheer on the Riptide and celebrate our graduating seniors, each receiving a $500 scholarship through the VR Riptide/Wrinkle Family Scholarship Fund:

●Brandon Bokus – Purdue University

●Christopher Lee – United States Naval Academy

●Elizabeth Schaad – Christopher Newport University

●Angela Thomson – University of Virginia

Best of luck to all our swimmers in the final meets of the season!

VR Riptide Winter Swim Program (25-26): As our summer season winds down, it’s time to plan ahead. Registration for the VR Riptide Winter Swim Program (2025–2026) at Cub Run opens the first week of August, with practices starting in September.

About the Program:
The winter program keeps Riptide swimmers in the water during the off-season, focusing on technique, stroke development, and skill improvement. We're excited to welcome back Coach Nick McGrath as Head Coach.

Key Highlights:

●Open to all summer Riptide swimmers with official freestyle and backstroke times

●Once-a-week sessions (day/time to be announced)

●Volunteer coaching available for swimmers in 8th grade or age 13+ — service hours offered

●Registration opens early August

Full program details can be found in the attached flyer (last season’s version — this year’s will be similar).

Questions? Email Wendy Wall at [email protected]. More info coming soon!

Riptide Social Updates:

It’s hard to believe we are at our last Friday Pep Rally and this one is a banger!!!

Friday, 7/11 6pm @Clubhouse: A Riptide New Year's LIP SYNC! We will be counting down to the end of the season with the annual lip sync event. Get your acts ready to bring to the stage at the Clubhouse. We are so excited to see the show! Please see coach Katie who is helping coordinate acts by age group.

SAVE THE DATE: Save the Date: Riptide Swim Team End-of-Year Celebration

Get ready to close out the season in style! Join us on Saturday, July 19th at 7:00 PM at the pool for our Riptide End-of-Year Bash (Rain date is Sunday, July 20th).

This is a free event for all Riptide families and promises to be a fantastic evening filled with:

●Swimmer awards to celebrate all the hard work and highlights of the season

●Delicious treats to keep everyone fueled for fun

●Open swim and dancing under the stars

●And the premiere of our always-popular Riptide video recap

Mark your calendars and stay tuned—more details coming later this week!

We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

Thank you to our Riptide Sponsors! Our team is grateful for your generous support.

Pin Oak Tree Services

Virginia Run Community

Ciro New York Pizza

Mindy Conway, Long and Foster Real Estate

The Wrinkle Family Scholarship Fund

Cub Scout Pack 2011

Luck Stone

Living Colour

Wholesome NOVA

The Dog Stop

Collegiate Sealers & Paving

Capital Construction of America, Inc.

Cheron Orthodontics