Riptide News 6-14-26

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

In This Edition:

1. Coach Patrick’s Corner-Save the Date! Team Photos
2. Make Up Time Trials-June 15th
3. No Practice Monday, June 15th
4. Starts, Turns and Finishes Clinic this Thursday!
5. Riptide Swimmer Conduct Reminders
6. Practice Reminders for Parents
7. Sign In At the Guard Desk During PM Practices
8. Riptide Food Drive
9. Riptide Buddy Program Sign Up
10. Declare Your Swimmer for A Meets
11. Declare Your Swimmer for B Meets
12. SwimTopia App
13. Call for Volunteers
14. Riptide Challenge
15. Swim Caps for Sale
16. Officials Corner
17. Social News-Pasta Potluck!

Attachments:

1. Master Calendar
2. Sponsorship Form
3. VR Riptide Season Schedule 2026

Coach Patrick’s Corner: Please purchase fins for practice! We will be using fins a lot during practice and many of our swimmers still don't have any. Our fin bin has very limited options, so please bring your own. Don't forget to write your name in sharpie on both fins.

Practices move to the mornings on Thursday, June 18!

AM Practice Schedule June 18 - July 21 (July 22-24 practice for swimmers qualified for Divisionals, July 27-31 practice for swimmers qualified for Individual All Stars)

• 9-12 year olds: 8:00-9:00am
• 8 year olds and younger: 9:00-9:45am
• 13 year olds and older: 9:45-11:00am

Please remind your swimmers to use extra caution when crossing the crosswalk in the morning!

Lifeguards are not on duty for AM practices. No swimmers should be in the pool unless they are participating in their designated practice.

It is very hard for the kids waiting to practice to stay out of the shallow end of the main pool, so if you see them getting in, please ask them to get out (sitting on the side is ok). Again, no lifeguard on duty so this is a safety issue.

If your swimmers are old enough to come to practices alone, please remind them they are not allowed in the pool unless they are practicing or until the pool opens at 11am. If swimmers are accompanied by an adult, guardian, or babysitter that may not know the pool rules, please advise them of this rule.

SAVE THE DATE- Next week on Tuesday, June 23 is Picture Day followed by our Lapathon benefitting Willing Warriors! More details will be sent later this week!

Make Up Time Trials, TOMORROW June 15: Warmups will begin at 5pm. This is only for swimmers who cannot swim on Saturday.

No Practice Monday, June 15th: There will be no regular practice on Monday, June 15th due to Make Up Time Trials. If your swimmer swam on Saturday at Time Trials, they can take the evening off.

Starts, Turns & Finishes Clinics Begin on Thursday: Starts, Turns, and Finishes Clinic is kicking off this Thursday, June 18! The clinic will be held every Thursday evening for the remainder of the season 7:00pm-7:45pm and is completely optional. You can pick and choose which dates work best for you or come to all of them! All ages and skill levels are welcome! We will not section off different times for each age group. All age groups will practice at 7:00pm and Coach Patrick will adjust the lanes accordingly. All swimmers are welcome.

For our first clinic, we will solely focus on turns for our 9&Ups and dives for our 8&Us.

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. Use of inappropriate language, bullying of any kind, inappropriate touching, biting, etc will not be tolerated and will be addressed immediately.

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

Practice Reminders for Parents: We are grateful for all of our Riptide parents! We would like to give a gentle reminder to please stay well back from the swim lanes during practice and refrain from talking to your swimmer during practice. Our coaches are doing a great job and need to have each swimmer’s full attention during practice. If a swimmer needs their parent during practice our coaches will make sure to find you. Thank you for your support!

Sign-in at the Guard Desk: For the last few days of evening practice, please remind your swimmer to check in at the guard desk so they can keep track of who is at the pool. Once morning practices begin on Thursday this will no longer be required.

Riptide Food Drive: The Riptide Food Drive is back! High School Coaches Nick and Emma are revitalizing this team tradition. Each week they will invite the team to bring non-perishable donations to benefit WFCM (Western Fairfax Christian Ministries). There will be a different donation theme each week. Donations can be brought to the pool each Friday during practices. The goal is to donate 500 lbs over the course of the season! We need everyone’s help to meet our goal! The theme for this week is: Canned Goods. More info to come during practices this week!

Riptide Buddy Program: We've had great responses to our Buddy Program for this season! Please continue to identify your swimmers interest and be a part of our fun mentoring Riptide family tradition this season!

The first draft of the buddy list will be posted and sent out to families following make-up time trials so that your swimmers will have time to check in with their Buddy during practices this week, in advance of our first A and B meets next weekend.

You can sign up your swimmer(s) for the buddy program here. Contact Anne Crowell ([email protected]) with any questions about being a buddy!

Declare Your Swimmer For A Meets:Our first meets of the season are right around the corner!! Please help us have a smooth start by declaring your swimmer, signing up to volunteer, and showing up with lots of team spirit!

Please declare your availability for our first A meet by Monday night!! Many families have not done this yet, so please go in and mark your swimmer(s) as a yes! Only select 'no' if you will be out of town (there is an option to leave a note if you select no). As a reminder, declaring 'yes' does not guarantee you will swim, it just notifies us that you are available to swim that day if selected to swim. You will be notified if your child is swimming the Thursday before every Saturday A meet.

Declare Your Swimmer for B Meets: B Meets are our Developmental swim meets on Monday nights. Unlike A Meets, where swimmers are chosen based on the team ladder and their availability, everyone is welcome and encouraged to swim on Monday nights. Swimmers can choose which events they would like to swim on Monday nights. You must sign your swimmer up for B Meets by completing the following steps:

Log in to the Virginia Run Riptide website.

Go to the Meets & Events tab and then click on Sign Up Calendar

Next to each B-Meet, click on Meet Entry. Then click on the Edit button below your swimmer’s name to mark if they are available to attend.

Once you click Available to Attend a list of events will appear.

Each swimmer can choose two individual strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) and IM as a third event.

If you're unsure what your swimmer should swim, please reach out to Coach Patrick. He will be happy to help your swimmer decide.

While we request that each swimmer declare their availability now for all A-Meets, swimmers can declare for B Meets weekly no later than the Sunday before the B Meet at 10am. Swimmers who are not signed up by Sunday (before the meet) at 10 am will not be able to swim at the B Meet on Monday night.

NVSL Has Moved to SwimTopia: NVSL has moved to Swimtopia for all meet software. This means that parents can download the Swimtopia app to get access to messages, calendars, meet notifications, heat sheets, results, and more! Visit the App or Play store to download the app. Make sure to turn on notifications so you can receive urgent weather related messages that impact practices and meets. Questions? Contact Jenny Dunn [email protected]

Call for Volunteers: A HUGE thank you to everyone who volunteered at time trials yesterday - especially to the high school students who volunteered to time and to those exempt volunteers pulling double duty!

Please make sure you have signed up for volunteer slots for upcoming meets - remember, each family is required to work a minimum of 6 jobs.

If you have questions or need help signing up, please email me at [email protected] .

Volunteer Needs:

• End of Season Party - We are in need of a volunteer to help coordinate this event. You will receive information from previous years and have help behind the scenes.
• 3rd A meet representative / Board position (will work with current representatives; must be willing to continue the job next year)

Questions? Contact Stefanie McCrea [email protected]

Riptide Challenge:The Riptide Challenge Starts Now!

Ready to take on the challenge? The Riptide Challenge is open to all swimmers this year—everyone can participate! Swimmers who successfully complete the challenge will earn a Riptide Challenge Bag Tag!

Challenge Requirements:

8 & Under: Complete 3 legal strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and or butterfly)

9 & Up: Complete all 4 legal strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly) plus a legal Individual Medley (IM)

Let’s make waves—take on the Riptide Challenge!Questions? Contact Amy Cunningham enningammy@g mail.com

Swim Caps: If you are still in need of a Swim cap with logo, they will be for sale at time trials for $12. We will also have past season shirts, car flags, and car magnets for sale. The Team T-shirt order has been placed and should ship this week, will send details for pick up once they arrive.Questions? Contact Jen Snitselaar [email protected]

Officials Corner: Congratulations to David Strebler for certifying Stroke & Turn judge and Starter!

We want to thank you for your work at Time Trials. We had a great turnout of dedicated officials, deck crews, timers, clerks of course, and parents were willing to fill whatever position that needed to be filled, including some last minute changes.

Special shout-out to our volunteer team coordinator Stefanie McCrea!

See y’all on deck soon!

Social News: Riptide Tradition! Swimmers and their family are invited to enjoy a potluck style dinner together as a team to kick-off our swim season. This is a great opportunity to welcome new families and catch up with friends. Each family will need to sign up for a dish (2026 Riptide Pasta Potluck by Wednesday, June 17th. We are SO EXCITED to kick off the swim-team social event season!!

Few Items:

- Please bring your dish at 5:30pm, we’ll have a swimmers activity while we set-up and plan to start dinner around 6:00pm.

- Please bring a serving spoon with your dish. Please label the spoon and dish with your first initial, last name.

- While we will have water available, we encourage families to bring their own drinks.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Michelle Bange @[email protected].

Master Calendar: Please find our updated master calendar attached..

Stay Connected: Follow our team on Instagram and X @vrriptide! We also have a facebook group where last minute reminders are sent and people can ask questions.

Thank you to our Riptide Sponsors! Pin Oak Tree Services, Virginia Run Community, Virginia Run Children’s Sale, Capital Construction of America, Cheron Orthodontics, Collegiate Sealers & Paving, Ciro New York Pizza, The Dog Stop, Wholesome NOVA, Luck Stone, Pack 2011 Cub Scouts