Riptide News 7-5-26

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 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
2. Beast of the Week
3. Relay Carnival THIS WEDNESDAY!
4. Sunrise Day Camp Clear the List Challenge @ Relay Carnival
5. Starts, Turns and Finishes Clinic this Thursday!
6. Make Up Picture Day Monday, 7/13
7. Coach Appreciation Week, June 13-June 17
8. Riptide Swimmer Conduct Reminders
9. Riptide Food Drive
10. Volunteering Reminders
11. Ribbon Pick Up Reminder
12. Riptide Challenge
13. Eat Out and Support Riptide-Save the Date!
14. Spiritwear Reminders
15. Social News

Attachments:

1. Riptide Food Drive Flyer
2. Sunrise Day Camp “Clear the List” Challenge Flyer
3. Sunrise Day Camp Info Sheet

Coach Patrick’s Corner:

If yesterday's meet doesn't fire you up for the rest of the season I don't know what will! Great job Riptide on securing our first win yesterday! Let's keep this energy and momentum up!! We have great potential going into the rest of the season, but we need everyone in attendance! Please make every effort to be available for the rest of our meets. Declare your availability NOW for Relay Carnival, all remaining A meets, and divisionals.

We are entering the busiest part of the whole season this week and I hope you all are ready! Relay Carnival entries will be sent out on Tuesday and A meet entries will be sent out on Thursday. When you receive these emails, please double check your swimmer's entries promptly and ensure they know what they are swimming before coming to the meet.

For our B meets, please make sure your swimmer knows what you signed them up for before coming to the meet. Remind them to stay in the team area and be quiet at the start. If your swimmer is comfortable in all four strokes, I highly recommend signing them up for IM!

Lapathon updates:

Thank you again to everyone for participating in our Lapathon this year! The donation deadline was extended and we have now donated over $1500 to Willing Warriors! Willing Warriors is extremely appreciative of our team.

The annual Lip Sync pep rally is fast approaching! Start thinking of ideas and gathering your groups for the Lip Sync on 7/17.

SAVE THE DATE: The 13&Up Progressive Dinner is on Saturday, July 18. All 13&Ups are invited

Beast of the Week!: Congrats to the following swimmers who earned the “Beast of the Week” award this past week:

8&U: Ethan Pettiford

9-10: Bo Smith

11-12: JP Crowell

13-14: Veronica Chahine

15-18: Alyssa Jones

Relay Carnival THIS WEDNESDAY!: Let’s get excited for this fast paced, exciting meet! Meet begins at our pool @ 6:30pm. Even if you don’t have a swimmer in the meet, come out to show our Riptide Relays your support! See the email from earlier in the week which is also posted on our News Feed on our team website for all the details.

“Clear the List” Supply Donation Event to Support Sunrise Day Camp at Relay Carnival: Help Division 10 “Clear the List” and help our team earn popsicles after practice.

There are two easy ways to participate:

• Before Relay Carnival: Purchase one or more items from Sunrise's Amazon Wishlist, have them shipped to your home, and bring them with you to Division 10 Relay Carnival.
• At Relay Carnival (Wednesday, July 8): Stop by the Sunrise table, scan the QR code, purchase items directly from the Wishlist, and have them shipped to Sunrise.

For every $10 spent, our team earns a Pom-Pom. We'll add our Pom-Poms to our team's jar at Relay Carnival, and the team with the fullest jar wins the Clear the List Challenge!

If you aren't able to attend Relay Carnival but would still like to participate, you can purchase items from the Wishlist ahead of time. Just let one of our coaches or team reps know what you purchased so your contribution can be added to our team's Pom-Pom total. The winning team will earn a post practice popsicle party!

Thank you for helping provide an incredible summer for children with cancer and their siblings. Every item purchased goes directly to camp and makes a real difference.

The Sunrise Day Camp Amazon Wishlist can be found here: Shop our Amazon Wish List

Please see the attached flyer for additional details. We hope you'll join us in helping clear the list! Questions? See Coach Nick or Coach Emma or Email Karen Harris [email protected]

Starts, Turns & Finishes Clinic on Thursday: Starts, Turns, and Finishes Clinic Thursday, July 9! 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.

Monday, 7/13 is Make Up Picture Day: In case you missed out on Riptide pictures, our wonderful photographer has offered to do a make up day for individual (and family) swim pictures. He’ll be at the pool on Monday July 13 from 8:30-9:30 for make ups.

Coach Appreciation week is June 13th - 17th!: The schedule is below and action items for families are noted. Please watch your email for a list of each coach's favorite snacks! Reminders will be sent as we get closer to the date.

Breakfast for the Coaches!

Monday, June 13th - On behalf of the team, the Riptide Board will provide breakfast for the coaches!

Treats for the Coaches!

*Action Item* Tuesday, June 14th - Bring your coaches their favorite snacks and place them in the bags near the guard station. Each bag will be labeled with a coach's name.

Notes of Appreciation!

*Action Item* Wednesday, June 15th - Write a note or draw a picture for your coaches! Place them in bags near the guard station.

Lunch for the Coaches!

Thursday, June 16th - On behalf of the team, Riptide Board will provide lunch for the coaches!

Gifts from the Team!

Friday, June 17th - On behalf of the team, Riptide Board will give gifts to the coaches!

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, 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).

Riptide Food Drive: Thanks to all who have donated so far! Please bring items to practice on Friday! We’ve collected so much! Let’s keep working toward our 500lb goal! We need everyone’s help to meet our goal! The theme for this week is: Toiletries and Paper Products. See flyer for details!

Volunteering Reminders: Thank you to all of the volunteers who braved the heat at yesterday's meet at Sully Station!

July 6th B meet - we still need 2 Clerk of Course volunteers.

Please watch for an email from Stefanie McCrea today or early this week regarding volunteering at the Relay Carnival on Wednesday, July 8th at our pool. If your swimmer is competing in a relay, we will need you to be volunteering.

Looking ahead, please double check your sign ups and make sure you will have completed your required 6 jobs before the end of the season. We will likely get to a point where we are asking families to go above and beyond 6 - we simply do not have enough volunteers to cover all our needs.

Volunteering Questions?

Email [email protected]

Reminder: Ribbon Pickup – Wednesday:

• Ages 9–12: Pick up your ribbons after practice.
• Ages 8 & Under: Pick up your ribbons before or after practice.
• Ages 13 & Older: Please pick up your ribbons before practice.

Riptide Challenge Requirements:

Ages 8 and under- Complete any 3 legal strokes (Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly).

Ages 9 and Older- Complete all 4 legal strokes (Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly), plus a legal Individual Medley (IM).

Take on the challenge, improve your skills and earn your exclusive Riptide Challenge 2026 Bag Tag.

Questions email Amy Cunningham at [email protected]

Go Out To Eat and Support Riptide-Save the Date!: Save the date for our Farmside Kitchen on 7/18 all day. Details are on our Facebook page as an event, hope to see everyone there.

Questions? e-mail Jen Snitselaar, [email protected]

Spiritwear Reminders: Riptide swim caps, car magnets, and tattoos are available for sale. If your swimmer hasn’t received their team t-shirt, please reach out to coordinate pick up, [email protected]

Social News:

Pep Rally This Week: Pancake Party & Scavenger Hunt!

Join us this week at the clubhouse for a delicious pancake dinner featuring fun toppings, sausage, fruit, and a scavenger hunt around the clubhouse and surrounding area! Swimmers and siblings are all invited for an evening of food, fun, and team spirit.

We could use your help! To keep the pancakes coming, we're looking to borrow several electric griddles for the evening. If you can lend one, please email [email protected]. Griddles can be picked up immediately after the event.

Thanks in advance for helping us feed our hungry swimmers—they can really stack up the pancakes!

Lip Sync Night Is Coming!

Start warming up those vocal cords (or at least your dance moves)! Lip Sync Night is just around the corner on July 17, and now's the time for swimmers to start planning their performances.

Whether you're flying solo or teaming up with friends, start thinking about your song, routine, costumes, and group. More details and sign-up information will be coming soon—we can't wait to see what everyone brings to the stage!

Coming Soon: Mark your calendars! Riptide will be heading to the movies on July 14 (approximately 5pm) to see Toy Story 5. More details will be coming your way soon so you can purchase tickets.

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, Centreville Strength Systems, Living Colour Pack 2011 Cub Scouts