No...unless they want to! Riptides is designed for today's swim family, the one with multiple activities and a hectic schedule. We offer several commitment levels that allow your swimmer to practice as much as they like but still have room for other activities. Commitment levels can also change throughout the year, just like your schedule!
Before we start the registration process for Riptides we schedule a swim evaluation with one of our coaches. This allows the coach to evaluate the swimmer skills and make an educated group placement. Many swimmers begin in Riptide Purple or Green where they learn team terminology and practice characteristics. From there they can move into Red group, where technique continues to be streamlined. Then on to Blue group for strength, endurance, and speed development. Finally they can move into Silver group where our advanced swimmers focus on the small details that cut seconds from their time.
Most swimmers are excited to move levels, but our coaches want to ensure each swimmer is ready for the new challenges ahead. There are many criteria used to evaluate swimmers: practice conduct, teachability, skill improvement, sportsmanship, maturity. Another factor is performance in swim meets. A swimmer can perform well in practice, but if their skills are never tested then they may not be ready for the next level. Participation in meets is not required, but we highly encourage it!
Riptides has its own gear store in association with Augusta Swim Supply. Here you can find our team swim suit, fins, paddles, and bags, all selected by our head coach. We set up this store to make shopping easy, plus Augusta gives us the best price available for these items. We have a size kit at Aquaventure for determining suit size, so please speak with a coach before purchasing a suit. Our suits are custom embroidered with our team logo so there are no returns or exchanges. You can use the link on our homepage to enter the purchase portal for suits.