Riptide Spring Fling

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are attempting to register and getting a message that says “Closed Registration,” this does not mean that registration is permanently closed. It most likely means that your yearly YMCA membership has expired, and you need to renew it before the system will allow you to register.

Full Spring Fling information is on this flyer.

Riptide’s spring season is open for registration! Spring Fling is a program that can serve many purposes for swimmers:

• Training for and competing in long course (50 meter pool) swim meets.
• Preparing for the summer season before your summer league club begins.
• Continuing to develop your technique and conditioning without competing.

Whatever your swimming goals this season, Spring Fling can help you accomplish them! Spring Fling is also open to swimmers with no winter club experience, no tryout required, and is the best way for swimmers with limited experience to prepare for the summer Riptide tryouts. If you are new and have any doubts about your child’s ability to participate in a competitive swim practice, please contact Coach Brian ([email protected]) for an evaluation. If you are currently participating on another USA Swimming team and looking to swim with us and/or transfer to Riptide, please contact Coach Brian.

Space in this program is limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to existing Riptide team members before new swimmers.

Program Dates:         Wednesday, April 10th to Friday, May 31st.

See program flyer for practice schedule. Practices are subject to change. Before the program begins, a full PDF of all weeks will be posted on the Riptide practice schedule page. Note that although the program beings April 10th, Juniors do not practice on Wednesdays. Therefore, Juniors will have their first practice on Thursday, April 11th.

Program Location:

• YMCA at the Piscataway Community Center
• Raritan Bay Area YMCA, Perth Amboy
• Other locations when necessary/available.

Please note that the age ranges (age is as of 5/1/24) on the chart below are only a guideline for sign-up! Coaches reserve the right to move any swimmer into the group appropriate for their ability level during the first week. Therefore, your time slot may change. If you have already practiced with a group during the winter season/March Madness, you may register for that group even if you are younger than the age listed.

What about swim meets?

For USA Swimming-registered Riptide team members, we will offer optional long course meets when available. However, there are some major differences between spring and winter competition:

• Spring meets are generally in the long course format. This means that the pool is 50 meters long, more than twice the length of the usual short course yards (25 yards) competitions.
• There are no dual meets in the spring. All meets are invitationals.
• Due to the limited number of long course pools in New Jersey compared to short course pools, there are many fewer spring competitions available compared to winter competitions. This means each meet is often in high demand, and there is always the chance of the meet being declared full and our entries getting “closed out.” We will post meets for sign-up when possible, but note that our entries are not final until accepted by the host.
• Most long course meets are USA Swimming sanctioned, meaning USA Swimming registration (with an additional fee due to USA Swimming) is necessary for all participants. Note: If you completed your 2024 USA Swimming registration with Riptide as part of the winter season, this registration will carry over, and you do not need to register again.
• As with all invitationals, participation is optional, and you do not need to swim in any meets in order to participate in Spring Fling.

Registration

By default, all fees are due upon registration. Installment plans are available upon request.  Payment plans require registration by phone or at the Raritan Valley YMCA, they are not available as part of the online registration page.

Registration can also be done in-person or over the phone with the Raritan Valley YMCA during open hours, contact info below. Registration over the phone is NOT recommended for swimmers who have never participated in any Raritan Valley YMCA program before, as creating a first-time membership should be done either in person or online.

Raritan Valley YMCA
144 Tices Lane
East Brunswick, NJ 08816
732-257-4114

All participants must also have a current membership with the Raritan Valley YMCA. If you are not currently a Y member, you must also fill out a Y membership form and purchase a Youth Program Membership before registering for Spring Fling. (A “Program Membership” is $77 per year and allows program registration but not general facility access. Other YMCA membership options, including fitness center access and other benefits, can be viewed at raritanvalleyymca.org.)

If you are getting a “Closed Registration” message when you attempt to register, this does not necessarily mean the program is full or that the deadline is passed. Usually, this message means your membership has expired and you need to renew because the program is “closed” to participants without a membership.

Refunds: Refunds will only be issued if a member withdraws 7 days prior to the first day of practice. YMCA membership payments are non-refundable under any circumstances. (Program memberships will allow registrations for other YMCA programs for one year following the date of purchase.)