Riptides Keep Busy in Summer
Riptides Swimming Team Busy in Summer
The Myrtle Beach Riptides swimming team has had a busy summer thus far, with still more on the horizon. Members of the youth-based swimming program continue to train while many area children enjoy a summer break. Some Riptides’ swimmers are competing as part of the City of Myrtle Beach Summer Swim League, while other members continue their competition within the confines of USA-Swimming.
City of Myrtle Beach Summer League Meet #3
The City of Myrtle Beach hosted the third event of their series July 9. Seventeen Riptides’ swimmers competed in the event, held at the “Pepper” Geddings Rec Center.
Eddie Bateson (11) led all Riptides’ swimmers with two event wins. Twin brother, Chad added a third win, and Jack King (10) earned the final event victory for the Riptides.
Several Riptides finished in the Top-6 in their age-groups. Mackenzie Angwin (10), Andi Churchill (10), Connor Churchill (8), Dylan Duncan (7), Danielle Flaherty (9), Sean King (8), Avery O’Connell (9) and Megan Prouty (13) each placed in the Top-6 in several events.
The City of Myrtle Beach hosted the third event of their series July 9. Seventeen Riptides’ swimmers competed in the event, held at the “Pepper” Geddings Rec Center.
Eddie Bateson (11) led all Riptides’ swimmers with two event wins. Twin brother, Chad added a third win, and Jack King (10) earned the final event victory for the Riptides.
Several Riptides finished in the Top-6 in their age-groups. Mackenzie Angwin (10), Andi Churchill (10), Connor Churchill (8), Dylan Duncan (7), Danielle Flaherty (9), Sean King (8), Avery O’Connell (9) and Megan Prouty (13) each placed in the Top-6 in several events.
Rounding out the Riptides’ were James Angwin, (7), Ashlyn Dekleva (8), Breah Harris (10), Mercedes Henry (11) and Daisy Rutherford (8).
The Riptides will continue to compete in the CMB SSL through early August.
The Riptides will continue to compete in the CMB SSL through early August.
City of Charleston Long-course Invite
Just two days following the CMB meet, eleven Riptides swimmers made the trip to Charleston to compete in the final long-course (50meter) meet of the season before the 2009 SC Swimming State Championships.
Just two days following the CMB meet, eleven Riptides swimmers made the trip to Charleston to compete in the final long-course (50meter) meet of the season before the 2009 SC Swimming State Championships.
Keenan Lineback and Lauren Campbell (15-18) swept all the senior events, finishing 1-2, respectively. Megan Kingsley (13-14) added four more victories, winning all of her events.
Chad Bateson and Eddie Bateson (11-12) and Jack King (9-10) each earned one event win for the Riptides.
Five more Riptides’ swimmers placed in the top-6 in their age-groups. Julia Campbell (13-14), Andi Churchill (9-10), Connor Churchill (8-Under), Danielle Flaherty (9-10), and Sean King (8-Under) each had at least one top-6 finish.
Said head coach James Smith, “For the Charleston meet, it was a final tune-up for State Championships, which take place July 23-26. With the number of long-course meets few, we felt it would be good to go to Charleston for a day and swim long-course one more time.”
Continued Smith, “Our summer has been busy and the swimmers have done well. As the season nears its end, we are looking toward the fastest swimming at both the SC State Championships and the City of Myrtle Beach SSL Championships.”
Myrtle Beach Riptides to host 2009 SC Swimming State Championships and More!
Myrtle Beach Riptides to host 2009 SC Swimming State Championships and More!
The culminating event of the summer for South Carolina Swimming is the Summer State Championships. This year, the event will be hosted by the Myrtle Beach Riptides swimming team. Because of the size of the event, the Riptides have partnered with Hilton Head Aquatics to ensure a quality meet. The event will be held at the Augusta Aquatics Center, Augusta, GA.
This is the first time a local swim team has ever hosted an SC Swimming State Championship of any type.
Head coach James Smith of the Riptides, “We are excited to have been given the opportunity to host this event. We feel that the Riptides, along with Hilton Head Aquatics, has the knowledge and experience to host such an event and do a very good job.
Continued Smith, “This year’s meet fell together rather strangely. No other teams in SC Swimming submitted a bid for the meet, so the head coach at H2A and I talked about it and decided we would make a bid to co-host the meet. However, neither of us has a facility capable of hosting the event (which is contested in a 50-meter pool) so we contracted with the Augusta Aquatics Center for their facility.
The 2009 SC Swimming State Championships will host over 600 swimmers, which is one of the largest summer championships in recent history for South Carolina.
“Obviously the logistics of this meet are the biggest obstacle. We have to coordinate all resources with a venue more than 3 hours from home, which presents certain problems, but our membership has really stepped up to the task”, said Smith
“Obviously the logistics of this meet are the biggest obstacle. We have to coordinate all resources with a venue more than 3 hours from home, which presents certain problems, but our membership has really stepped up to the task”, said Smith
Smith went on to state that the meet, with its 600 participants, also brings in another 1000 people – parents, siblings, coaches and officials – for the three and one-half day event.
“The Riptides are building a reputation for meet hosting and we hope that a facility capable of hosting events like SC Swimming State Championships, and more, will eventually be constructed in the Myrtle Beach area. The economic impact to the community of a proper facility can be in the millions of dollars per year”, said Smith.
Smith continued, “In the Savannah, GA area, more than $40million has impacted the area through event hosting at the Chatham County Aquatics Center and in Orlando, Fl, the Central Florida YMCA has generated well over $100million since it’s construction in the mid-1980’s.”
The Riptides continue to generate a buzz in the swimming community. Myrtle Beach will host, for the second year in a row, the 2009 SC Swimming Select Camp this September. This event will host sixty of the finest swimmers ages 11-18 from around South Carolina. Head Coach James Smith serves as the SC Swimming Camp Director.
“Last year we were able to secure head coach Steve Locthe and his son, two-time Olympian, gold medal winner and world-record holder Ryan Lochte. This year, we have partnered with Nike to bring in two-time Olympic coach Joe Bernal and two-time Olympian and world-record holder Kaitlin Sandeno”, continued Smith.
In conjunction with the 2009 SC Swimming Select Camp, Myrtle Beach will also host the SC Swimming House of Delegates convention and meetings.
In early November, Myrtle Beach is scheduled to host the 2009 USA-Swimming Southern Zone Regional Coaches Clinic – the first time a USA-Swimming clinic has been hosted in the area.
Said Smith, “USA-Swimming called and asked if we could do something in Myrtle Beach so I told them we would work on it. With the help of Mr. Frans Mustert of Oceana Resorts and the City of Myrtle Beach, I believe this can be the first step into larger and more frequent swimming-based events for Myrtle Beach in the future.”
“Oceana Resorts has had a tremendous impact on our ability to host events. Mr. Mustert and his staff have been accommodating with every function we bring to the area. And City of Myrtle Beach officials, Melissa Devlin and Pam Stone have always been ready to assist when City facilities are needed” , Smith continued.
The Myrtle Beach Riptides are scheduled to host four swimming events this fall, bringing in several hundreds of visitors.
