Hello Riptides! I am so sorry for the late post! I meant to email everyone 2 weeks ago about the upcoming intra-squad meet rapidly approaching on November 2nd. For those new to the team, SwimTopia is what we use to sign up our swimmers for races and for volunteers to sign up for meet jobs. This meet will serve 2 purposes: to allow the kids to see the results of their hard work during practices, and to allow us to learn how to set up and use the equipment for our later swim meets against Iwakuni and (hopefully) Okinawa. With that said, the only way this meet will be a success will be with your help with announcing, judging, timing, etc. Please sign up your swimmer(s) and volunteer to assist with any job you can. Don't worry about not having experience in a particular job as that can easily be worked through. The important thing is to have willing volunteers to help conduct the meet. Not to give ultimatums, but without sufficient volunteers to help conduct the meet, we will have to cancel the meet which will force us to pay a cancellation fee to the Aquatics department.

On a more fun note, this Saturday is the MWR Spooktacular Fall Festival at the Hario Ball field. As I have mentioned before, Emily with the Aquatics department has graciously offered us a booth as a way to offset the cost of the fall meets. Event set up begins at 10:00am with the expectation to be finished and ready to go no later than 12:45pm. The event is set to commence at 13:00 (1pm) and will conclude at 17:00 (5pm). I would very much appreciate it if we had MAX participation from the swimmers by showing their Sasebo Riptides pride and support. You/they do not need to stay for the entire 4 hours, but nevertheless, it would be a great way to generate more interest among the Dragonvvale, Hario and Cho-communities for future seasons. For those families who haven't donated a bag of candy, please don't forget to bring them tomorrow at practice or to Friday's practice. Worst case scenario, you can also bring the candy with you to the Hario ball field this Saturday.

One more note on the team, I need help scheduling meets with Iwakuni, Okinawa, and Yokosuka at a minimum as the Meet Manager. If this sounds like something you can help with, please let me know and I can get you set up with the email access to conduct business on behalf of the Riptides. I also am looking for help with organizing fundraisers to pay for our home and away meets as well as to pay for swimsuits, caps, swim and dry land equipment, and to promote the Riptides for future seasons. Lastly, I am looking for a Vice President and a Secretary. If you haven't caught my undertone yet, I am stressing about ensuring the Riptides continues to be a part of the CFAS-community for many years to come and I am worried it'll end with me.

Thank you all for reading my TED talk. Look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow and on Friday at practice and at the Hario ball field this Saturday!